BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

16.07.2005

Belarus Weapons Versus American Army

Simon Araloff, AIA European section

Europe's "Black Hole" series: Friendship with the Rogue States

Under Saddam Hussein's rule, Iraq was the first among the countries of the Middle East in the purchase of Belarus weaponry. The alliance between Minsk and Baghdad was established soon after Lukashenko's rise to power. The new Belarus dictator desperately needed financial support to strengthen his regime, and his far more experienced Iraqi colleague needed to restore the army and the military-industrial complex.

Political relations between Minsk and Baghdad developed quite rapidly. In 1995 Vladimir Zametalin, the assistant to the head of the presidential administration of Belarus, the main Belarus ideologist (subsequently Vice-Premier on social issues) visited Baghdad.

That was the first official visit of the representative of Lukashenko's regime to Iraq, which was under full international sanctions at the time. Zametalin was warmly welcomed in Baghdad and even was honored with an audience with Saddam Hussein. This Belarus official became a true "godfather" of Belarus-Iraqi relations. His next, weeklong voyage to Baghdad took place in July, 1998. Besides the meeting with Hussein, Zametalin carried on negotiations with the Prime Minister of Iraq, with Ministers of Industry, Oil, Agriculture and Internal Affairs. The Belarus- Iraq Trade and Economic Commission was created at that time and Zametalin headed it for four years, until the beginning of 2002. During this period he visited Baghdad frequently, and opened direct air communication between the two capitals (December, 2000.) It seems that no other foreign official since the beginning of the nineties has had as many audiences with Saddam Hussein as Zametalin did.

Though "Luka" himself was planning to visit Baghdad, and even has set a date for the trip in December, 2000, but he never managed to visit his Iraqi colleague. However, this circumstance didn't damage the Belarus-Iraqi relationship. Through the efforts of Zametalin, in May, 2001 Iraq and Belarus signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation in the sphere of trade, economy, public health services and finance. As early as 2002, about 40 Belarus companies, including some producing military equipment, were active in the Iraqi market. They were represented by two major dealers: "Lada OMC", owned by Aleksey Vaganov and "Belmetallenergo", founded by "Infobank". Through them, and especially through "Belmetallenergo", the cooperation of Belarus with Iraq in the military sphere was carried out.

Parallel to Zametalin's actions in Iraq, the Iraqi ambassador in Minsk, Salman Zeidan, pursued similar activity. Due to his diligence, $500 thousand dollars were donated to the erection of the National Library in Minsk, an "Arab room" was opened in one of the children's rehabilitation centers in Belarus hinterland. In addition, the ambassador was actively engaged in arranging places for Iraqi students in higher educational institutions in Belarus, for which purpose he bribed the administration of these institutions. And certainly, Zeidan actively participated in delicate weapons' deals between Belarus and Iraq.

Thus, the relations between Minsk and Baghdad in 2002, on the threshold of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, were extremely warm. For this reason when the first signs of the approaching Allied operation appeared, Lukashenko decided to play the role of defender of the Iraqi dictator. At the CIS Summit in Chisinau in 2002, the Belarus leader has expressed personal readiness to travel between Baghdad and other capitals "to settle the situation." Moreover, Belarus, according to its leaders, was ready to give shelter to Saddam Hussein and his sons. During the last months of the existence of the Baath regime, planes of the Belarus airline, "Belavia", constantly plied between Minsk and Baghdad, transporting unknown cargoes. This circumstance aroused suspicions in the USA. It was considered that Belarus delivers to Iraq weapons, which will be used against American soldiers. Since Saddam Hussein's overthrow, interesting information came out, offering a probable explanation for such vigorous activity by "Belavia". As it turned out, at the beginning of 2003, near the small Belarus town of Starie Dorogi, 150 km from Minsk, a highly secret facility of the Belarus Ministry of Internal Affairs was constructed. There, straight from the Machulishchi airfield, secret cargoes from Iraq, were delivered at night. The delivery times of these cargoes to Starie Dorogi coincided with the schedule of arrivals of "Belavia" planes from Baghdad. At the moment, the facility in Starie Dorogi is heavily guarded by Belarus troops. To all seeming, Saddam's "missing" chemical weapons have been stored there for the last two years.

All abovementioned information helps us understand against what background the Belarus-Iraqi relations in the military area have been developing over the last decade. The first delivery by Belarus of military goods to Iraq was carried out in 1995. At that time, in contravention of the sanctions imposed by the United Nations, specialized machines equipped with diamond working tools, which are used in the manufacture of components for nuclear weapons were sold to Saddam's envoys in Belarus. Three years later, at the end of 1998, Lukashenko again clandestinely broke United Nations sanctions. This time he sold to Baghdad equipment necessary for manufacturing optical targeting systems for long-range missiles. These missiles were intended to be used for attacking Israel. During the same period, Belarus modernized 17 warplanes of the Iraqi air force and an unspecified number of -125 air-defense missile systems. After 2000, the Belarus Company "Belmetallenergo" was very active in the Iraqi market, delivering to the Iraqi military Belarus-made lorries manufactured by the Minsk Car Factory (MAZ).

During 2000-2002, Iraqi armed forces were actively equipped with technical equipment manufactured in Belarus and also with Russian technical equipment modernized by Belarus enterprises. It is known, for example, that big shipment of Belarus weapons arrived in Baghdad from July to December, 2002, only few months before the collapse of Saddam's regime. A large number of anti-aircraft defense systems and their spare parts ("Strela" and S-300 systems,) as well as engines for T-55 tanks, were delivered. In addition, on several earlier occasions, Baghdad had received from Minsk modernized radar stations, a communication facility, and also optical systems for antiaircraft guns. Modernization of the Iraqi S-125 (SA-3) missiles was carried out by Belarus enterprises. All this equipment enabled to increase efficiency of Iraqi air force, air defense and artillery.

During the entire period of cooperation, Iraqi army officers and technicians underwent training in Belarus, where they studied the use of new arms systems. In March, 2002, 20 Iraqi officers trained at the Belarus air defense facilities and took courses at the Minsk Military Academy. In particular, they were trained to use the S-300 air defense system.

It must be noted that the deliveries of arms to Iraq were carried out not only directly, but also through third countries. In light of Lukashenko's excellent relations with Assad's regime, and also due to the vigorous activity of the Lebanese and Syrian communities in Minsk, the Lebanese-Syrian route was the one most frequently used. Delivery of weapons within the framework of the large transaction of 2002 mentioned above was carried out via Syria. In January, 2003, two citizens of Lebanon were detained at the Beirut airport. They were trying to bring a cargo of wireless communication devices (240 pieces), helmets for tank personnel (600 pieces) and spare parts for tanks, the total weight of which reached 12 tons into Lebanon. This equipment was purchased in Belarus and was meant to be delivered by an overland route through Syria to Iraq. Former Belarus Minister of Defense, Pavel Kozlovsky, then confirmed that his country delivered weapons and military equipment to Iraq through Lebanon. According to him, as early as 2000, Lebanon was on the list of countries with which the Belarus military rather actively cooperated. "I believe that Belarus participated in this transaction," the General declared, "as I see how the country leaders behave, I understand that such an operation is possible".

Source:

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=244