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Lukashenka and Iraq
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| 28 March 2003 |
Lukashenka and Iraq
As the Bush administration puts pressure on Russia following allegations that Russian companies have been supplying Iraq with sanctions-busting military exports, JID's leading regional investigator exposes a key link in the chain of supply for Saddam Hussein's regime.
Intelligence sources have revealed to JID how Russia and Belarus continue to support Iraq. Western intelligence agencies have long possessed evidence that Belarus has become a conduit for Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian military equipment destined for Iraq.
In January 2003, Lebanese intelligence officers were tipped off by their Western counterparts that a large consignment of innocently labelled cargo in Beirut airport, which had arrived from Belarus, in fact contained military equipment. The 12 tons of equipment discovered included 600 helmets, army uniforms, 240 wireless communication sets for tank crews and other military items.
Investigations revealed that the military equipment was destined for Iraq and was being shipped via Syrian middlemen. Belarusian officials denied that the material had originated in their country but accepted that Belarus, just like Syria, could be a transit country for them.
However, Western intelligence services first received reports about Belarusian arms exports to Iraq in February 2002. The US administration publicly disclosed intelligence, which indicated that Belarus was breaching arms sanctions to Iraq - including the supply of S-300 missiles - and threatened sanctions against Minsk. JID has recently received further intelligence reports, which reveal the extent of Iraqi-Belarusian military co-operation.
Twenty Iraqi air defence officers have been undergoing a two-year training course on the S-300 missile at the Belarusian Military Academy. Belarus has also assisted Iraq in rebuilding and modernising its air defence capability by supplying it with SA-3 anti-aircraft missile components and technical support.
On 3 February 2003, the new Iraqi ambassador to Belarus, Salman Zeidan, presented his credentials in Minsk. The timing was, Lukashenka admitted, not coincidental but a sign of Belarusian diplomatic support to Iraq in its struggle against the USA.
In a speech to Soviet veterans only last month Lukashenka lambasted US policy towards Iraq, derided the Bush administration's concept of an 'axis of evil' and demanded that the USA refrain from military action in Iraq without UN endorsement.
In an even more extraordinary move which is likely to isolate his regime yet further from the West, Lukashenka has made an offer to host Saddam and his family if the dictator is ousted from power in Iraq.
Ambassador Zeidan recently stated that Saddam might indeed visit Belarus if he were to receive an official invitation from Lukashenka - although that trip is presumably off the Iraqi president's agenda for the foreseeable future (unless the offer of a place of exile is accepted).
Earlier this month a sizeable Iraqi delegation headed by Baghdad Mayor Adnan Abed Hamed visited Belarus on the invitation of the Minsk city council. Such a visit would have been unthinkable without Lukashenka's personal approval. More significantly, Saddam's elder son, Uday, secretly visited Belarus before the current conflict, intelligence sources have reported to JID.
It remains to be seen what price Belarus will pay for its autocratic leader's bizarre political alliances and sanctions-busting arms export policies once the current campaign in Iraq has been concluded. However, some insiders suggest that Lukashenka's behaviour is becoming too embarrassing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to tolerate for much longer. 'Regime change' in Minsk may not be too far away.
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