So, the Americans have Marlboro. Now imagine you sit in a nice restaurant right on a table next to one of these men bound legally to ignore it. Their smiles, their money, their self-perspection, their attitude, breathing the same air and having the same freedom like you... Imagine how we natives must feel.
Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program was supported by a wide range of international companies and individuals who supplied both
precursor chemicals and key "dual-use" facilities, often with the knowledge or tacit approval of their home governments during the Iran-Iraq war. No single entity sold an entire "gas production factory," but rather many different components and chemicals were sourced from various countries.
Primary suppliers of equipment and materials included companies from:
Germany German firms were the most significant source, accounting for an estimated 52% of Iraq's international chemical weapon equipment. Companies such as Karl Kolb and Pilot Plant were identified as major suppliers, providing equipment under the guise of a pesticide plant (Project 922).
The United Kingdom A British-based subsidiary of the German chemical company Hoechst, called Uhde Ltd, built a chlorine plant known as "Falluja 2" in 1985. British government officials knew there was a "strong possibility" the plant would be used for mustard gas production but secretly provided financial guarantees.
The Netherlands Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat was a primary middleman, convicted for shipping over 1,100 tons of thiodiglycol (a mustard gas precursor) to Iraq from a U.S. company. Other Dutch companies like Melchemie and KBS Holland also supplied chemicals.
The United States American companies, including Alcolac International, sold tons of precursor chemicals like thiodiglycol to Iraq through intermediaries, with some executives later pleading guilty to export violations.
France French companies provided significant support, including chemical precursors and equipment, making up about 21% of Iraq's international chemical weapon equipment purchases.
Other Countries Firms in India, Singapore, Spain, Brazil, China, and Austria also supplied various precursor chemicals, munitions, and infrastructure components that aided the chemical weapons program.
These suppliers often used front companies and exported materials under the pretense of civilian uses (e.g., pesticides, chlorine for water treatment) to circumvent export controls.
While Siemens was involved in Iraq's broader industrial and energy sectors, they were
not the primary contractor for the chemical gas production factories. The construction of those specific facilities was dominated by other German firms like Karl Kolb and Pilot Plant.
However, Siemens was linked to other parts of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs:
Nuclear Program: Siemens supplied X-ray diffraction systems and other precision equipment. While officially for medical or industrial use, UN inspectors found this technology was used to analyze uranium at the Al-Atheer center, the heart of Iraq’s nuclear bomb project.
Dual-Use Technology: In a 2002 UN report, Siemens was listed alongside other major German companies like Daimler-Benz and MAN for providing "dual-use" goods—civilian equipment that had direct military applications.
Corruption Scandal: Years later, Siemens was implicated in paying massive kickbacks to the Iraqi regime to secure contracts under the UN Oil-for-Food program, which further tied the company to the regime's finances.
In summary, while Siemens provided the high-tech backbone for the nuclear and power sectors, the chemical weapons factories themselves were primarily the work of specialized engineering firms like Karl Kolb.
Would you like to know more about the legal trials against the executives of Karl Kolb or how the German government responded to these findi
If I'd stand up to pull a gun and put a round straight through the head of this man all clean, I'd be a criminal no matter the company history and him on his free will having chosen to work there.
Sadly, they stayed off Iraq during two wars. Not our fault. #armystrong
