Volume 1 - Iraq Watch

Transportation Routes From North Korea to IraqISG has found evidence suggesting that North Koreaplanned to pass goods through Syria to Iraq. Captureddocuments reveal North Korean ships plannedto use Syrian ports to deliver goods destined for Iraq.Occasionally, North Korea would insist on the use ofaircraft to Syria to expedite delivery and reduce therisk of discovery of the illicit goods.Payment Methods for North Korean ContractsRecovered contracts and records of negotiations identifythe use of financial routing via Beirut, Lebanonand Damascus, Syria to conceal Iraq as the end userof the goods. A recovered letter from the Al-Basha’irto the Tosong Technology Trading Corporation, dated2 March 2002 dictated that ‘contracts’ would befinanced according to the Iraqi-Syrian Protocol. Thisbilateral trade Protocol used both cash and - credit topay for commodities via Syria.• These engines were to be procured for the Al-KaramahState Establishment, through the ARMOSTrading Company (an Iraqi-Russian procurementorgan) and a company located in Poland calledEwex, a front company supported by the IIS.• Iraq paid approximately $1.3 million for 96engines.• Ewex used Polish scrap dealers and middlemen togather Volga rocket components from scrap yardsin Poland operated by the Polish military propertyagency.Former Regime officials corroborate that ARMOSalso signed a contract or contracts with the Iraqis toobtain Volga engines from individuals in Poland. TheVolga engines were removed from missiles that hadbeen decommissioned. The Volga missile engine procurementwas entirely controlled by the IIS, accordingto debriefs of high-level former Regime officials.Regime Financeand ProcurementPolandA Polish based front company engaged in illicit tradewith Iraq played a limited, but important role inSaddam’s efforts to develop Iraq’s missile programs.Equipment supplied by this Polish based front companybetween 2001 and 2003, such as SA-2 (surfaceto-air)Volga missile engines and guidance systems,were necessary for the al Samud-2 missile program.Iraq acquired Polish SA-2 Volga missile engines fortheir al Samud II missiles. The Volga engines werethe main propulsion system used in the liquid-propellantal Samud II missile, a weapon that exceededthe 150-km-range limit established by UNSCR 687(1991). While there is some confusion regarding theexact number of Volga missile engines procured byIraq, ISG estimates that Iraq obtained about 280 missileengines from Poland during this period. ISG hasfound no evidence that the engines were ever fittedto active missile systems.• Iraq signed four contracts to acquire Volga SA-2engines between January 2001 and August 2002.• The MIC was also involved in contracting withEwex for Volga engines. A high-level officialstated that Iraq purchased approximately 200 Volgaengines. Many of the Volga engines acquired in thisway arrived damaged.As mentioned in the Higher Education section, AmirIbrahim Jasim al-Tikriti, a doctorate student in Polandlinked to the IIS and SSO, facilitated the procurementof at least 50 more SA-2 engines and as manygyroscopes, missile sensors and acid batteries formissiles from a Polish front company called Ewex inearly 2003. Al-Tikriti was the cofounder of Ewex andwas supervised by Husan ‘Abd al-Latif, an IIS officerworking with the Energy Department of the IIS Scientificand Technical Information Office in Baghdad.Methods Used To Hide Transshipment to IraqAccording to documentary evidence, dated Jun2001, the Iraqi Government and the Ewex Companyattempted to conceal the illicit procurement of missileengines from the international community. Accordingto open sources, Polish authorities arrested Ewexcompany officials in 2003 on suspicion of illegalarms deliveries to Baghdad. Documents recovered121