SENIOR EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE BRIEF

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06629259
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: December 11, 2017
• Case Number: F-2016-02334
• Publication Date: March 5, 2003

Approved for Release: 2017/11/28 C06629259
TOP RET
SENIOR EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
5 March 2003
PASS SEIB 03-052CHX
Iraq: Fire Trenches Difficult To Sustain
The more than 100 trenches the regime has built in and around Baghdad and in the
Rumaylah and Kirkuk oilfields appear intended, when filled with oil and set afire, to obscure
potential coalition targets and movements of Iraqi military assets. Iraq used similar tactics in
the Gulf war, when it torched oil wells in Kuwait.
Wmdspeed would influence how long smoke clouds lingered over Baghdad. At night, stagnant
winds would cause the smoke to hover over the city, reducing the effectiveness of
electro-optically guided and laser-guided weapons. Stronger surface winds during the day would
cause smoke to drift away, improving operating conditions.
-- After the middle of next month, fire trenches would become less effective because shorter
nights and warmer temperatures would increase windspeeds.
-- The potential for the fires to spread to nearby structures would be substantial at any time.
The health hazards could be more significant than they were in Kuwait, where few long-term
health effects were found. Many more people would be subjected to the smoke and particulates
from trench fires in greater Baghdad than were exposed to the 1991 fires, which were located at
oilfields in the desert. Soot and ash particulates can cause coughing, shortness of breath, and
asthmatic attacks and can contribute to heart problems.
-- The high concentration of hydrogen sulfide in oil produced in the Kirkuk field is unlikely
to be a problem because the gas normally is removed before the oil is piped to a refinery
or for export.
-- If Baghdad used crude oil or heavy fuel in the trenches, an accelerant probably would be
needed to ignite the oil. During the Gulf war, Iraq apparently used a napalm-based
accelerant
Iraq's use of oil-filled trenches was ineffective in Kuwait. The trenches there were built near the
oilfields, where they readily could be replenished but were easily circumvented by coalition
forces. In addition, airstrikes destroyed the key pump station supplying oil to the trenches.
-- The Iraqis could find it difficult to sustain fires in Baghdad. Tanker trucks would have
1-Cf 3-SE.
Approved for Release: 2017/11/28 C06629259