ABSTRACT
The development of Iraq’s arms industry provides a disturbing example of the hidden industrial potential of a determined regional power. Iraq’s arms industry does not fit neatly into the models of military industrialization discussed in Chapter 1: it focused neither on exports nor on incremental development of broad industrial capabilities, but instead followed a selective, pragmatic policy geared towards specific requirements. Projects selected focused on:
1 Weapons and technologies capable of being produced with existing or projected Iraqi industrial and technical infrastructure;
2 Technologies deemed desirable for long-term Iraqi military-industrial objectives; or
3 Systems not available on the international market but required for specific military or political objectives.
