Who's Armed Iraq?

Abstract

Among the most important factors influencing the pre-war (not only
Transatlantic) debate on Iraq were the close economic ties between
Saddam Hussein's regime and those countries opposing military action
against it. The most notable aspect of these links was the extensive arms
trade. Analysis of Iraq's arms programmes reveals that the most resolute
opponents of military action against the Iraqi regime were those most
extensively involved in arms deals with Iraq-supplying Iraq with both
weapons and weapons technologies. The Iraqi nuclear program received
significant assistance from French and German firms. German firms were
also among those helping Iraq with their chemical weapons programmes.
SCUD missiles-key carriers for weapons of mass destruction-were supplied
by the USSR (later Russia), and their further refinement was mainly due to
contributions by German experts. The main suppliers of conventional
weapons to Iraq under Saddam Hussein were the USSR (later Russia),
France, China, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Compared to this, the role
played by the USA and United Kingdom in Iraq's arms programs (both for
conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction) was insignificant.