CWC: STATUS UPDATE ON IRAQ'S DESTRUCTION PLANS,

S E C R E T THE HAGUE 000526

SIPDIS

STATE FOR ISN/CB, VCI/CCA, L/NPV, IO/MPR
SECDEF FOR OSD/GSA/CN,CP>
JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC
COMMERCE FOR BIS (BROWN, DENYER AND CRISTOFARO)
NSC FOR LUTES
WINPAC FOR WALTER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2019
TAGS: IZ LY PARM PREL RS CWC
SUBJECT: CWC: STATUS UPDATE ON IRAQ'S DESTRUCTION PLANS,
RUSSIAN DESTRUCTION AND LIBYA'S REQUEST FOR DEADLINE
EXTENSION

REF: A. THE HAGUE 518

B. E-MAIL FERGUSON-SMITH 8/26/2009

C. STATE 87563

Classified By: Janet E. Beik for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)

This is CWC-50-09.


1. (U) This is an action request -- see paras 16 and 22.

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SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION
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1. (SBU) This cable reports on the U.S.
delegation's meetings August 27-31 that provided
significant new information on Iraq's planning for
destruction of its remaining chemical weapon (CW)
stockpile, projections for Russia's ability to meet
its CW destruction deadline, and Libya's expected
request for the extension of their CW destruction
deadline.


2. (SBU) On August 27, Dr. Robert Mikulak, visiting
ISN/CB Director and U.S. Representative to the
Executive Council (EC),and Delreps Beik and Smith
met with Russian Delegates Konstantin Gavrilov and
Vladimir Ladanov to discuss the selection of the
next OPCW Director General (DG) (Ref A),and to
clarify some technical inquiries (Ref B) regarding
the Russia 90-day report on CW Destruction (as of
30 June 2009, EC-58/P/NAT.1).


3. (SBU) On August 27, Delrep Smith met with Libyan
Delegate Mohadeb Gheton to obtain a copy of their
draft National Paper requesting a destruction
deadline extension.

4.(SBU) On August 28, Mikulak and Delrep Smith met
with OPCW officials Horst Reeps (Director,
Verification Division) , Dominique Anelli (Head,
Chemical Demilitarization Branch) and Gabriela
Coman-Enescu (Senior Chem-Demil officer) to discuss
the Technical Secretariat's (TS) review of the
United States and United Kingdom's records
pertaining to Recovered Chemical Weapons (RCW)
destroyed in Iraq prior to Iraq becoming a State
Party to the Convention.


5. (S) Following this meeting, Reeps shared
insights on the Iraq destruction plan, Russia's
destruction progress, and further details on the 9-
EK-3264 aerial bomb blocks reported in Russia's
most recent 90-day report.


6. (SBU) On August 31, Delreps Beik and Smith met
with Ambassador Siamand Banaa and Muhannad Al-Miahi
at the Iraq Embassy for a discussion of current CW
issues relating to Iraq.

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RUSSIAN DESTRUCTION
--------------


7. (C) During Dr. Mikulak's August 27 meeting at
the Russian Embassy, he inquired about the
reference to 9-EK-3264 aerial bomb blocks in the
most recent 90-day report. Deputy OPCW Rep
Gavrilov stated that the 9-EK-3264s are only
containers and do not have explosives. The matter
of the 9-EK-3264s is currently being considered by
the Technical Secretariat. Gavrilov stated that he
was not certain about the destruction method, but
that he understood simply that the agent is


drained, explaining "make a hole, burn, then
count." He noted that previously these were done
as a test using one hole, but that they are
considering whether to use two holes in the
process. Gavrilov stated that there is
approximately 16-17 kilos of agent per container
and that they intend to count this towards their
45% destruction requirement. Gavrilov stated that
there about 4,000-6,000 of the containers, but was
corrected by Ladanov that there may be closer to
10,000. They are working with the TS on
modifications to the applicable Facility Agreement
and asserted that this will be put before the
Executive Council for review.


8. (S) In the later meeting with Reeps on August
28, Mikulak inquired about the 9-EK-3264 aerial
bomb blocks. Reeps described them as containers
that can be affixed to an aircraft along the bottom
with explosives. He stated that they were akin to
a German unit used to blow up runways. He
indicated that the storage of the containers was
likely separate from explosive devices, explaining
that this was customary in Russia. He stated that
he had seen photos of these units from around 1998
and will attempt to provide a copy to Mikulak
during the next EC session.


9. (S) Reeps also shared that he had received
information on the Russian destruction schedule
from a technical expert involved in the activity
and that currently the destruction schedule for
Pochep extends to 2014. This is consistent with
Gavrilov's earlier comments that Russia was
experiencing financial challenges. (Del note:
reportedly Russian funding for the destruction
program has been cut by 30 percent.)

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LIBYA'S DEADLINE EXTENSION REQUEST
--------------


10. (SBU) Delrep Smith met with Libyan delegate
Mohadeb Gheton on August 27 to obtain draft copies
of two papers from Libya ) one pertaining to the
sandbag wall issue and the other the deadline
extension request (copies scanned to ISN/CB in
Arabic, August 27). Gheton apologized for the
Tripoli representatives' departure without meeting
the U.S. Del as requested, saying that they had had
to travel back suddenly due to a family death. He
described the deadline extension request as a
justification for their new proposed deadlines: 1%
- November 1, 2010; 20% - December 15, 2010; 45% -
January 31, 2011; 100% - May 15, 2011. He also
confirmed that both documents were currently in
draft form and the goal is to submit them to the EC
in final form approximately 30 days in advance of
the October session. He stated that once the
document was translated, U.S. Del could pass it to
the UK delegation and that the Libyan government
was in favor of communication with both the U.S.
and the UK delegations on these issues. Delrep and
Gheton agreed to remain in contact to coordinate on
any issues or matters that the USG has with the
present drafts, and tentatively scheduled a meeting
Qpresent drafts, and tentatively scheduled a meeting
immediately prior to the EC session in October.

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IRAQ'S DESTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
--------------


11. (SBU) Mikulak and Smith's August 28 meeting
with Reeps, Anelli and Coman-Enescu opened with the


topic of the TS review of U.S. records regarding
destruction of CW in Iraq from 2003 until February
2009, which is scheduled to be conducted August 31-
September 4. Reeps informed Delreps that the
report will not be termed a "joint" report but
rather will be an internal report from the TS to
the Director General to allow for greater
maneuvering by the DG in how he would like to use
this report (i.e., as a reference in his own report
to the EC, in a Note, or in his general statement
to the EC). Reeps provided a copy of the template
for the internal report for both the U.S. and UK
visits (sent electronically to ISN/CB on August
28). He stated that this had been reviewed by the
Legal Department and the DG. Anelli explained that
there are minor differences between the two. Anelli
and Coman-Enescu indicated a strong preference for
the documents to be deemed unclassified, and shared
that they were in discussions with the UK to reach
agreement. They understood that the U.S. position
is that the report be unclassified. They asked
Delreps to coordinate with the UK on this matter,
preferably prior to their departure. (Del note:
Following this meeting, a United Kingdom
representative communicated that an unclassified
report was preferred for their report as well.)


12. (S) After Anelli and Coman-Enescu departed,
Reeps turned to Iraq's destruction and the Russian
issues reported above. Reeps described the German
approach to assistance with CW destruction in Iraq,
stating that unmanned robotic devices would be used
to gather information. He indicated that the
initial plan was to use a mobile device that
operated remotely from the control device, but they
found that they had to use a remote control device
with an umbilical power cord due to
electrical/power constraints. He stated that once
the device enters the bunker, photographs will be
taken and a "sniffer" will be sent in, describing
the next step as removing the contents of the
bunker and conducting an inventory ) noting that
this will be unlike Russia and United States where
materials are neatly stacked. He stated that a
German company constructed the bunkers and they
would look at the blueprints to determine the best
point of entry. He projected that the assessment
may take several years to complete and noted that
Iraqi government does not seem to fully grasp the
challenge.


13. (SBU) Reeps also shared that the TS has been
informed by the United Nations offices that their
initial visit to Iraq would not be approved as
planned. He indicated that this visit is "off the
table for at least the next six months."


14. (SBU) Delreps Beik and Smith met with
Ambassador Banaa and Muhannad Al-Miahi at the Iraq
Embassy on August 31 to exchange information
following the Ambassador's return from leave.
Delreps provided a copy of the letter from Mikulak
to the Director General, dated August 17, 2009,
Qto the Director General, dated August 17, 2009,
regarding United States assistance with security
for the TS visits to Iraq. Banaa stated that the
Iraq National Monitoring Authority had replied to
the Director General prior to the "black Wednesday"
bombing of the Foreign Ministry, asserting that
Iraq is prepared to support the security needs of
the TS visit. He noted that the situation has
changed after the recent Baghdad bombings because
of the demonstrated inability of Iraq's own
security to provide adequate security at vulnerable
sites, and the position that it is politically


prudent to show coordination between the United
Nations, Iraq, and the United States on this
matter. He stated that it is his belief that the
United States will be asked to assist in the
future. He noted that he understands the concern
of the Director General and stated that it has
always been the position of the mission in the
Hague that the United States should be requested to
assist. Al-Miahi noted that there remains confusion
in the Baghdad offices over the status of the OPCW
and their authority to invoke the U.S.-UN
arrangements. He asserted that involvement or
direction from the United Nations offices may
assist in clarifying the matter for Baghdad.


15. (SBU) Delreps also provided the non-Paper and
draft agenda (Ref C) for the Iraqi invitation to
Washington, DC on October 8-9 to discuss potential
assistance from the United States for destruction
activity in Iraq. The U.S. plans to fund two
individuals, CWC National Authority Head Dr.
Mohammed Al Sharaa and Ministry of Defense M-10
Chemical Director General Ali. The Government of
Iraq was requested to fund the participation of
Iraqi Foreign Ministry official Jwan Khioka and
Ambassador Banna. Banna stated that due to recent
events of "black Wednesday," the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in Baghdad has issued instruction
that only the most urgent matters should be sent
back to capital for decision. He explained that
the ministry suffered 39 casualties and foreign
medical treatment is underway for many officials.
He inquired whether the United States might provide
for the travel for Banaa and Khioka, noting that he
valued the opportunity for Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to participate in these meetings.


16. (SBU) Action requested: Please advise soonest
whether USG funding is available to assist with
travel expenses for Amb. Banna and MFA official
Jwan Khioka to attend the October 8-9 meeting in
Washington.


17. (SBU) Al-Miahi provided Delreps with an
electronic copy of Iraq's General Destruction Plan,
which was recently submitted to the TS. (Copy sent
electronically to ISN/CB on August 31.)


18. (SBU) Delreps noted that the TS is presently
reviewing the U.S. and UK records pertaining to the
destruction of Recovered Chemical Weapons (RCW) in
Iraq prior to Iraq's becoming a State Party to the
CWC. Banaa asked who from the TS was doing the
review.


19. (C) Banaa then stated that he had recently
discussed the matter of records with Al Sharaa and
is in favor of reviewing the package submitted to
the UN in (he thought it was in 2002 by Tariq
Aziz),and segregating the chemical portion. He
asked whether the U.S. could help Iraq obtain
copies of the UN records. (Del note: In previous
meetings, Banaa has acknowledged that the current
Iraqi government's WMD records prior to the
overthrow of Saddam Hussein are incomplete, and
that Iraq had cited supplier countries in their CWC
declaration based on UN reports but without full
Qdeclaration based on UN reports but without full
documentation. End note)


20. (C) Banaa said that he had received letters
from the Ambassadors from Brazil and Germany
requesting information related to the citation in
Iraq's declaration. Delrep mentioned that the TS
has sent a request to the United States regarding a


transfer included in the Iraq declaration and that
a response is currently under consideration in
Washington. Banaa stated that other countries
(naming Russia, Bulgaria and Spain) are likely
awaiting the U.S. response prior to submitting
their own. He opined that the U.S. response should
be studied carefully and urged that the United
States "own up" to the history under Saddam's
regime with an open and transparent response,
particularly if the activities were criminalized.
He cited the Netherlands as an example, stating
that they had identified a company that performed
as a middle man for an Italian and a German company
to sell materials to Iraq for the CW program,
noting that the Netherlands addressed this activity
through criminal prosecution.


21. (S) Banna also alluded to Cw-related activity
by non-member states Egypt and Syria, noting that
at one time Egypt had 400 engineers working on the
CW program in Iraq, and that "there are people in
Syria, but not Syrian" who had worked on the
program.


22. (SBU) Action requested: Please advise whether
the USG can assist with Iraq's efforts to obtain
copies of UN records on Iraq's WMD programs prior
to 2003.


24. (U) BEIK SENDS.
LEVIN