In the early 1980s, Iraq (under
Saddam Hussein) violated the
Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) by establishing extensive programs for the development of both chemical and biological weapons. Detailed confirmation of these programs only surfaced in the wake of the
Gulf War (1990–91), following investigations conducted by the
United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) in charge of the disarmament of Saddam's Iraq. One of several BW facilities in Iraq, the "Single-Cell Protein Production Plant" at Al Hakum was the main bioweapons production facility, built under the cover of an
animal feed facility. The Al Hakum facility began mass production of weapons-grade
anthrax in 1989 and ultimately produced 8,000 liters or more. (The 8,000 liter figure is according to a declaration by the Iraqi government itself.) In the aftermath of the Gulf War, Iraq officially acknowledged that it had worked with several species of bacterial pathogen, including
Bacillus anthracis,
Clostridium botulinum and
Clostridium perfringens (which causes gas gangrene) and several viruses (including
enterovirus 17 [i.e., human
conjunctivitis],
rotavirus and
camel pox). The program also purified biological toxins, including
botulinum toxin,
ricin and
aflatoxin. In total, a half million liters of biological agents were grown. Among the products created by Iraqi bioweaponeers at the Al Hakum facility was an anthrax surrogate utilizing
Bacillus thuringiensis, which is essentially the anthrax agent affecting insects.
B. thuringiensis is often used by gardeners to control grubs, thus the Iraqis at one time also used the cover story that the Al Hakum facility was created to deal with the Iraqi grub problem. ==See also==