Dogma - Making Hussein

Iraq has gone the way of Texas and the Philippines, it's not a state yet but only in name, and for what? Iraqi use of biological, chemical and other 'WMD's has been a favourite item of dogma to mitigate various regimes' illegal invasion of Iraq, a game of appearances' sake requiring on our part a short memory and/or compliance with a system that compromises Truth to further the external advantages of fortune. It takes little effort to investigate the facts that various regimes of those United States have attempted and still now attempt to bend to their own advantage. All their efforts not one nuance will change, the Truth remains:

The Reagan regime weighed up the excruciating deaths and debilitated lives of Iranians and Kurds and judged them to be a fair price to pay to keep radical nationalism at bay throughout the oil-producing states of the Persian Gulf. Knowing full well that chemical weapons would be deployed, the Reagan regime provided assistance to Iraq in planning these atrocities.

Throughout and cognizant of Hussein's deployment of poisonous agents in his Fao Peninsula campaign, effectively defending interests of those United States in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia from the influence of radical nationalism, the Reagan regime furnished iranian deployment intelligence, tactics, airstrike plans and damage assessments to Iraq and not wanting to be seen to be left out, a certain central intelligence agency provided war front satellite photography. ¹

Iraq being absent from the State Department list of terrorist supporting countries as well as a lack of controls on missile technology and chemical and bilogical weapons until the late 1980s afforded Iraqi receipt of ammunitions fuses, helicopters and associated weapon conversion kits, TOW missiles, MK-84 bombs (hundreds inadvertantly it would appear) ²

It would seem the radical nationalism of Iran posed a very real threat to the economic and strategic interests of those United States, to which end attempts were made to re-mould Hussein as a tool for their Persian Gulf region aggenda.

The threat posed prompted unfortunate reactions from regimes of those United States, in particular the (presidential) National Security Decision Directive 114 which can summarised thus: any neccessary and legal action required to prevent Iran victory over Iraq would be pursued. Despite their hosting of known terrorists, in early '82 Iraq was removed from the State Department terrorism list, forging the way for Iraqi receipt of billions of dollars of credit by way of military intelligence, lethal chemicals and biological agents, missile components and computers, military intelligence and advice, again despite the knowledge (arguably safe in the knowledge) of how they were and would be deployed.

The Commerce Department ensured export licences were issued where legally possible and where not, arrangements were made for third party nations to ease the transfers.

Iraqi use of these products to brutal (and internationally illegal) effect against the Iranians and the Kurds of Northern Iraq was not so much a matter of conjecture as a matter of convenience for perceived U.S. interests. ³

The billions of dollars worth of equipment extended to Hussein included components required for nuclear weapons and missiles. The assistance extended to Iran ensured that each were able to inflict severe damage on the other, an embarrassingly convenient outcome regarding oil supply to the U.S. regime.

Radical nationalism was considered by far the greater threat and so the U.S. Department of Commerce was given precious little by way of discipline when it came ensuring Iraq was given the lion's share of assistance, including the issue of licences that enabled supply to Iraq of bacterial DNA, a plethora of horrifically effective and reproducable pathogenic biological agents, plans for production of same and chemical agents as well as higher technology equipments with applications for such military use as filling warheads. So eager were the Commerce Department to facilitate Hussein's capabilities that several applications for license to export to Iraq had references to military end use conveniently edited. Usefull mitigation included such dogma as the need to protect markets of those United States in situations where Iraq could receive items from elsewhere.

The first Bush regime bombed stores of these items and agents with gay abandon unleashing life debilitating effects upon unknown numbers of iraqi civillians and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers alike. Latter Bush and Clinton regimes have provided cold comfort where any at all for such victims. ⁴

The threat radical nationalism poses, that strikes fear in the hearts of every despotic leader of those United States and those like them, is that of countries exercising their own choices without the control such despots wish to impose. Thus in this instance, Iran might choose not to allow those United States to dictate the tactics and strategies of world oil supply, access and price (hence conveniencing or otherwise the countries targeted by such policy) just to suit their fish-tailing policies and somewhat limited concentration-span agenda.

Furthermore, radical nationalism might predispose a country to not repatriate those United States with the monies they have spent on oil and so might prove an irritating obstacle when it comes to maintaining the various ignominious technologies reliant on such such funding. If a country chooses not to acquiesce to the requirements of those United States then that represents a very real loss of presence and power on the global stage and hence it is imperitive to concentrate as much pejorative dogma upon such insubordinate countries as possible and where possible replace their governance with another that will play the game. ⁵

And so it was for Iran, as now it is for Iraq, the dogmas have been painstakingly sown and a fine crop of alienation is being reaped. There is little point re-iterating the dogma all good little media obediently spout to cover up what has been done, you needn't look for it - it can be found anywhere. Just remember how it all started, remind each other in day to day conversation what the case really is and add it to your armoury of decision making processes.

I commend to your consideration talking openly and frankly with each other about these attrocities and to do what little each and every one of us can do, which you know in your heart of hearts is collectively a great deal indeed, to brand these acts for the war crimes they are and frustrate the efforts of those who persist in them.

(A brief detour from the facts into realms of fantastic speculation: imagine how much better off everyone would be if the resources of those United States focused on middle eastern oil supply since the second world war had instead been directed at develping sustainable resources and technologies. Better off indeed and from what commentary i've read of the era it was rather obvious to some at least even back then. So what's the over-riding aggenda ... Hmmmmm....?)

References:

1. Article http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0818-02.htm
"Officers Say U.S. Aided Iraq in War Despite Use of Gas"
Published on Sunday, August 18, 2002 in the New York Times
by Patrick E. Tyler

2. Letter report 02/07/94, GAO/NSIAD-94-98 http://www.fas.org/man/gao/gao9498.htm
"Iraq: U.S. military items exported or transferred to Iraq in the 1980s,"
United States General Accounting Office, released February 7, 1994.

3. Article http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52241-2002Dec29?language=printer
"U.S. had key role in Iraq buildup;
trade in chemical arms allowed despite their use on Iranians and Kurds,"
Washington Post, December 30, 2002.

4. Article: http://www.progressive.org/0901/anth0498.html
"Anthrax for Export"
U.S. companies sold Iraq the ingredients for a witch's brew
by William Blum

5. Article: http://www.canadiandimension.mb.ca/extra/d0131jb.htm
"Control, Not Access" by Jay Bulworth
Canadian Dimension Magazine, 27 Jan 2003

Additional Background Information:

Article: "Who Armed Saddam" by Clinton Fernandes
Communications For a Sustainable Future, 20 July 2003
http://csf.colorado.edu/forums/isafp/2002/msg00148.html

1994 Report by the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Iraq and their possible impact on health consequences of the Gulf War,"
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/medsearch/FocusAreas/riegle_report/report/report_index.htm

Article: La Weekly, 25 April - 1 May 2003, by Jim Crogan
"Made in the USA, Part III: The Dishonor Roll."
"America's corporate merchants of death in Iraq"
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/23/news-crogan.php

Further Work
Illustrate previous campaigns to stamp out radical nationalism and the various mitigating dogma.
Specify interests and aggenda of those United States in the Persian Gulf.
Discuss President Carter's role in original iraqi attack on Iran.

Document History
2004-01-12: Specific references to Islam re-rendered as the oft attacked nationalism that fails to play those united states games.
2004-01-10: References added and paragraphs re-ordered to accomodate
2003-12-28: Created