The CIA declined to comment for this story. But it lacked the evidence implicating Iraq, much of which was contained in top secret reports and memoranda sent to the most senior intelligence officials in the U.S. At the time, Iran was publicly alleging that illegal chemical attacks were carried out on its forces, and was building a case to present to the United Nations. had firm evidence of Iraqi chemical attacks beginning in 1983. We already knew,” he told Foreign Policy.Īccording to recently declassified CIA documents and interviews with former intelligence officials like Francona, the U.S. “The Iraqis never told us that they intended to use nerve gas. Rick Francona, who was a military attaché in Baghdad during the 1988 strikes, paints a different picture. officials have long denied acquiescing to Iraqi chemical attacks, insisting that Hussein’s government never announced he was going to use the weapons. But they were also the last in a series of chemical strikes stretching back several years that the Reagan administration knew about and didn’t disclose. These attacks helped to tilt the war in Iraq’s favor and bring Iran to the negotiating table, and they ensured that the Reagan administration’s long-standing policy of securing an Iraqi victory would succeed. satellite imagery, maps, and other intelligence.
The Iraqis used mustard gas and sarin prior to four major offensives in early 1988 that relied on U.S.
The intelligence included imagery and maps about Iranian troop movements, as well as the locations of Iranian logistics facilities and details about Iranian air defenses. intelligence officials conveyed the location of the Iranian troops to Iraq, fully aware that Hussein’s military would attack with chemical weapons, including sarin, a lethal nerve agent. In 1988, during the waning days of Iraq’s war with Iran, the United States learned through satellite imagery that Iran was about to gain a major strategic advantage by exploiting a hole in Iraqi defenses. But a generation ago, America’s military and intelligence communities knew about and did nothing to stop a series of nerve gas attacks far more devastating than anything Syria has seen, Foreign Policy has learned. government may be considering military action in response to chemical strikes near Damascus.
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