8 September 1931Iraq accedes to the Geneva protocol, banning the use of chemical weapons. Iraq makes a "no first use reservation," as do approximately 30% of States Parties to the treaty.
--"1925 Geneva Protocol," <http://disarmament.un.org/TreatyStatus.nsf>
1964
The Iraqi Army Chemical Weapons Branch (CWB) is founded with the responsibilities for planning, transporting, using, and conducting defensive operations against chemical weapons. The CWB commander is also the leader of the Iraqi Chemical Corps.
[Note: The CWB also helps create a biological weapon doctrine.]
--Timothy V. McCarthy and Jonathan B. Tucker, "Saddam's Toxic Arsenal: Chemical and Biological Weapons in the Gulf Wars," in Peter R. Lavoy, Scott D. Sagan and James Wirtz (ed.), Planning the Unthinkable (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2000), p. 62.
1972
On 10 April 1972, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BWC) opens for signature. Iraq signs the document on 11 May 1972 but does not ratify it.
[Note: Iraq finally ratifies the BWC in April 1991 following its defeat by coalition forces in the first Gulf war.]
1974
A biological weapons program is initiated by government decree.
[Note: the establishment of the al-Hazen Ibn al-Haytham Institute facility (located at al Salman) would have required the planning and initial stages of the project to begin earlier; also, no decree has been provided – UNSCOM.]
--UNSCOM Eight Report Under Paragraph 8, Security Council Resolution 715 (1991), S/1995/864, 11 October 1995, <http://www.cns.miis.edu/research/iraq/excerpt.htm>; UNSCOM Report to the Security Council, 25 January 1999, Annex C: Status of Verification of Iraq's Biological Warfare Programme, <http://www.fas.org/news/un/iraq/s/990125/index.html>; William J. Broad and Judith Miller, "How Iraq's Biological Weapons Program Came to Light," New York Times, 26 February 1998, accessed online; Full, Final and Complete Disclosure of Iraq's Past Biological Programme, Submitted to the U.N., September 1997.
2 November 1974
The Iraqi minister of agriculture signs a contract with the Paris-based Institute Merieux to set up Iraq's first vaccine production facility at Abu Ghurab.
--Jonathan Tucker, "Lessons of Iraq's Biological Weapons Programme," Arms Control Today, Vol. 14, No. 3, December 1993, p. 236.
1974-1975
According to Dany Shoham of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies in Israel, the production capacity of Bacillus anthracis for non-virulent, veterinary vaccines reaches 1.84 million doses per annum and of Clostridia bacteria, 8.3 million doses per annum.
--Dany Shoham, "Iraq's Biological Warfare Agents: A Comprehensive Analysis," Critical Review in Microbiology Vol. 26 (3), 2000, pp. 181, 183, 189.
1975
Iraq establishes research and development biological weapons program at al-Hazen Ibn al-Haithem Institute at a site located the al-Salman peninsula, about 30km southeast of Baghdad.
[Note: The spelling of the institute's name varies in different sources. For instance, UNSCOM labels it as "al-Hazen Ibn al-Haytham". The chronology will use the spelling as indicated in the original source document.]
--Al J. Venter, "Missing in Iraq: The U.N. Charts Saddam's Lethal Inventory," Jane's International Defense Review, Vol. 32, No. 5, May 1999, p. 40; UNSCOM Eight Report Under Paragraph 8, Security Council Resolution 715 (1991), S/1995/864, 11 October 1995, <http://www.cns.miis.edu/research/iraq/excerpt.htm>.
1976
Iraq begins to obtain virulent clinical isolates of B. anthracis of human and animal origin. They are studied with regards to "cultivation, pathogenicity, experimental infection and preservation."
[Note: It is unclear from the source how the B. anthracis of human origin was obtained; B. anthracis is endemic to Iraq.]
--Dany Shoham, "Iraq's Biological Warfare Agents: A Comprehensive Analysis," Critical Review in Microbiology, Vol. 26, No. 3, 2000, p. 181.
16 January 1979
According to Iraqi sources, the al Hazen Ibn al-Haytham Institute is shut down and the biological research is terminated. Several staffers, including the Chairman, Major Ghazan Ibrahim, are arrested due to financial fraud. The Institute is closed due to poor management coupled with lack of appropriate facilities and equipment.
[Note: UNSCOM assesses that the biological program continued on a small-scale.]
--According to Rod Barton, Former principal biological inspector with UNSCOM and
Former Director of Proliferation Studies, Australian Department of Defence, at a talk he gave at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Washington DC, 2 February 2001; UNSCOM Report to the Security Council, 25 January 1999, Annex C: Status of Verification of Iraq's Biological Warfare Programme, <http://www.fas.org/news/un/iraq/s/990125/index.html> UNSCOM Eight Report Under Paragraph 8, Security Council Resolution 715 (1991), S/1995/864, 11 October 1995, <http://www.cns.miis.edu/research/iraq/excerpt.htm> Full, Final and Complete Disclosure of Iraq's Past Biological Programme, September 1997.
Late 1970s
Iraq procures T-2 mycotoxin from the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, N.C., USA.
--Dany Shoham, "Iraq's Biological Warfare Agents: A Comprehensive Analysis," Critical Review in Microbiology, Vol. 26 (3), 2000, p. 192.
Late 1970s
The Iraqi government contracts with a French company to build a veterinary vaccine plant in the Doura district of Baghdad, with a capacity of producing up to 12 million doses per year of 15 different vaccines.
--Jonathan Tucker, "Lessons of Iraq's Biological Weapons Programme," Arms Control Today, Vol. 14, No. 3, December 1993, pp. 236-237.
1979-1985
After the closing of al-Hazen Ibn al-Haytham (apparently as a result of fraud conducted by the chairman and other senior staff members), biological work is continued at al-Salman Pak.
--UNSCOM Report to the Security Council, 25 January 1999, Annex C.
