[Fvmfrctt]

I bet today they wish they had done more against Iranian agressors

[Stappipsy]

I think if it was my call I would have sold Iraq alot more stuff. Better the insane dictator than the insane moslem dictator, but I grant its a tough call. Also Iraq is the smaller country, they needed to be better armed. It would have been better if Iraq took a piece of Iran just to keep them pissed at each other after the war and that would have required more stuff also.

[AmericaAirline 111]

The main way we supported Saddam wasn't through direct arm sales, but credit (which we guaranteed). We funneled a few billion dollars to them through a Dept. of Agriculture program intended to support American exports.

[Maypeevophy]

Interesting stuff.

[suingincentix]

Originally posted by snoopy369


Iran is now and always has been a freer country than Iraq... and less inclined towards religious extremism, in general. The short period around 1980 is an exception to that rule. I don't know how you can compare the two and say one was freer than then other. Indeed, people in Iran are not free.

[Tam04xa]

I don't recall seeing media claims that the USA was the primary supplier of Saddam's weaponry. Ever.

We did support his regime at times, but obviously he had a bunch of Soviet tanks and other weapons.

The point being made is that we were cozy with Saddam in the past (and/or the CIA may have had a little something to do with his initial rise to power), and turned a blind eye to some of the nasty things he did (when we perhaps considered him "our bastard" or at least the enemy of our enemy - Iran). Not that we were the primary source of Iraqi weapons.

-Arrian

[infelconi]

I don't recall seeing media claims that the USA was the primary supplier of Saddam's weaponry. Ever. You encounter it on lefty blogs consistantly. People hear about "support" and then assume it was weapons.


Maybe you're too young to remember, but during the first war against Iraq in '91, you never saw the Iraqis with US weapons. All their burning tanks, APCs, missiles, AAA, planes, helicopters, small arms - not US made. QFT.

[VarenHokalos]

Iraq's main supplier was always the Soviets, b/c at the time we were supporting the Shah in Iran.

The leftist sites showing the US as a supplier mainly show Rumsfeld brokering an arms deal with Saddam- which was a response to the govt's hawkish rhetoric wrt Saddam prior to the current war. I.e., they're hypocrites.

[xanonlinexan]

Mobius received less leniency.

Of course, cooked Iraqi is less of an issue than Prepare Americain right ?

[Phassetus]

Originally posted by CrONoS
Even Austria had more trade with Iraq than USA. And neutral as we are, we also sold weapons to Iran.
I wonder why only our Iran sales caused international problems.