In '82 systematic kidnappings
of Westerners had begun in Lebanon,
conducted by Shiia groups allied
with the Islamic Republic of Iran
to obtain political, military
and financial concessions from the West.
(By '92 the number of hostages taken
would total ninety-six.)
The "straw" that finally broke
the Reagan Administration's back
was a TWA flight in June '85
which these militant groups had hijacked.
Out of frustration and under pressure
from hostage families and the news media,
the Administration began supplying arms to Iran
using Israel as a clandestine intermediary.
And the more Iraq stepped up the bombing,
the more weapons the Ayatollah would buy
and thus be more amenable
to Reagan's arms-for-hostages hype,
since Iran had trouble buying arms from the West,
Reagan could keep the Nicaraguan Contras supplied.
But Saddam didn't want to lose his planes
and needed to know just where to strike.
The Defense Department supplied secret satellite data
to pinpoint Iranian military positions
even though we now know that they knew
about Saddam's use of chemical weapons.
And the Centers for Disease Control
shipped biological materials to Iraq -
viruses, bacteria and plague
that could be weaponized and used for attacks.
And what began as supplying weapons
to a "moderate" element inside Iran,
which Reagan hoped would use its influence
to get the hostages released from Lebanon,
escalated when he authorized sales of arms
to "moderate" Iranian Army leaders
and then direct sales to the Iranian government
with the Contras getting part of the proceeds.
But the Iran-Contra scandal forced the US
into all-out support for Saddam Hussein
to make up for Reagan's double-dealing
and rebuild its credibility with Arab nations.
And though by March '88 Saddam had killed
5,000 Iraqi Kurds with poison gas,
Reagan crushed Congress' attempt at sanctions
and gave Saddam Hussein a pass
since economic sanctions would interfere
with U.S. corporations' ability to profiteer.
In Aug. '88 the Iran-Iraq War ended.
In 1989 Bush One was sworn in.
And trouble was beginning to brew
with our "allies" in Afghanistan.
By 2/89 the Soviets had withdrawn,
but the war in Afghanistan dragged on
since the U.S. wouldn't deal with the secular government
left after the Soviets were gone
And the U.S. alliance with the mujahadeen
was rapidly becoming undone.
But Bush kept sending military aid
to these fundamentalist mujahadeen rebels,
whereby the U.S. created an infrastructure
that was flooding the world with terrorism
which could finance its future global operations
with the money it was making from heroin
and so set the stage for the Taliban's emergence
in reaction to the corruption they saw as Western.
That Nov. Congress passed sanctions against Iraq
for its use of chemical and biological weapons,
which was ironic since this was exactly the technology
with which the U.S. had supplied them.
Then in early '90 Bush issued an executive order
waiving sanctions against Iraq and Saddam.
(Oh, he was still a dictator son-of-a-b*tch,
but he was OUR son-of-b*tch once again.)
Bush increased aid to Saddam "to bring him
into the democratic family of nations"
which facilitated his development of ballistic,
chemical and nuclear weapons.
Bush did this though his advisors warned
of imminent human rights violations,
massive military buildup, chemical weapons use
and Saddam's continuing support of terrorism.
But Iran-Contra had worried the Saudis.
The U.S. had given missiles to Iran.
So Bush One had to do more to support
Saudi Arabia's ally, Saddam.
So seven years after the Kurdish atrocities,
Bush One was still supporting Saddam
to contain the militant burgeoning
of Islamic fundamentalism in Iran.
And in May '90 we were still sharing
military intelligence with him.
Defense and Commerce objected
to duel-use tech flow into Iraq,
but that July Bush opposed Congress'
efforts at holding it back.
He said he still wanted to bring Iraq
"into the family of democratic nations."
The State Department joined Defense and Commerce
in registering their strong protestations.
And though Saddam had 30,00 troops
sitting massed atop the Kuwaiti border,
Bush One was assured he wouldn't attack
by his pal, Saudi go-between, Prince Bandar.
We'd helped Iraq build the earth's 4th largest army,
and in order to "stabilize" the Middle East
that army would have to be crippled.
We just needed a war to achieve it.
But we had to have a pretext for a "reasonable" response,
like if Saddam would, say, invade Kuwait
as a result of their ongoing disagreements,
thus "forcing" the U.S. to retaliate.
On 7/25/90 April Glaspie, our Iraq ambassador
had her first, and last, meeting with Saddam Hussein
about the troops he had massed on the Kuwaiti border.
"We (the U.S.) have no opinions" she explained
"on your Arab to Arab conflicts."
"Secretary Baker has directed me to emphasize
...that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America."
Thus the following should come as no surprise.
The next day the State Department's Margaret Tutweiler
said she was "unaware of any such protests"
about Iraq's troops on the Kuwaiti border
when asked if the U.S. had sent such a message.
...and...
"The United States has no commitment to defend Kuwait"
John Kelly, Secretary of Middle Eastern Affairs,
testified before Congress, "and has no intention
of defending Kuwait if it's attacked by Iraq" he declared.
Glaspie's message was reinforced by Kelly and Tutweiler,
and thus the trap was baited.
Saddam believed the U.S. wouldn't interfere
and had, in fact, green-lighted the invasion.
Soon Iraq's troops numbered one hundred thousand.
And on August second Saddam began to invade
ostensibly because Iraqi oil
was being slant-drill stolen by Kuwait.
After the invasion the UN, led by the U.S.
imposed "comprehensive" economic sanctions on Iraq,
the first and ONLY use of such measures
since 1945 when economic sanctions began.
The UN controls nearly all exports and imports,
choking off food, vital supplies and medicine.
And the U.S. knew the monetary value of targeting
a weak, isolated and relatively unarmed opponent.
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