West's support built Hussein U.S., allies must see to it that greed doesn't allow Iraq's dictator to start anew on mass destruction weapons

From 1987 through 1990, West German companies, in some cases with the knowledge of the German government, sold Iraq critical equipment for making centrifuges that produce weapons-grade uranium. German engineers were hired to install and run these machines. Germans also helped Iraq build major military facilities, including the Saad 16 military research and development complex in the mountains near Mosul. They were also the chief supplier to at least six Iraqi plants that produce deadly nerve agents and mustard gas. Hussein's bunker, built to withstand a nuclear blast, was built by Germans.

The German government has been deeply embarrassed by the role that German firms played in helping Hussein build his chemical weapons arsenal. The subject is especially sensitive because of the Holocaust and the reparations the Germans have paid to Israel for gassing millions of Jews. German authorities have since cracked down on chemical companies that do business in Iraq.

The record of Western support for Iraq in the 1980s is troubling. Iraq retains the intellectual infrastructure to develop weapons of mass destruction and it may very well be back in business once the United Nations totally lifts economic sanctions.

Will Western nations be able to join together to stop Iraq from reconstituting its capabilities? Will they or their major companies succumb to profit motives? Let's hope that we are not condemned to repeat history. That would not be good for the West, the Middle East or the Iraqi people, who have suffered so much already.

Steve Yetiv is a political science professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. His most recent book is "America and the Persian Gulf: The Party Dimension" (Praeger, 1995).

Pub Date: 3/08/98