On this anniversary of the tragedy of nine/eleven, questions remain about Iraq’s possible involvement in the despicable deadly attacks of that day. But questions about Iraq’s military power are more easily answered. By any measure, Iraq’s military is far less formidable today than it was ten years ago. Sanctions have disrupted Iraq’s ability to upgrade its land warfare systems or expand its combat power. But there is one area in which the Iraqis have improved. This time when U.S. warplanes swoop into Baghdad in the opening phase of a new war, they will encounter a more formidable Iraqi air defense system than the last time around.

China has constructed a fiber optic network to enhance Iraq’s ability to integrate its national air defense system. China’s ability to do so came from its acquisition of a fiber optic production capability from AT&T and Motorola in the mid-1990s. The price of admission to the Chinese market includes sharing production technologies and secrets with Chinese industries. Motorola, for example, has installed over 250,000 miles of fiber optic cable in China, much of it by a partnership between the now bankrupt Global Crossing and Hutchison Whampoa.

The Chinese used their new capabilities to sell and install a fiber optic network linking Iraqi air defense installations beginning in the late 1990s. The benefits to Iraqi air defenses are twofold. First, the cables are buried which makes our efforts to disrupt Iraqi command and control more difficult. The network’s high speed capacity helps Iraqi air defenders process and share data on incoming U.S. air strikes more rapidly. Second, the Chinese obtained advanced encryption software from AT&T, which they are believed to have provided the Iraqis. This would make the network more secure and less susceptible to U.S. intelligence collection capabilities.

Our friends, the Russians, have also reportedly helped Iraq upgrade its air defense missile systems. In 2000, the Russians signed a deal to provide Iraq with new warheads and fusing systems for its existing surface-to-air missiles. More alarming are reports that Russia agreed to provide Baghdad with some of its latest air defense systems.

The Iraqis and the Serbs are also known to have cooperated on air defense. The Serbs are believed to have shared their experience combating U.S. aircraft during Operation Allied Force in 1999 with the Iraqis. Iraq may have acquired a special radar system developed by the Czechs and used by the Serbs to shoot down a Stealth fighter during that campaign.

China, Russia, and Serbia have all combined to help the Iraqis upgrade and enhance their air defense network. All three have sold Iraq new technologies and shared their expertise with the Iraqis. Some of China’s technologies, however, bear a "Made in America" label and symbolize the breakdown of U.S. export control policies over the last decade.

Reed Irvine can be reached at ri@aim.org