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Iraqi Chemical Weapons Program
The Iraqi chemical weapons program was an aspect of the country's pursuit of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction until the 1990s. In violation of the Geneva Protocol, Iraq initiated three separate research and development drives for chemical weapons, the first two of which (1970–1974; 1974–1978) were unsuccessful. The last drive (1978–1991), which was spurred by Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, was successful and saw the deployment of chemical weapons during the country's military campaigns against Iran and the Kurds, Kurdish people. Efforts by Iraq to acquire chemical weapons date back to the early 1960s and were motivated by a desire to greatly strengthen the Iraqi military, especially after the 1973 Arab–Israeli War. However, it was not until Ba'athist Iraq, Hussein's regime that the program experienced significant and steady progress. Though lacking stockpiles at the time of the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980, the country rapidly engaged i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraqi Occupation Of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country for the next seven months. The invasion was condemned internationally, and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted numerous resolutions urging Iraq to withdraw from Kuwaiti territory. The Iraqi military, however, continued to occupy Kuwait and defied all orders by the UNSC. After initially establishing the "Republic of Kuwait" as a puppet state, Iraq annexed the entire country on 28 August 1990; northern Kuwait became the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District and was merged into the existing Basra Governorate, while southern Kuwait was carved out as the all-new Kuwait Governorate. By November 1990, the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, UNSC Resolution 678 officially issued Iraq an ultimatum to withdraw uncondition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The skin form presents with a small blister with surrounding swelling that often turns into a painless ulcer with a black center. The inhalation form presents with fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath. The intestinal form presents with diarrhea (which may contain blood), abdominal pains, nausea, and vomiting. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first clinical descriptions of cutaneous anthrax were given by Maret in 1752 and Fournier in 1769. Before that, anthrax had been described only in historical accounts. The German scientist Robert Koch was the first to identify ''Bacillus anthracis'' as the bacterium that causes anthrax. Anthra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraq Disarmament Crisis
The Iraq disarmament crisis was claimed as one of the primary issues that led to the multinational invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003. Since the 1980s, Iraq was widely assumed to have been producing and extensively running the programs of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. Iraq made extensive use of chemical weapons during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, including against its own Kurdish population. France and the Soviet Union assisted Iraq in the development of its nuclear program, but its primary facility was destroyed by Israel in 1981 in a surprise air strike. After the Gulf War in 1990, the United Nations Special Commission located and destroyed large quantities of Iraqi chemical weapons and related equipment and materials with varying degrees of Iraqi cooperation and obstruction, but the Iraqi cooperation later diminished in 1998. The disarmament issue remained tense throughout the 1990s with U.S. at the UN, repeatedly demanding Iraq to allow inspections te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Nations Special Commission
United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War. Between 1991 and 1997 its director was Rolf Ekéus; from 1997 to 1999 its director was Richard Butler. Summary United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was an inspection regime created with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 in April 1991 to oversee Iraq's compliance with the destruction of Iraqi chemical, biological, and missile weapons facilities and to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency's efforts to eliminate nuclear weapon facilities all in the aftermath of the Gulf War. The UNSCOM inspection regime was packaged with several other UN Security Council requirements, namely, that Iraq's ruling regime formally recognize Kuwait as an independent state and pay out war reparations for the destruction inflicted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraqi Biological Weapons Program
Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) began an extensive biological weapons (BW) program in Iraq in the early 1980s, despite having signed (but not ratified until 1991) the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) of 1972. Details of the BW program and a chemical weapons program surfaced after the Gulf War (1990–91) during the disarmament of Iraq under the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM). By the end of the war, program scientists had investigated the BW potential of five bacterial strains, one fungal strain, five types of virus, and four toxins. Of these, three—anthrax, botulinum and aflatoxin—had proceeded to weaponization for deployment. Because of the UN disarmament program that followed the war, more is known today about the once-secret bioweapons program in Iraq than that of any other nation. The program no longer existed when the George W. Bush administration cited it as justification for its 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent Iraq War. The program Startup and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UNMOVIC
The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) was created through the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1284 of 17 December 1999 and its mission lasted until June 2007. UNMOVIC was meant to replace the former United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) to carry on with the mandate to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and to operate a system of ongoing monitoring and verification to check Iraq's compliance with its obligations not to reacquire the same weapons banned by the Security Council. Background and UNMOVIC's predecessor UNSCOM UNSCOM was created with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 in April 1991. Lack of cooperation between UNSCOM and the Iraqi government, plus Saddam Hussein's failure to provide unfettered access to UN arms inspectors, led the United States and the United Kingdom to launch air strikes during Operation Desert Fox. Along with founded suspicion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VX (nerve Agent)
VX is an extremely toxic chemical synthesis, synthetic chemical compound in the organophosphorus compound, organophosphorus class, specifically, a phosphonate, thiophosphonate. In the class of nerve agents, it was developed for military use in chemical warfare after translational science, translation of earlier discoveries of organophosphate toxicity in pesticide research. In its pure form, VX is an oily, relatively Volatility (chemistry), non-volatile liquid that is amber-like in colour. Because of its low volatility, VX persists in environments where it is dispersed. VX, short for "venomous agent X", is one of the best known of the V nerve agents and originated from pesticide development work at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). It was developed further at Porton Down in England during the early 1950s, based on research first done by Gerhard Schrader, a chemist working for IG Farben in Germany during the 1930s. It is now one of a broader V-series of agents which are class ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarin
Sarin (NATO designation GB nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic organophosphorus compound.Sarin (GB) Emergency Response Safety and Health Database. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Accessed April 20, 2009. that has been often used as a due to its extreme potency as a . Sarin is a volatile, colorless and odorless liquid. Exposure can be lethal even at very low concentrations, and death can occur within one to ten minutes after direct inhalation of a leth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tabun (nerve Agent)
Tabun (military designation GA) is an extremely toxic compound of the organophosphate family. It is not present in nature. At room temperature, the pure compound is a clear and viscous liquid. However, impurities imparted during its manufacture are almost always present, turning it into a yellow or brown liquid. Exposed to environs, it slowly volatizes into the atmosphere, with the vapor having a slight fruity or almond-like odor. As the compound has a much higher molecular mass (162 g/mol) compared to air, Tabun gas tends to accumulate in low-lying areas. It is a potent inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, a key enzyme within the human body as well as in other animals. Acetylcholinesterase is responsible for breaking down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter released into the synaptic cleft by motor neurons. The presence of acetylcholine within the cleft signals the post-synaptic (downstream) motor neuron to contract the neuron's associated muscle fibers, and vice versa. By irreversibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nerve Agent
Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemistry, organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Nerve agents are irreversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used as poison. Poisoning by a nerve agent leads to constriction of pupils, profuse salivation, convulsions, and involuntary urination and defecation, with the first symptoms appearing in seconds after exposure. Death by asphyxiation or cardiac arrest may follow in minutes due to the loss of the body's control over Respiration (physiology), respiratory and other muscles. Some nerve agents are readily vaporized or aerosolized, and the primary portal of entry into the body is the respiratory system. Nervous agents can also be absorbed through the skin, requiring that those likely to be subjected to su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mustard Gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard are names commonly used for the organosulfur compound, organosulfur chemical compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, which has the chemical structure S(CH2CH2Cl)2, as well as other Chemical species, species. In the wider sense, compounds with the substituents are known as ''sulfur mustards'' or ''nitrogen mustards'', respectively, where X = Cl or Br. Such compounds are potent alkylating agents, making mustard gas acutely and severely toxic. Mustard gas is a carcinogen. There is no preventative agent against mustard gas, with protection depending entirely on skin and airways protection, and no antidote exists for mustard poisoning. Also known as mustard agents, this family of compounds comprises infamous cytotoxicity, cytotoxins and blister agents with a long history of use as chemical weapons. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect; the substances, when Dispersion (chemistry), dispersed, are often not gases but a fine mist of liquid droplet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
