Volume 1 - Iraq Watch

officer suggested Neptune would be a good companyfor the IIS to cooperate with to supply theIraqi army with Russian items. Colonel YevgeniyTurskiy, a Russian Military Attache to Iraq directedthe company in Baghdad. A source from the DMISection 6 stated that Neptun was run by Russianintelligence and was a cover company run out of theRussian Embassy in Baghdad.IIS M16 Directorate of Special Logistics. The IISM16 Directorate of Criminology has been a majorconcern to ISG because of its work with poisons andtoxins. ISG does not know the full scope of M16’sactivities, and we do not know the degree to whichthe Technical Consultation Company’s procurementefforts contributed to these activities. There isconflicting evidence that suggests M16 did procurebanned items for its labs through illicit channels. TheDirector of M16, Nu’man Muhammad al-Tikriti, andother reports suggest that M16 was only involved inresearch and development and that it did not possessprohibited chemicals after 1997, according to multiplesources.• In late 2001 or early 2002, IIS M16 Officer Khalid‘Alawi met the director of M4/4/5 to discuss procuringgoods, including equipment used to analyzechemical materials. M4 was unable to obtain theequipment, and it was never delivered to M16.IIS Procurement Cooperation with Foreign IntelligenceServicesIIS also used its connections within foreign governmentintelligence services to facilitate the transferof illicit goods into Iraq. Before the end of 2000, theIraqi and Syrian Ministers of Transportation met toestablish the Iraqi Organizing Office in the Syrianport of Tartus to facilitate the shipment of goods toIraq via land, according to a former IIS officer withdirect access. The operating manager was an IISofficer from the M5 Syria Directorate. The predecessorof the Iraqi Organizing Office was the Al-NorasCompany operated by Muhammad Talad al-’Isa and aSyrian intelligence officer. Iraq used this arrangementto deliver heavy equipment transport vehicles, butISG did not detect any weapons shipments.• In 1999, secret exchanges occurred after Iraq sentintelligence delegates from the IIS, representedby Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, the MIC, andthe Presidential Bureau to Syria. The discussionsyielded an agreement that Syria would facilitatethe transportation of material coming to Iraq bychanging shipping documents to make the militaryequipment look like ordinary civil items, as well aschanging end-user certificates to the Syrian Ministryof Defense.• Iraq had contracts with a Belarusian company—Belmetalenergo (BME)—and a joint Russian-Belarusian firm—Electric-Gaz-Com (EGC)—toimport missile technology, parts and expertise. Allcontracted goods with Belarus were sent throughSyria. The SES International would implement contractsfor transportation of the goods to Iraq underthe protection of Syrian intelligence for a fee of 10percent of the contract price.Items Procured by the IISIn accordance with Saddam’s instructions to MICDirector Abd al-Tawab Mullah Huwaysh, the MIC-IIS relationship was formed to support to Iraq’svarious missile programs. Although missile programsmay have been the reason for the cooperative effort,the IIS also procured for the telecommunicationsindustry, scientific research and development community,and the military. The following are examples ofIIS deals that involved the procurement of such items:• In February 2003, Saddam ordered Al-Basha’irHead Munir Mamduh Awad al-Qubaysi, Al-MiladCompany Director General Sa’ad Abbass, and IISM4/4/5 procurement officer for Syria and BulgariaMajid Ibrahim Salman al-Jabburi to travel toDamascus, Syria to negotiate the purchase of SA-11 and Igla surface-to-air missiles, according to asource with good access. This team negotiated with‘Abd al-Qadir Nurallah, manager of the NurallahCompany, to purchase the missiles from a Bulgarianfirm, to provide end-user certificates, and to shipthe weapons to Iraq.• In mid-2001, the Technology Transfer Departmentof the IIS procured between 10 and 20 gyros and 20accelerometers from a Chinese firm for use in theAl-Samud ballistic missile, according to a formerhigh-ranking official in the MIC. At approximatelythe end of 2001, the IIS also arranged for Mr.Shokovan from China to teach a course on laser andnight-vision technology.Regime Financeand Procurement79