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Saddam Hussein — Part 1
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1631-HQ-1462938
uncontrollably quiver. Additionally, SABIR's eyes began to tear
after he described the April 16, 1987, chemical weapons attack on
the villages of Balisan and Sheikh Wasan. SABIR stated that
HUSSEIN's decision to utilize chemical weapons directly caused
the deaths of the men, women, and children in those villages.
The idea of using chemical weapons first arose in
approximately 1986 after the loss of the Faw Peninsula to Iranian
forces which lead the Iraqi government worry that Iraq was losing
the war with Iran. SABIR believed the general consensus was that
Iragi forces needed a small victory to boost their confidence and
commitment to the war with Iran. SABIR's subordinates within the
DMI initially proposed the use of chemical weapons against Iran
to provide such a moral and commitment boost. However, the DMI's
primary mission was to defeat and expel Iranian forces and not to
utilize chemical weapons against the innocent women and children
in the civilian population. SABIR advised that in 1987, the DMI
was responsible for collecting information for target
identification and providing that information to the Iraqi
military. [SABIR interview, June 3, 2004]
SABIR stated that during the Anfal Campaign, the DMI
was responsible for gathering intelligence from within each of
the Corps. The military was responsible for fighting on the
front lines and clearing areas of resistance. The military was
also responsible for removing Kurdish populations from the
Northern Region, and the Governors in each of those areas were
responsible for relocating the displaced Kurds. Each Governor
was responsible for reporting directly to AL-MAJID. SABIR did
not know the full extent of AL-MAJID's responsibility and advised
that areas outside of AL-MAJID's responsibility would have been
assigned to the military. [SABIR interview, June 3, 2004]
April 16, 1987 Chemical Attack
on Balisan and Sheikh Wasan
During an interview with Le Monde in April 1987, PUK
representative NAYWSHIRWAN MUSTAFA AMIN commented that one option
under consideration by the PUK was the “severance of Iraq into a
number of small states: Shia, Kurdish and Sunni."
In early April 1987, PUK Peshmergas launched an assault
in the Jafati Valley, overrunning dozens of small Iraqi military
posts and taking hundreds of prisoners. The Jafati Valley was
home to the PUK’s national headquarters. The Iraq Government
responded on April 15, 1987 by launching chemical artillery
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