Published on Wednesday, June 9, 2004 by the Agence France Presse
Reagan Played Decisive Role in Saddam Hussein's Survival in Iran-Iraq War
WASHINGTON - As Americans mourn the passing of president Ronald Reagan, almost forgotten is the decisive part his administration played in the survival of Iraq's president Saddam Hussein through his eight year war with Iran.
Reagan played decisive role in Saddam Hussein's survival in Iran-Iraq war
Reagan, determined to check arch-foe Iran, opened a back door to Iraq through which flowed US intelligence and hundreds of millions of dollars in loan guarantees even as Washington professed neutrality in Baghdad's war with Tehran.
It was complemented by French weaponry and German dual-use technology that experts say wound up in Iraq's chemical and biological warfare programs.
Donald Rumsfeld, then Reagan's special Middle East envoy, is credited with establishing the back channel to Saddam on a secret trip to Baghdad in December 1983.