Saddam's documents

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

May 21, 1992.

The Hon. Claiborne Pell,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations,
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Chairman: At your direction, I travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan between April 16 and 27. The purpose of my trip was to examine and retrieve captured Iraqi secret police documents. These documents detail extensive atrocities committed against the Kurdish population of northern Iraq, including torture, destruction of villages and cities, and mass murder. Together with the testimony of survivors and the physical evidence of destruction, the captured documents support a charge that Iraq's policy in Kurdistan constituted crimes against humanity and genocide.

The Kurdish parties that captured the documents have agreed to transport them out of Iraq for safekeeping and for use in the prosecution of Iraqi officials. During my visit, I was able to arrange the turnover to the U.S. military of 40 cubic meters of documents. These have now been transported to the United States by the military and are being stored at the National Archives under the control of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

My mission would not have been possible without the extraordinary support given by the U.S. military, and in particular, the forces in Operation Provide Comfort. In addition, I benefited from the hospitality and assistance of many Kurdish friends.

Attached is the report on my mission as well as on the 9-month Foreign Relations Committee effort to retrieve the documents.

Peter W. Galbraith