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Updated January 2008
Chemical Chronology
1928-1986
6 December 1928
Egypt ratifies the 1925 Geneva Protocol, prohibiting "the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases and of bacteriological methods of warfare." Egypt does not attach any reservations or special circumstances to its ratification.
— "1925 Geneva Protocol," <http://disarmament.un.org/TreatyStatus.nsf>
1929-1950
There is no publicly available information suggesting that the Egyptian government is engaged in any independent offensive chemical warfare (CW) programs during this period.
1938
The Egyptian government places orders with the British government for the supply of chemical defense stores, including service respirators, containers, Type E, and anti-gas ointment." The British government also supplies Egypt with equipment suitable for training local forces in CW defense.
— Nineteenth Annual Report of the Chemical Defence Research Department, Report for the Year ended 31st December 1938, Public Record Office, WO 188/788, p. 10.
1950s-1960s
Israeli intelligence claims that Egypt is developing chemical and biological warfare (CBW) programs with help from Soviet and German scientists. Additional intelligence reports, however, find no proof that Egypt's CBW programs were led by German scientists. This causes Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to reprimand the Mossad (Israel's leading intelligence agency) for such claims as they could potentially jeopardize Israeli relationship with West Germany. Israeli Chief of Security Services, Iser Harel, criticizes Ben-Gurion's policy" and resigns in protest in March 1963.
— "Israel's Nuclear History," Jane's Intelligence Review, Vol. 12, No. 7, 27 June 2000, p. 14.
1950s-1960s
Egypt actively recruits German CW experts. It is also reported that German CBW experts were among a team of scientists working in Egypt during the early CW attacks on Yemen.
— Volume II: CB Weapons Today: The Problem of Chemical and Biological Warfare, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiskell, 1973), p. 240.
1958-1961
Egypt and Syria form the United Arab Republic (UAR). Syria leaves in 1961 but Egypt retains name until 1972. [Note: Though the information appears irrelevant for the purpose of a CW chronology, it must be noted because it gives insight into Egyptian-Syrian relations, and the creation of the UAR could have had an affect on exchange of scientific personnel and technology between the two countries. Syria is often accused in Western reports of developing an extensive offensive CW program.]
1963
By 1963, Egypt completes research and design for the production of nerve agents and cyanide gas, and by 1967, has prepared a defensive capability in case of an Israeli chemical attack.
— Anthony H. Cordesman, "The Arab-Israeli Military Balance in 2002," Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 2002.
June 1963
Egypt is suspected of dropping mustard agent-containing bombs on Yemeni civilians in Sadah, a village near the Saudi border, on 8 June 1963.
— Douglas Davis, "Egypt to PM: Don't Come Empty-handed," The Jerusalem Post, 19 December 1997, p. 3.
1963-1967
Egypt is widely suspected of possessing, possibly producing, and using chemical weapons in the form of gas-bombs, including mustard and phosgene, in the Yemeni civil war against Yemeni Republican forces. This resulted in 1,400 deaths, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency. Until the early 1980s, Egypt provided "the only verified use of chemical weapons since World War I," according to Harvard biochemist Matthew Masselso. Seth Carus of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy claims that Egypt's chemical weapons "probably originated from the Soviet Union." Whereas CBW expert Harvey McGeorge seems more certain, he states that "the Soviets began supplying Egypt...in the early 1960s."
— Rick Atkinson, "Gas, a Symbol of War Horror, Being Sought for the Next Time," Washington Post, 26 November 1983; "This Hellish Poison," New York Times,14 March 1984; Harvey J. McGeorge, "Chemical Addiction," Defense & Foreign Affairs, April 1989; Philip Jacobson, "Washington Alarm about Improved Nerve Gases; Chemical Weapons," The Times (London), 10 January 1989; Michael R. Gordon and Stephen Engelberg, "Egypt Accused of Big Advance on Poison Gas," New York Times,10 March 1989; Anthony H. Cordesman, "The Arab-Israeli Military Balance in 2002," Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 2002.
July 1963
US Department of State representative to Egypt, John S. Badeau, questions Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser on allegations that Egypt is using "unconventional bombs" (bombs including toxic agents such as mustard) against Yemeni Royalist forces on a daily basis. Nasser claims the poison gas is a napalm bomb called "Opal" but also states that the UAR created a bomb of which he does not know the "precise chemical content." Receiving further pressure from Badeau, Nasser states he defers military decisionmaking to the military.
— John S. Badeau, Chemical and Biological Warfare Cable, US Department of State, US Embassy, 11 July 1963.
July 1963
Egypt reportedly serves as a conduit for approximately 70,000 gas masks purchased by Iraq from a Switzerland.
— Volume 1: The Rise of CB Weapons: The Problem of Chemical and Biological Warfare, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiskell, 1971), p. 162.
Pre-1973/1973
Egypt is suspected of exporting chemical weapons to Syria "shortly" before the October 1973 Middle East war, a claim supported by a 1998 report released by the Defense Intelligence Agency entitled "Chemical Warfare Assessments."
— Michael R. Gordon and Stephen Engelberg, "Egypt Accused of Big Advance on Poison Gas," New York Times, 10 March 1989, p.1; Andrew Rathmell, "Syria's Insecurity," Jane's Intelligence Review, Vol. 6, No. 9, 1 September 1994, p. 414; Yedidya Atlas, "Egypt Helps Rogue States While Accepting US Aid," Insight on the News, 17 June 1996.
Late 1973-1974
Egyptian Defense Minister General Abdel Ghani Gamassi tells the Egyptian parliament that "nuclear weapons [are] not the only weapons of mass destruction, but that chemical and incendiary weapons could be equally as effective." At this time, Egypt is believed to possess production ability for nerve and blister agents.
— Louise Lief, "Egypt Reviews Its Stance as Mideast Nuclear Arms Swell," Christian Science Monitor, 18 August 1980; Harvey J. McGeorge, "Chemical Addiction," Defense & Foreign Affairs, April 1989, p. 17.
1974
Testifying before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments, the Acting Secretary for International Security Affairs at the Department of Defense,Mr. Amos A. Jordan, makes a number of observations about CW capabilities in the Middle East. He says: "… during the October 1973 war in the Mideast, it became clear that the U.S.S.R. had provided the Arabs with CW defensive equipment. Of course, no chemical weapons were used during the conflict. It is significant that a substantial quantity of passive chemical defensive equipment was provided. The captured materiel shows us that new Soviet combat vehicles have pressurized crew compartments and sealed ports for crew firing. I should stress, however, that there were no indications at all that the U.S.S.R. provided her Mideast allies with any offensive chemical capability. However, both Israel and Egypt have the technical capability to produce chemical weapons."
— Prepared Statement of Amos A. Jordan, Acting Secretary for International Security Affairs, Department of Defense, U.S. Chemical Warfare Policy; Hearings before the Subcommittee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; House of Representatives, 9 May 1974, p. 151.
February 1981
The United States might be negotiating an increased military presence in Egypt. Citing the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Hadaf, the BBC article states vaguely that a base will be constructed "on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt" for storage of chemical weapons. [Note: It is not clear from the article whether it refers to US or Egyptian chemical weapons.]
— "Sadat Declares 'Unconditional Support' to Succession of US Official Visitors," BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 7 February 1981.
January 1982
Egypt openly desires US weapons technology. Egyptian production plant Military Plant No. 81 (later known as the Heliopolis Company for Chemical Industries) begins to produce gas masks.
— Clarence A. Robinson Jr., "Nation Seeks Larger Production Base," Aviation Week & Space Technology, 4 January 1982, p. 41.
January 1982
In a survey of Egypt's aircraft factories, the United States notes that Military Plant No. 36, which is simply known as "Aircraft Factory," produces decontamination equipment among other seemingly non-CW related materials.
— Clarence A. Robinson Jr., "Factories Tool for Alpha Jet Program," Aviation Week & Space Technology, 18 January 1982, p. 61.
May 1984
Defense Department officials estimate that 14 to 16 countries have chemical weapons, including Egypt.
— Richard Halloran, "US Finds 14 Nations Now Have Chemical Arms," New York Times, 20 May 1984; Gordon Bathos, "Israel Urged to Build Arsenal of Toxic Arms," Toronto Star, 11 January 1989.
September 1985
A Washington Post article refers to reports that Egypt is "alleged to possess" chemical weapons. Among its sources, it refers to a September 1983 US intelligence estimate from the CIA, initially made public by Washington Post writers Jack Anderson and Dale Van Atta in August 1984. The report claims that "Egypt received Soviet chemical-weapons training, indoctrination and material in the 1960s while it was the major Soviet client in the Middle East." It also refers to Egypt's chemical arsenal as probably the most advanced in the Arab world, a claim supported by the Israelis.
— Don Oberdorfer, "Chemical Arms Curbs Are Sought; Officials Alarmed by Increasing Use of Banned Weapons," Washington Post, 9 September 1985; Barry Schweid, "Source Says Syria Is Producing Chemical Weapons," Associated Press, 26 March 1986; Ian Black, "Israel Tries to Counter Arab Nerve Gas Threat; Defence Officials Worries as Syria Hoards Chemical Arms," The Guardian, 12 December 1986.
January 1986
The United States and Soviet Union discuss a potential agreement to curb the proliferation of chemical weapons. According to US intelligence, the Soviets have supplied six countries, including Egypt, with chemical weapons' material, technology, or advice during the previous two decades.
— Don Oberdorfer, "US, Soviets May Meet Soon on Curbing Chemical Arms," Washington Post, 4 January 1986; Ian Black, "Israel Tries to Counter Arab Nerve Gas Threat; Defence Officials Worries as Syria Hoards Chemical Arms," The Guardian, 12 December 1986.
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently
verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2008
by MIIS.
