Iraq chemical attacks against Iran

An original bomb casing used as flower pot at the Halabja Memorial Monument in 2011

Iraq chemical attacks against Iran is referred to chemical attacks targeted by Iraqi army and Ba’ath party against Iranian military forces and civilians. According to the documents at the National Archives Archeological Site (College Park, Maryland), the US supported Saddam Hussein’s regime to using chemical weapons in Iran-Iraq war and Iraqi–Kurdish conflict.[1] Iraqi army had employed chemical attacks against military forces and civilians in the border citiesand villages and more than 30 attacks against Iranian civilians was reported.There were chemical attacks against some medical centers and hospitals by Iraqi army [2] According to a 2002 article in the Star-Ledger, 20,000 Iranian soldiers 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.[3][4] According to the Geneva Protocol, chemical attacks was banned but in practice, to prevent an Iranian victory, U.S. supported Iraqi army for using chemical weapons.[5]

Background

After the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, Iraqis decided to improve all levels of the army. General Hamdani stated that in spite of accurate analysis of the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, there is no strong successful in Iraqi army by Ba’ath party. in comparison to their Israeli counterparts, the Iraqi army faced with a significant deficit in technological knowledge. Also he believed the Iraqi army had approaches such as British army. In 1979 due to the approaches of saddam and the party’s leaders and senior military, Iraqi army obtained to the politicization of the army. That was their saying, better a good Ba’athist than a good soldier. During the early months of Iran-Iraq war, Iraq got successes because of Ba’ath interference and it’s attempts to improve the Iraqis army but the essential problem was that the military leaders did not planned the evident strategic or operational aim for any war.[6] According to the documents at the National Archives Archeological Site (College Park, Maryland), the US supported Saddam Hussein’s regime to using chemical weapons in Iran-Iraq war and Iraqi–Kurdish conflict.[1] The reporter Michael Dobbs of Washington Post stated that Reagan’s administration was well aware that these toxics sells to Iraq would employed in the war against Iranian. He nominated that Iraq’s chemical weapons’ use 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.” In order to prevent a collapse of the Iraq, the US employed third party forces like Saudi Arabia . According to the foreign policy decisions of Reagan every attempts is necessary and legal to save Iraq.[5]

According to Iraqi documents, assistance in developing 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.[7]

History

The chemical weapons were employed by Iraqi forces against Iranian military forces and civilians during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). These were classified based on chemical composition and casualty-producing effects. The most known material used by Iraqi army were organophosphate neurotoxins, known as nerve agent Tabun and Sarin; mustard gas. According to the Iraqi reports, In 1981 vomiting agents have been used at initial and small attacks. In August 1983 the chemical weapon had been applied on the Piranshahr and Haj-Omaran battlefields. In next step, they had been used on the Panjvien battlefield in November 1983. The Iraqi army begun it’s extensive chemical attack in 1984 by using of the tons of sulfur mustard and nerve agents on the Majnoon Islands.[2]

In 1986, the Iranian forces planed an attack to the Fao Peninsula southeast of Basra and they occupied the Peninsula. This attack had not been forecasted by the Iraq military and they did not prepared for assault to the Fao Peninsula from northeast. The integration and cooperation between Iranian Army and various militias gave allowance to them to program operations during winter 1985-1986 Carefully. As a result, Iraq's oil wells was in danger. General Hamdani called the fighting for the liberation of the peninsula as another “Battle of the Somme,”, both militaries suffered huge losses. The number of Iranian killed was reported 150000. The chemical attacks did play important role to success of Iraqis.[6][8] The chemical attacks was seen until the last day of war in August, 1988.[9] During the eight years Iran-Iraq war more than 350 large-scale gas attacks was reported in borders.[2]

Attacks on civilians

Iraqi army had employed chemical attacks against military forces and civilians in the border cities and villages and more than 30 attacks against Iranian civilians was reported as following[2]

There were chemical attacks against some medical centers and hospitals by Iraqi army[2]

casualties

In a declassified 1991 report, the CIA estimated that Iran had suffered more than 50,000 casualties from Iraq's use of several chemical weapons,[10] though current estimates are more than 100,000 as the long-term effects continue to cause casualties.[11] Soon, Iraqi radio stations began exclusively broadcasting into "Arabistan", encouraging Arabs living in Iran and even Balūchīs to revolt against the Shah's government.[11][12] The official CIA estimate did not include the civilian population contaminated in bordering towns or the children and relatives of veterans, many of whom have developed blood, lung and skin complications, according to the Organization for Veterans of Iran. According to a 2002 article in the Star-Ledger, 20,000 Iranian soldiers 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.[3][4]

International convention

An officer of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division patrolling a local cemetery for some 1,500 victims in 2003

Because of reports that imply to use of chemical attacks by Iraqi army, the presidential directive was issued at the U.S.[5] Iran asked the UN to take to prevent Iraq from using chemical weapon agents, but there were not strong action by the UN or other international organizations. UN specialist teams were dispatched to Iran by the requests of the Iranian Government, in March, 1984; April, 1985; February_March, 1986; April, 1987; March, July and Aug, 1988. As a result, according to the field inspections, clinical examinations of casualties and laboratory analysis of samples was done by the UN fact-finding team's investigations, the use of Iraqi army of mustard gas as nerve agents against Iranians was confirmed. The Security Council ratified these reports and two statements was issued on 13 March 1984, and 21 March 1986 to convict Iraq from using of chemical attacks, but Iraqi regime did not respect to these statements and continue to use of chemical attacks.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Staff, Writer. "US gave Saddam blessing to use toxins against Iranians". rt. Retrieved 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karami, Ali. "Long Legacy" (PDF). cbrneworld. Retrieved 2012.
  3. 1 2 Fassihi, Farnaz (27 October 2002). "In Iran, grim reminders of Saddam's arsenal". New Jersey Star-Ledger.
  4. 1 2 Center for Documents of The Imposed War, Tehran. (مرکز مطالعات و تحقیقات جنگ)
  5. 1 2 3 Kessler, Glenn. "History lesson: When the United States looked the other way on chemical weapons". washingtonpost. Retrieved 2013.
  6. 1 2 Woods, Kevin M.; Murray, Williamson; Holaday, Thomas. "Saddam's war" (PDF). National Defense University Press. Institute for Defense Analyses. Retrieved 2008.
  7. ↑ "Iraqi Scientist Reports on German, Other Help for Iraq Chemical Weapons Program". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  8. ↑ Hashmi, Sohail H.; Lee, Steven P. (2014). Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious and Secular Perspectives. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521545266.
  9. ↑ Croddy, Eric A.; Wirtz, James J.; Larsen, Jeffrey A. (2004). Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1851094905.
  10. ↑ Wright, Robin (2008). Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East. New York: Penguin Press. p. 438. ISBN 9781594201110.
  11. 1 2 Rajaee, Farhang, ed. (1993). The Iran-Iraq War: The Politics of Aggression. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0813011776.
  12. ↑ Bryant, Terry (2007). History's Greatest War (1st ed.). Chandni Chowk, Delhi: Global Media. ISBN 9788189940638.
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