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Bigfella · 01-31-2007, 03:55 AM

"The US provided intel, not weapons to Iraq."

No. Much more complex than that. First, ther was money. Billions of dollars of it. Saddam blew all his oil money on the war, all those tanks, guns, planes & WMD factories don't come cheap. US companies also supplied weapons systems & chemicals for WMD production.

"I'm not sure we even knew about it at the time, but even if we had known there wasn't a hell of a lot we could have done about it. Iraq was a Soviet satellite state, and we sure weren't going to go to war with the USSR over Iran or Iraq."

You bet your arse you knew about it. When the gassings took place at Halabja in 1988 the US Congress passed a motion condemning it. Bush vetoed the motion. I believe similar interference was run in the UN. America could have pushed for sanctions - something potentially devastating for a nation locked in war with an enemy 3 times its size. Perhaps he figured that if he wasn't even chastised for this, invading Kuwait wouldn't get anyone off side.

Saddam was no more a Russian satellite than he was a US, Saudi or British one. In actual fact, he had US assistance to overthrow the Russian-backed military regime in 1968. US hopes of finding another puppet in the middle East didn't last long. When he invaded Iran it wasn't on anyone's behalf, though Russia, the Saudis & the major Western players all let him know that they were on side. The Russians actually slapped an arms embargo on both sides, but it didn't last.

Saddam was seen as a bulwark against fundamentalist Islam in the same way that fundamentalist Islam was seen as a bulwark against Communism. More brilliant forward thinking.

01-31-2007, 03:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
Bigfella *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 01-12-07 Location: Melbourne Posts: 785 Country:	Some Corrections for Highseas "The US provided intel, not weapons to Iraq." No. Much more complex than that. First, ther was money. Billions of dollars of it. Saddam blew all his oil money on the war, all those tanks, guns, planes & WMD factories don't come cheap. US companies also supplied weapons systems & chemicals for WMD production. "I'm not sure we even knew about it at the time, but even if we had known there wasn't a hell of a lot we could have done about it. Iraq was a Soviet satellite state, and we sure weren't going to go to war with the USSR over Iran or Iraq." You bet your arse you knew about it. When the gassings took place at Halabja in 1988 the US Congress passed a motion condemning it. Bush vetoed the motion. I believe similar interference was run in the UN. America could have pushed for sanctions - something potentially devastating for a nation locked in war with an enemy 3 times its size. Perhaps he figured that if he wasn't even chastised for this, invading Kuwait wouldn't get anyone off side. Saddam was no more a Russian satellite than he was a US, Saudi or British one. In actual fact, he had US assistance to overthrow the Russian-backed military regime in 1968. US hopes of finding another puppet in the middle East didn't last long. When he invaded Iran it wasn't on anyone's behalf, though Russia, the Saudis & the major Western players all let him know that they were on side. The Russians actually slapped an arms embargo on both sides, but it didn't last. Saddam was seen as a bulwark against fundamentalist Islam in the same way that fundamentalist Islam was seen as a bulwark against Communism. More brilliant forward thinking.