[Firestarter]

Here’s the “unredacted” version of the previous part of the report but this isn´t even the most interesting part:
http://web.archive.org/web/2013103004113...abylon.pdf

The country sources for the components of the Iraqi “supergun” are in the “unredacted” report …
UK (Sheffield Forgemasters, Walter Somers);
Spain (Rio Tinto, Unecta);
Switzerland (Oerlikon);
Belgium (Gechem);
Italy (Agusta);
Netherlands – No company named.

The added value of the following archived web page is that archive.org automatically redirects to the archived PDFs for which the originals are no longer on the internet; all the following PDFs can be found at: http://web.archive.org/web/2013092701103...rview.html


The “Intelligence summary” is more interesting than the longer “unredacted” report...
Margaret Thatcher, asked assistance from the CIA to set up Alliavane International and Astra.
In 1985, Thatcher signed the Jordan Defense Package with King Husayn to export arms to Iraq.
MI5 enrolled Mark Gutteridge as export manager to Iraqi-owned Matrix Churchill based in the UK.
Astra acquired BMARC, approached Societe Generale-Gechem to acquire PRB but was blocked. Societe Generale was founded in the 1820 by King Willem I of the Netherlands.

This includes the assassinations by Kock of Gerald Bull and journalist Jonathan Moyle and the arrest of several of the people involved (to silence them).
Kock had informant Lionel Jones eliminated.
Kock even had former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Andre Cools eliminated because he threatened to investigate the sale of PRB to Astra.

The situation that made Project Babylon feasible began in 1981, as UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sought to grow the British economy through covert arms deals with Iraq, then at war with Iran. In 1982, at the outbreak of the Falklands conflict, Thatcher sought assistance from the US administration and subsequently, we provided intelligence support. Consequently, in 1983, directed by White House strategy, we coordinated covert operations with MI6 that eluded Congressional precincts and projected UK rules that sustained arms sales to Iraq via global covert routes established by the UK. In alliance with MI6, we set up Allivane International, at the core of covert deals with Iraq. Its ultimate owner, Chilean arms dealer Carlos Cardoen, received funds from the UK and played a key role. He used false end user certificates that disguised true consignment destinations, as his company shipped arms to Iraq via Chile and Jordan. Our strategy accelerated, via the British Embassy in Washington, when we advised UK arms producer Astra, whom we saw as pivotal to our strategy, to share offices in London, England, with the Institute for the Study of Conflict, headed up by UK Security Service (MI5) agent Brian Crozier. It enabled us to monitor and coordinate Astra's projected covert deals. (S NF NC)

In 1984, the UK issued guidelines theoretically intended to limit arms sales to Iraq, intentionally flexible, as the deals flourished, in 1985, Thatcher signed the Jordan Defense Package with King Husayn: it initiated a conduit to Iraq, and subsequently, Thatcher announced the arms to Iraq guidelines to Parliament. In 1986, Stephan Adolf Kock joined Astra from the UK Midland Bank secret defense department. Kock led an MI6 strategic infiltration into Astra to conceal covert deals, while MI5 enrolled Mark Gutteridge as export manager for Iraqi-owned Matrix Churchill, a 'dual-purpose' tooling producer based in the UK. In 1987, Saddam Husayn desired indigenous arms production with help from Matrix Churchill and Astra consultant Roy Ricks. Subsequently, Technology and Development Group, subsidiary of Al-Arabi Trading run by our mole, Husayn Kamel Hassan al-Majid in Baghdad, acquired Matrix Churchill. This move helped Cardoen build a missile factory in Iraq. Meantime, Astra bought Waher Group, which produced fuses for Iraq through our agent Jim Guerin of International Signals Corporation (ISC) based in the UK, subsequently merged with Ferranti. As Iraq became the UK's major customer, the Iranian procurement office in London, England was closed down. (S NF NC)
(...)

As Astra acquired BMARC, its executive unaware of BMARC's covert deals via conduit countries to Iraq, Kock conceived a strategy against potential exposure. Meantime, when Astra approached Belgian company Société Général de Belgique (SGB) – Gechem, to acquire Poudreries Réunies Belgique (PRB), they blocked Astra's proposal due to a review of US-UK pro-Iraq policy as Pakistan acquired nuclear capability. (S NF NC)
(...)

As Gumbley traveled to Brussels to meet Bull, Kock maintained surveillance and discovered that they planned a lawsuit to expose UK covert deals. Consequently, Kock hired (...),
(SAS) to eliminate Bull. Subsequently, MoD police arrested Gumbley. He served 9 months in prison on fabricated corruption charges. Meantime, as we coordinated an MI6 set-up, alleged nuclear capacitors shipped from US by Euromac for Iraq was seized at Heathrow Airport, it led to the arrest of CEO Ali Daghir and Jeanine Speckman. Meantime, Kock found that defense journalist, Jonathan Moyle, possessed evidence of UK covert deals. Consequently, Kock and (...)
eliminated him in Santiago, Chile. (S NF NC)
(...)

As the UK continued to deflect responsibility, Kock arranged the arrest of supergun project manager Cowley and Walter Somers CEO Peter Mitchell, along with several Forgemasters and Walter Somers personnel. UK Customs raided Matrix Churchill, and arrested three executives, while MoD police arrested Ordtec and SRC executives connected to BMARC deals; the (mostly MI6) BMARC executive was protected to avoid exposure. Kock requested the DTI hold a public inquiry into Astra. Subsequently, Kock arranged the arrest of Unipac CEO Asil Nadir via the UK Serious Fraud Office. However, charges against Cowley and Mitchell were dropped for fear of exposure of UK deals with Iraqi supergun.
(...)

In 1991, incoming Prime Minister John Major told Parliament that for some considerable time the UK had not supplied arms to Iraq. Meantime, Kock had covert deals informant Lionel Jones eliminated. As the DTI Select committee Inquiry into arms to Iraq began, BCCI, based in London, England, involved in arms, drugs deals and donations to Conservative party funds, was closed down. As Kock completed his strategy, he had former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Andre Cools eliminated as he was about to investigate the sale of PRB to Astra. IMS, involved in covert deals through PRB, ceased trading and all records destroyed. As the DTI repeated Thatcher's assurance of 1989, to Parliament: “Our examination of the records shows that the policy announced in Parliament (in 1985) was adhered to both in the spirit and the letter.” (S NF NC)

http://web.archive.org/web/2013103000131...ummary.pdf


The “Analysis” comes with the conclusion that it´s probably an authentic “1991 CIA standard report”.
Also interesting is that it brings some additional corroborative information...

The CIA and UK Cold War activist Brian Crozier set up an office in UK to help coordinate the arms deals between 1984 and 1987 for the British government, which included Allivane, Astra, BMARC and Matrix Churchill.
Ex-British Security Service (“MI5”) operator Sir John Cuckney with Kock forced Gerald James to resign and remove all directors from the board of Astra who had voiced suspicions about the Astra-Unipac-PRB links.

Gerald Bull and Terence Byrne have both alleged that officials and politicians, including Peter Levene and Margaret Thatcher, pocketed large sums of “commissions” on the weapons sale to Iran and Iraq.

In March 2005, a Netherlands prosecutor reported that Frans van Anraat was a middle man with high-level British and US connections, who supplied thousands of tons of agents for poison gas to the former Iraqi government in 1980-88.

From the sworn affidavit by Bull, 17 January 1990:

In March, 1987, I had two meetings with John Cuckney, one of the advisors to Margaret Thatcher on the Iraqi contracts, personally arranged for the Midland International Trade Services (Defense Equipment Finance Department) to advance the loans for the project? Cuckney told me he had been authorized by the Prime Minister, to whom he reported directly.

l should explain I was left in no doubt that Thatcher was also being briefed by Gordon Reese, who was advising her on the contracts with both lran and lraq?

Cuckney arranged for Midland to advance SRC, via NM Rothschild and Galverston Securities, 60 percent of the cost of the first stage of Project 839. In November 1988, Midland entered into a contract with Amir Saadi to completely underwrite the purchase of the propellant from PRB for the said project. Herve de Carmoy having personally initiated negotiations. In 1988, de Carmoy moved from his post as Director of the International Banking Division to the Midland Bank to SGB and became Managing Director of Gechem owners of PRB.

For more on Astra, see Gerald James - "ln the Public Interest":

The Astra case and my case reflect much that has been to the fore in recent years in not only scandals around arms companies like Astra, Matrix Churchill, Ordtec, Forgemasters, Walter Somers, Ferranti and companies like Polly Peck, BCCI and Maxwell but also in the Scott Inquiry, the BSE Inquiry and the Lloyds of London affair and other scandals. The underlying problem is secret unaccountable government which bypasses Parliament and how the law is administered in the UK, gives aid and succour to such a state of affairs. The most common device is the concealment of evidence and manipulation of cases.

http://web.archive.org/web/2013092701103...alysis.pdf


The “Witness statement” from the American Terence Charles Byrne Sr., 1 May 1991 could be even more interesting than the intelligence summary.
Byrne Sr. became a Director of Allivane International registered in the UK, that was founded by his son Jr. (who asked him to join the board).

This isn’t only about the arms pipeline to Saddam Hussein but the information on Iran is even better!
Byrne Sr. details that later CIA director William Casey (who had been Reagan’s campaign manager) and Edwin Meese (counsellor to President Reagan) were arming Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iran (in a deal that involved the release of the hostages). Some of the arms were shipped via the UK.

Casey knew Iranian politician Mohammed Hashemi that was involved in toppling Shah Pavlavi of Persia to get Ayatollah Khomeini into power of Iran. Hashemi became minister in Khomeini’s government.
The uprising orchestrated from the US, led to the Revolutionary guard of Khomeini taking 52 staff of the US embassy hostage.
Casey negotiated with Hashemi to keep the hostages locked up until Reagan had been crowned US president.


Byrne had information that a helicopter involved in rescuing the hostages on the orders of President Carter that collided and crashed was delibaretely sabotaged.

The US also helped to supply Iraq with weapons through loans with which they could buy them in countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Since Allivane was supplying weapons to both Iraq and Iran. The ammunition provided from the UK included biological and chemical weapons.

Joost de Graaf of Muiden Chemie from the Netherlands supplied information that led to Allivane being shut down.
Astra converted to explosives from Muiden Chemie and Allivane into ammunition.

In 1982, Sir John Cuckney set up the Defense Equipment Finance Department of Midland Industrial Trading Services that arranged all the financial arrangements: http://web.archive.org/web/2013092701103...rneSnr.pdf