[casi] Rumsfeld's history with Iraq

["Katy Connell" <kcnl@DELETETHISglobalnet.co.uk>]

Hello.

Below is an interesting article detailing Rumsfeld's meetings with Saddam
Hussein and Tariq Aziz in the 1980s, and US support for Iraq through the
period when it was using chemical weapons.

Useful letter-fodder, although no references are given.

Cheers

Glenn.
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ZNet Commentary
The Saddam In Rumsfeld's Closet August 04, 2002
By JEREMY  SCAHILL

"Man and the turtle are very much alike. Neither makes any progress without
sticking his neck out." --Donald Rumsfeld

Five years before Saddam Hussein's now infamous 1988 gassing of the Kurds, a
key meeting took place in Baghdad that would play a significant role in
forging close ties between Saddam Hussein and Washington. It happened at a
time when Saddam was first alleged to have used chemical weapons. The
meeting in late December 1983 paved the way for an official restoration of
relations between Iraq and the US, which had been severed since the 1967
Arab-Israeli war.

With the Iran-Iraq war escalating, President Ronald Reagan dispatched his
Middle East envoy, a former secretary of defense, to Baghdad with a
hand-written letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a message that
Washington was willing at any moment to resume diplomatic relations.

That envoy was Donald Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld's December 19-20, 1983 visit to Baghdad made him the
highest-ranking US official to visit Iraq in 6 years. He met Saddam and the
two discussed "topics of mutual interest," according to the Iraqi Foreign
Ministry. "[Saddam] made it clear that Iraq was not interested in making
mischief in the world," Rumsfeld later told The New York Times. "It struck
us as useful to have a relationship, given that we were interested in
solving the Mideast problems."

Just 12 days after the meeting, on January 1, 1984, The Washington Post
reported that the United States "in a shift in policy, has informed friendly
Persian Gulf nations that the defeat of Iraq in the 3-year-old war with Iran
would be 'contrary to U.S. interests' and has made several moves to prevent
that result."

In March of 1984, with the Iran-Iraq war growing more brutal by the day,
Rumsfeld was back in Baghdad for meetings with then-Iraqi Foreign Minister
Tariq Aziz. On the day of his visit, March 24th, UPI reported from the
United Nations: "Mustard gas laced with a nerve agent has been used on
Iranian soldiers in the 43-month Persian Gulf War between Iran and Iraq, a
team of U.N. experts has concluded... Meanwhile, in the Iraqi capital of
Baghdad, U.S. presidential envoy Donald Rumsfeld held talks with Foreign
Minister Tarek Aziz (sic) on the Gulf war before leaving for an unspecified
destination."

The day before, the Iranian news agency alleged that Iraq launched another
chemical weapons assault on the southern battlefront, injuring 600 Iranian
soldiers. "Chemical weapons in the form of aerial bombs have been used in
the areas inspected in Iran by the specialists," the U.N. report said. "The
types of chemical agents used were bis-(2-chlorethyl)-sulfide, also known as
mustard gas, and ethyl N, N-dimethylphosphoroamidocyanidate, a nerve agent
known as Tabun."

Prior to the release of the UN report, the US State Department on March 5th
had issued a statement saying "available evidence indicates that Iraq has
used lethal chemical weapons."

Commenting on the UN report, US Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick was quoted
by The New York Times as saying, "We think that the use of chemical weapons
is a very serious matter. We've made that clear in general and particular."

Compared with the rhetoric emanating from the current administration, based
on speculations about what Saddam might have, Kirkpatrick's reaction was
hardly a call to action.

Most glaring is that Donald Rumsfeld was in Iraq as the 1984 UN report was
issued and said nothing about the allegations of chemical weapons use,
despite State Department "evidence." On the contrary, The New York Times
reported from Baghdad on March 29, 1984, "American diplomats pronounce
themselves satisfied with relations between Iraq and the United States and
suggest that normal diplomatic ties have been restored in all but name."

A month and a half later, in May 1984, Donald Rumsfeld resigned. In November
of that year, full diplomatic relations between Iraq and the US were fully
restored. Two years later, in an article about Rumsfeld's aspirations to run
for the 1988 Republican Presidential nomination, the Chicago Tribune
Magazine listed among Rumsfeld's achievements helping to "reopen U.S.
relations with Iraq." The Tribune failed to mention that this help came at a
time when, according to the US State Department, Iraq was actively using
chemical weapons.

Throughout the period that Rumsfeld was Reagan's Middle East envoy, Iraq was
frantically purchasing hardware from American firms, empowered by the White
House to sell. The buying frenzy began immediately after Iraq was removed
from the list of alleged sponsors of terrorism in 1982. According to a
February 13, 1991 Los Angeles Times article:

"First on Hussein's shopping list was helicopters -- he bought 60 Hughes
helicopters and trainers with little notice. However, a second order of 10
twin-engine Bell "Huey" helicopters, like those used to carry combat troops
in Vietnam, prompted congressional opposition in August, 1983...
Nonetheless, the sale was approved."

In 1984, according to The LA Times, the State Department--in the name of
"increased American penetration of the extremely competitive civilian
aircraft market"--pushed through the sale of 45 Bell 214ST helicopters to
Iraq. The helicopters, worth some $200 million, were originally designed for
military purposes. The New York Times later reported that Saddam
"transferred many, if not all [of these helicopters] to his military."

In 1988, Saddam's forces attacked Kurdish civilians with poisonous gas from
Iraqi helicopters and planes. U.S. intelligence sources told The LA Times in
1991, they "believe that the American-built helicopters were among those
dropping the deadly bombs."

In response to the gassing, sweeping sanctions were unanimously passed by
the US Senate that would have denied Iraq access to most US technology. The
measure was killed by the White House.

Senior officials later told reporters they did not press for punishment of
Iraq at the time because they wanted to shore up Iraq's ability to pursue
the war with Iran. Extensive research uncovered no public statements by
Donald Rumsfeld publicly expressing even remote concern about Iraq's use or
possession of chemical weapons until the week Iraq invaded Kuwait in August
1990, when he appeared on an ABC news special.

Eight years later, Donald Rumsfeld signed on to an "open letter" to
President Clinton, calling on him to eliminate "the threat posed by Saddam."
It urged Clinton to "provide the leadership necessary to save ourselves and
the world from the scourge of Saddam and the weapons of mass destruction
that he refuses to relinquish."

In 1984, Donald Rumsfeld was in a position to draw the world's attention to
Saddam's chemical threat. He was in Baghdad as the UN concluded that
chemical weapons had been used against Iran. He was armed with a fresh
communication from the State Department that it had "available evidence"
Iraq was using chemical weapons. But Rumsfeld said nothing.

Washington now speaks of Saddam's threat and the consequences of a failure
to act. Despite the fact that the administration has failed to provide even
a shred of concrete proof that Iraq has links to Al Qaeda or has resumed
production of chemical or biological agents, Rumsfeld insists that "the
absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

But there is evidence of the absence of Donald Rumsfeld's voice at the very
moment when Iraq's alleged threat to international security first emerged.
And in this case, the evidence of absence is indeed evidence.

Jeremy Scahill is an independent journalist. He reports frequently for Free
Speech Radio News and Democracy Now! In May and June 2002, he reported from
Iraq. He can be reached at jeremybgd@yahoo.com.



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