The Saddam Tapes

1. The Saddam Tapes Intelligence Summit Arlington, VA February 18, 2006

2. Technical Points • Audio was segmented to fit the number of words readable per Powerpoint slide. • Translation was more literal than otherwise. • [Unintelligible] can not be clearly heard. Words in italics are heard but not understood because they are local Tikriti dialect, Baath Party jargon, technical, etc.

3. Technical Points • Some items are clear and unambiguous, and others are open to various interpretations. Some of the interpretations are the difference between bad and worse. • The tapes need to be further examined by native Iraqi speakers.

4. Removal of Warheads From Tape ISGC-2003-M0003997 Beginning of Tape

5. Unidentified Male I notice, sir, that the people’s resolution to serve the battle is very high. They can not insult our resolve, no matter the time. This brings me to what I notice among them. Despite the pressure of their surveillance, and our not using all our capabilities in the missile area - the time period is not important to them. What is the time period going to be?

6. Unidentified Male For us, the factories mujzab [indistinct] in our fields. The factories are present. How much material do we have? How much equipment do we have? The factories remain, in the mind they remain. Our spirit is with us. Four days ago there was the Said Madari missile, three Hijaba missiles,

7. Unidentified Male We put them out from what was available from what he have done a year ago, two years ago, and five years ago. Based solely on the time period, and they take note of the time period, they can’t account for our will, which grows stronger with each passing day.

8. Saddam Hussein Allah willing.

9. Unidentified Male Sir, the groups of missiles whose equipment was destroyed, the warheads were removed on cattle trucks that were at the military industrial facility and at the National Communications [indistinct].

10. Unidentified Male Also, we would like to restart our activity in reforming some of the material that was destroyed, such as the advanced technology equipment. We also removed our active warhead groups from Assad Babel [Lion of Babylon].

11. Observations • Missile warheads were removed prior to unilateral destruction by Iraq. • The speaker does not sound defeated, but energized to continue fighting. • The speaker suggests reforming the destroyed material into new weapon parts.

12. Observations • Iraqis changed their story on warhead destruction to match emerging findings by UNSCOM. See Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Iraq Special Collection, Missile-Related Issues, Examples of Problems. http://cns.miis.edu/search97cgi/s97_cgi?action=View&VdkVgwKey=..%2F..%2Fcnsweb%2Fhtdocs%2Fresearch%2Firaq%2Fjn98msl.htm&queryzip=%22examples+of+problems%22&Collection=CNS+Web+Site

13. Observations • Hijaba may not be the name of a missile, but refer to the hidden status. • Said Madari may not be the name of the missile. Madari means “orbital” or “tropical.” • Assad Babel is the name of a modified tank. It has a another meaning here. This is the only occasion where the term “active warhead group” is used.

14. Forewarning of UNSCOM Inspections • Location on Tape ISGQ-2003-M0003997: • 06:32 • CONTEXT PRIOR TO EXCERPT: • Discussion by General Director of Hutin State Establishment regarding reconstituting military industry.

15. Saddam Hussein Thank you [indistinct] who is speaking on facility security?

16. Unidentified Male Sir, Allah willing, [indistinct] of course I am associated with this. We know everything located in the establishments and secure the gates against the enemy. Actually, sir, I have a point on the commission from the United Nations.

17. Unidentified Male Currently there are four groups visiting us; the biological, chemical, missile, and [indistinct]. Coincidentally, sir, we have an operations center working to track everything and of course they cooperate with us, a security and safety system.

18. Unidentified Male Sir I –the security system if for any facility in the military industrial organization. There is a security center in each facility, composed, sir, of military elements. We established a system, sir, on the model of military intelligence.

19. Unidentified Male After what happened at the military industrial organization, this was divided. We reconnected it, sir, incrementally. We reconnected each establishment to the operations center. This is protection for the army, protection for the establishments.

20. Unidentified Male It is called the Directorate [Amariyat] for Facility Security. We only protect the facilities from an operational standpoint. Administrative security falls under the Directorate [indistinct] of Military Operations.

21. Unidentified Male Actually, sir, regarding the UN commission, the four teams for biology, chemical, missiles, and nuclear. We – the four, sir, except the work with Petrochemical Three, your Excellency knows that there were some defects in unifying the actions.

22. Unidentified Male the remainder, Praise Allah and thanks, have excellent security practices. I can assure your Excellency that the workers are good, even though they are military. They have my outlook, and most of them are officers [indistinct]. The possibility exists that Ustaath Qusay will help us, according to the last meeting, and also Colonel Adel. All the channels, sir, are used against thievery.

23. Observations 2nd Armored Battalion Special Republican Guards

24. Reconstitution of Muthenna Chemical Weapons Establishment • Location on tape ISGC-2003-M0003997: • 09:17.40 • Context prior to the excerpt: • Saddam request a briefing on the rebuilding of Muthenna Chemical Weapons Establishment. The briefer describes damage from the Gulf War.

25. Unidentified Male The establishment is made up of many facilities. The main facility is large, and is distinguished from other establishments by its geographic expansion. The other sites, we have four toxic sites; one of the sites is within other facilities.

26. Unidentified Male It is very specialized for filling and other things. There are other, new facilities, the- [indistinct] from the year seventy-seven – eighty-seven.

27. Unidentified Male The strange thing about Muthenna is that the bombardment focused on the workshop, even more than the main building at Muthenna, and the scientific library with the [indistinct].

28. Unidentified Male I didn’t note the remainder of the establishments, since their headquarters are better informed. Sir, the establishment, as a group of cadre, with the situation by the commission incapacitating the activities in the establishment from the viewpoint of inspections and photography, etc., you guidance to Colonel Laqdam, the deputy, and the brigadier general

29. Unidentified Male How is the technical side? Muthenna Establishment is still. . . the cadre surveyed for a building project in Bayji and in QaQa. With that, there were contributions on how to wrestle with the commission with a number of buildings in chloride. Little by little, we are presenting dubakheen in the building campaign.

30. Unidentified Male Right now, we have a very large building campaign in a number of main sites; three support sites, and the main location [indistinct] the building campaign despite the annoyance presented by the inspection teams.

31. Unidentified Male As Allah wills, we will infahaq as the Military Industrial Organization, in the sweet challenge, as we call it at Muthenna, that the other establishments rebuild and produce. We will rebuild ourselves and with others . . in anything that serves industry, medicine, or mobiles. This is our activity at the present time.

32. Unidentified Male There remains another conflict; how to save the materials from their hands, [indistinct] we have a plan with Deputy Laqdam, directed with your guidance, I mean. Allah willing, sir, Muthenna will stay – Saddam Hussein Don’t be tusaghaneen about your materials .

33. Saddam Hussein . this material can be used for security purposes, but they can confirm that it is used for civilian purposes. . not after confirming that we . . I don’t have any intention of producing in this area, and they don’t have any right to . . . it must go to fertilizer regarding the materials that are . . . they can be for civilian or military purposes before the final production.  

34. Unidentified Male As your Excellency knows, every two months there is a review of the Security Council Resolution Six Hundred and Eighty-Seven. I see that the qatar is still fighting to-

35. Saddam Hussein Or not before the compliance. Unidentified Male This is correct, as – your Excellency provided, I mean each occasion

36. Saddam Hussein They only want al-tisbuza in imagining that . . . if they cross the countryside it will come out of a corner of it. This is an occasion for them. I mean, you will follow up, and things will come to a stage, I mean we are more aware, more capable in vision, and in security, and in facilities,

37. Saddam Hussein it is a sure thing that we will [unintelligible] incrementally. I mean, what is the relation to this thing called complying with resolutions in its meaning in the method of conduct for the resolution?

38. Observations • Muthenna State Establishment was a widespread organization, and not just one site used to produce chemical weapons. • The Iraqis started surveying other building sites for the organization shortly after the Gulf War. • Briefer raises the issue of how to keep materials out of the hands of UNSCOM.

39. Observations • Saddam points out a major advantage – keep the precursors for chemical weapons separated until needed and they can be explained away as having civilian use. • Saddam is confident that Iraq will overcome the inspection program.

40. UNSCOM Technical Advisor Betrays Knowledge of Hidden WMD Program/ Saddam’s Let UNSCOM Confirm False Estimate • Location on Tape ISGC-2003-M0003997 • 20:59:58 • Context Prior to Excerpt: • Briefer describes technical issues to be resolves before UNSCOM inspections could end.

41. Unidentified Male Lastly, I conclude that this technical report, I mean from the Special Commission formed by the Security Council to ensure the execution of Resolution 687, was written to serve a political goal.

42. Unidentified Speaker We, as technicians, technicians we believe that we have arrived at a stage where all the technical mines, I believe this applies to all the four areas.

43. Unidentified Male The four technical and legal points, for nuclear, missile, chemical and biological, there are still obligations to 687.

44. Unidentified Male I wanted to show these to your Excellency, because the presence, although I don’t know anything about the topic of presence [laughs],  

45. Unidentified Male I mean, this means it treats these subjects. We swore that this was all true, and it would be beneficial for your Excellency, despite approving it, that you have the correct assessment of this report. And we -

46. Saddam Hussein The teams that are now searching for them are not doing so to verify the facts as they are. They are doing so to create cover through any means possible, technically, I mean, even through umawiyat, but they write it up technically.

47. Saddam Hussein The umawiyat are many, but they write it technically, politically, on how to be dignified . . . this is correct . . . I mean they are now more angry at us than before the hostility.

48. Saddam Hussein Before the hostility, they had information and deductions that we were working in the direction we described, a dangerous direction. Now, we can confirm for them this false direction. I mean, according to the explanation.

49. Saddam Hussein That is, there was a group of these guys and those guys, but this all ended, and with that, the thing they will confirm is our cover story. Good, this is the way it goes . . they are present.

50. Saddam Hussein there isn’t anybody that is going to give away a card . . . well . . . this is - [indistinct] attempt in any se’a.