‘ As the defector and I spoke, over two long days in March 2002, the debate in the West on what, if anything, to do about Iraq and Saddam Hussein was feverish. Once President Bush had described Iraq as part of an “axis of evil” in his State of the Union address, some kind of intervention seemed inevitable. At the same time, there were powerful voices urging restraint: in the liberal media; in the capitals of Europe; in the State Department and C.I.A.
The defector’s information only intensifies the dilemma posed by the persistence of Saddam Hussein. This account of the ease with which Iraq appears to have evaded U.N. sanctions to date does not make one confident that the so-called smart sanctions now being proposed as a means of curbing Saddam’s military ambition are any more likely to be effective. At the same time, Saddam’s alleged willingness to use a nuclear weapon against Israel before the invasion of Kuwait suggests that the global strategic threat that his possession of weapons of mass destruction represents is not theoretical, but real.
But how far have the Tammooz missile and other programs progressed? How effective are his chemical and biological weapons? How ready are his regime’s servants to activate a strategy that might see the Middle East afflicted with biblical destruction in the event of a U.S. attack? On an accurate Western assessment of such questions much may depend.’
‘Saddam Hussein enjoyed U.S. support in his long war with Iran in the 1980s — even after Iraq repeatedly used chemical weapons. Iraq used mustard gas against the Iranians in 1983, with no objection from the Reagan administration. In 1987, Foreign Policy magazine reported last week, the U.S. gave Saddam intelligence that an Iranian invasion was imminent at a hole in Iraq’s defenses. “An Iranian victory is unacceptable,” President Reagan wrote on an intelligence report. In response to the U.S. warning, Saddam repeatedly attacked Iranian forces with sarin, killing more than 20,000 and injuring thousands more. He later used sarin to kill more than 5,000 Kurds to put down an uprising in northern Iraq. Retired Air Force Col. Rick Francona, who was military attaché in Baghdad during the 1988 attacks, told Foreign Policy that the U.S. chose to ignore Saddam’s use of chemical weapons because Iraq was seen as the lesser of two evils. “The Iraqis never told us that they intended to use nerve gas,” Francona said. “They didn’t have to. We already knew.” http://theweek.com/article/index/249224/a-brief-history-of-chemical-warfare
Top five crimes of Sadam Hussein>
http://history1900s.about.com/od/saddamhussein/a/husseincrimes.htm
Hussein executed 600,000 Iraqis.
‘Make no mistake: The ouster of Saddam Hussein was a victory for human rights, and if there is any silver lining to come from the brutal Iraq War, it is that Hussein is no longer slaughtering and torturing his own people. But we should fully recognize that every indictment, every epithet, every moral condemnation we issue against Saddam Hussein also indicts us. We should all be ashamed of the atrocities that were committed under our leaders’ noses, and with our leaders’ blessing.’ http://civilliberty.about.com/od/internationalhumanrights/p/saddam_hussein.htm
‘As many as 576,000 Iraqi children may have died since the end of the Persian Gulf war because of economic sanctions imposed by the Security Council, according to two scientists who surveyed the country for the Food and Agriculture Organization.’ http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/01/world/iraq-sanctions-kill-children-un-reports.html
Hussein had and used chemical weapons and stockpiled nuclear materials – and threw out UN inspectors.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25546334/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/secret-us-mission-hauls-uranium-iraq/#.Ui5Kej_4JmN
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