"How We Appeased a Tyrant." This is the title of an article in the January 1991 issue of Reader's Digest that details American and European aid given to Saddam Hussein. "By handing [Saddam] everything from chemical weapons to ballistic missiles and the makings of a nuclear bomb," Rachel Flick wrote 12 years ago for Reader's Digest, "America and Europe transformed a two-bit dictator into a world-class threat."
The article outlines how France and Italy helped Saddam develop the Osirak nuclear reactor's capability, and how French President Francois Mitterand promised to supply the reactors with uranium fuel only a week after his scientists concluded that they could potentially manufacture nuclear weapons. A week later, Vice President Bush was among the Western leaders "deploring" Israel's devastating air strike of the reactor.
In 1982, after Saddam evicted terrorist Abu Abbas from Baghdad, the U.S. State Department removed Iraq from its list of terrorist nations, freeing it to buy American computers, commercial aircraft and other goods, and rendering it eligible for U.S.-taxpayer guaranteed loans. Flick noted that even when Iraq allowed Abu Abbas to return three years later after his henchmen threw elderly wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer into the sea, the U.S. did not return Iraq to the list of states sponsoring terrorism. Some Israelis have since expressed the hope that America will now bring about the extradition of Abu Abbas to Israel for trial on several long-standing terrorism charges.
In the fall of 1983, Flick wrote, Saddam announced that the six "pesticide plants" constructed in Iraq by a German company was ready to produce chemical weapons. In February of 1984, the U.S. confirmed Saddam's use of mustard gas against Iranian troops - and nine months later, after President Reagan's re-election, the U.S. restored full diplomatic relations with Iraq! The next year, nearly 70 major American firms, such as Westinghouse and Caterpillar, joined the newly-formed U.S.-Iraq Business Forum.
William P. Hoar, quoting a document written to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger by Assistant Secretary Richard Perle, wrote that the U.S. knew as early as 1985 that Iraq had designs on American nuclear technology.
Jonathan Pollard is part of this story as well. He "was jailed for life," wrote William Stevenson in the October 21, 1991 edition of The Toronto Sun, "because, while serving in U.S. naval intelligence, he secretly warned Israel in 1985 against Iraq’s development of doomsday weapons." Stevenson then quoted the Baltimore Sun: "What, in fact was Pollard's crime? He informed the Israelis that Iraq was building both nuclear facilities and what we now know as the Condor II missile, whose range enabled it to reach Israel ... He betrayed the fact that nerve and biological gases were being shipped to Iraq..."
In March 1988, Saddam struck a Kurdish town with poison gas, killing as many as 5,000. Some U.S. Senators demanded sanctions against Iraq, but the Reagan Administration called the move "premature," and the measure was stalled. Meanwhile, the U.S. Export-Import Bank insured Iraqi purchases of American pesticides, thinking it "unlikely" that they would be used to produce chemical weapons. Other reports say that Ex-Im loan guarantees, backed by the U.S. taxpayers, grew from $35 million in 1985 to $267 million by 1990. Congress voted to end Iraq's access to Ex-Im funds, but then-President Bush (Sr.) waived the ban shortly afterwards, citing America's "national interest."
In the fall of 1990, London-based Middle East analyst Hans-Heino Kopietz provided Flick with her concluding paragraph: "We closed our eyes because some businesses wanted to make some money, and because Saddam was a useful tool against Iran. Saddam is a Frankenstein monster that the West created."
More details in an upcoming Arutz-7 article.
The article outlines how France and Italy helped Saddam develop the Osirak nuclear reactor's capability, and how French President Francois Mitterand promised to supply the reactors with uranium fuel only a week after his scientists concluded that they could potentially manufacture nuclear weapons. A week later, Vice President Bush was among the Western leaders "deploring" Israel's devastating air strike of the reactor.
In 1982, after Saddam evicted terrorist Abu Abbas from Baghdad, the U.S. State Department removed Iraq from its list of terrorist nations, freeing it to buy American computers, commercial aircraft and other goods, and rendering it eligible for U.S.-taxpayer guaranteed loans. Flick noted that even when Iraq allowed Abu Abbas to return three years later after his henchmen threw elderly wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer into the sea, the U.S. did not return Iraq to the list of states sponsoring terrorism. Some Israelis have since expressed the hope that America will now bring about the extradition of Abu Abbas to Israel for trial on several long-standing terrorism charges.
In the fall of 1983, Flick wrote, Saddam announced that the six "pesticide plants" constructed in Iraq by a German company was ready to produce chemical weapons. In February of 1984, the U.S. confirmed Saddam's use of mustard gas against Iranian troops - and nine months later, after President Reagan's re-election, the U.S. restored full diplomatic relations with Iraq! The next year, nearly 70 major American firms, such as Westinghouse and Caterpillar, joined the newly-formed U.S.-Iraq Business Forum.
William P. Hoar, quoting a document written to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger by Assistant Secretary Richard Perle, wrote that the U.S. knew as early as 1985 that Iraq had designs on American nuclear technology.
Jonathan Pollard is part of this story as well. He "was jailed for life," wrote William Stevenson in the October 21, 1991 edition of The Toronto Sun, "because, while serving in U.S. naval intelligence, he secretly warned Israel in 1985 against Iraq’s development of doomsday weapons." Stevenson then quoted the Baltimore Sun: "What, in fact was Pollard's crime? He informed the Israelis that Iraq was building both nuclear facilities and what we now know as the Condor II missile, whose range enabled it to reach Israel ... He betrayed the fact that nerve and biological gases were being shipped to Iraq..."
In March 1988, Saddam struck a Kurdish town with poison gas, killing as many as 5,000. Some U.S. Senators demanded sanctions against Iraq, but the Reagan Administration called the move "premature," and the measure was stalled. Meanwhile, the U.S. Export-Import Bank insured Iraqi purchases of American pesticides, thinking it "unlikely" that they would be used to produce chemical weapons. Other reports say that Ex-Im loan guarantees, backed by the U.S. taxpayers, grew from $35 million in 1985 to $267 million by 1990. Congress voted to end Iraq's access to Ex-Im funds, but then-President Bush (Sr.) waived the ban shortly afterwards, citing America's "national interest."
In the fall of 1990, London-based Middle East analyst Hans-Heino Kopietz provided Flick with her concluding paragraph: "We closed our eyes because some businesses wanted to make some money, and because Saddam was a useful tool against Iran. Saddam is a Frankenstein monster that the West created."
More details in an upcoming Arutz-7 article.