Iraqi chemical attacks against Iran
During the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), Iraq engaged in chemical warfare against Iran on multiple occasions, including more than 30 targeted attacks on Iranian civilians. The Iraqi chemical weapons program, which had been active since the 1970s, was aimed at regulated offensive use, as evidenced in the chemical attacks against Iraqi Kurds as part of the Anfal campaign in the late 1980s. The Iraqis had also utilized chemical weapons against Iranian hospitals and medical centres.[1] According to a 2002 article in the American newspaper The Star-Ledger, 20,000 Iranian soldiers and combat medics were killed on the spot by nerve gas. As of 2002, 5,000 of the 80,000 survivors continue to seek regular medical treatment, while 1,000 are hospital inpatients.[2][3] Though the use of chemical weapons in international armed conflict was banned under the Geneva Protocol, much of the international community remained indifferent to the attacks; Iraq's military campaign in Iran was supported by the United States and the Soviet Union, both of whom had sought to contain Iranian influence after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.[4]
Main article: Iraqi chemical weapons programBackground[edit]
After the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, Iraq decided to improve all aspects of its army. Iraqi General Ra'ad al-Hamdani stated that, in spite of careful analysis of the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, no clear progress in the Iraqi army was achieved by the Ba'ath Party. In comparison to their Israeli counterparts, the Iraqi Army was faced with a significant deficit in technological expertise. In 1979, due to Saddam Hussein's policies as well as those of leading Ba'ath Party officials and senior military officers, the Iraqi Army underwent increasing politicization. There was a saying at the time, "better a good Ba'athist than a good soldier". During the early months of the Iran–Iraq War, Iraq attained successes because of Ba'ath Party interference and its attempts to improve the Iraqi Army, but the essential problem was that the military leaders did not have a clear strategy or operational aim for a war.[5]
Reporter Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post stated that Reagan's administration was well aware that the materials sold to Iraq would be used to manufacture chemical weapons for use in the war against Iran. He stated that Iraq's use of chemical weapons was "hardly a secret, with the Iraqi military issuing this warning in February 1984: 'The invaders should know that for every harmful insect, there is an insecticide capable of annihilating it ... and Iraq possesses this annihilation insecticide.'" According to Reagan's foreign policy, every attempt to save Iraq was necessary and legal.[4]
According to Iraqi documents, assistance in the development of chemical weapons was obtained from firms in many countries, including the United States, West Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France. A report stated that Dutch, Australian, Italian, French and both West and East German companies were involved in the export of raw materials to Iraqi chemical weapons factories.[6]
History[edit]
Chemical weapons were employed by Iraqi forces against Iranian combatants and non-combatants during the Iran–Iraq war (1980–1988). These have been classified based on chemical composition and casualty-producing effects. The best-known substances used by the Iraqi army were organophosphate neurotoxins, known as nerve agents Tabun, Sarin, and mustard gas. According to Iraqi reports, in 1981 vomiting agents were used in initial and small-scale attacks. In August 1983, chemical weapons had been employed on the Piranshahr and Haji Omaran battlefields. Next, they were used on the Panjwin battlefield, in November 1983. The Iraqi army began extensive chemical attacks in 1984, by using tons of sulfur mustard and nerve agents on the Majnoon Islands.[1]
In 1986, the Iranian forces mounted an attack on the Faw Peninsula southeast of Basra and occupied the peninsula. This attack had not been anticipated by the Iraqi military, which did not prepare for an assault on the Faw Peninsula from across the Shatt Al-Arab. The integration and cooperation between the Iranian Army and various militias allowed them to organize operations during winter 1985–1986 carefully. As a result, Iraq's oil wells were in danger. Iraqi General Hamdani called the fighting for the liberation of the peninsula another "Battle of the Somme", where both militaries suffered huge losses. The chemical attacks played an important role in Iraq's success.[5][7] The chemical attacks took place until the last day of war, in August 1988.[8] During the eight-year Iran–Iraq War, more than 350 large-scale gas attacks were reported in the border areas.[1]