Iraq's Biological Weapons
Item Details
Title
Iraq's Biological Weapons
Topics
Surveys Iraq's capabilities in BW during and after the Gulf War, aiming to identify whether continued risk exists for BW development.
Date
1997
Conclusions
Despite Iraq's Gulf War defeat, Saddam Hussein remains in power with the desire to develop weapons of mass destruction which must be deterred by the international community. Iraq maintains much of its biowarfare development infrastructure and could likely manufacture militarily significant weapons within six months. Agents that they researched in the past include anthrax, botulinum toxin, and aflatoxin.
Source
Zilinskas, R.A. Iraq's Biological Weapons, The Past as Future? Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 278, No.5. August 6, 1997. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/417897. Accessed March, 2024.
Citation
“Iraq's Biological Weapons,” Collection of Biothreat Risk Assessments (COBRA), accessed January 15, 2025, https://cobrabiosecurity.org/items/show/539.