By Joe Fiorill
Global Security Newswire

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. military is preparing to transport several Iraqi missiles from Iraq to the United States to examine the missiles’ capabilities and to attempt to determine whether toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein received outside help in developing them, U.S. Missile and Space Intelligence Center Director Clyde Walker told Global Security Newswire today.

Within the next month, a number of al-Samoud 2 and Ababil 100 missiles are to be brought to the Missile and Space Intelligence Center here and the National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville, Va., respectively, Walker said at the annual Space and Missile Defense Conference.

“Maybe we’ll have one available to show you next year” at the conference, Walker said during a speech yesterday at the event.

Under Hussein, Iraq was banned by the United Nations from possessing missiles with ranges greater than 150 kilometers, and Iraq declared the ranges of both Ababil and al-Samoud missiles to be under that threshold.  Walker told GSN, though, that five al-Samoud 2 missiles that Iraq fired — and the United States intercepted — during the recent war had ranges of at least 180 kilometers.

The missiles being brought to the United States represent a portion of a larger number of missiles captured by U.S. and British forces following the end of major combat in Iraq.  Walker said missiles other than those tapped for investigation in the United States will be destroyed.

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