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Neoconservatism out of the closet | 79 comments (78 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Think tank =|= Echo chamber (none / 0)
The Saddam in Rumsfeld's Closet
Five years before Saddam Hussein's now infamous 1988 gassing of the Kurds, a key meeting took place in Baghdad that would play a significant role in forging close ties between Saddam Hussein and Washington. It happened at a time when Saddam was first alleged to have used chemical weapons. The meeting in late December 1983 paved the way for an official restoration of relations between Iraq and the US, which had been severed since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

With the Iran-Iraq war escalating, President Ronald Reagan dispatched his Middle East envoy, a former secretary of defense, to Baghdad with a hand-written letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a message that Washington was willing at any moment to resume diplomatic relations.

That envoy was Donald Rumsfeld.



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by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jun 23rd, 2010 at 08:52:48 AM EST
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Neoconservatism out of the closet | 79 comments (78 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)
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