1982 - United States government provided  billions of dollars to Saddam Hussein for weapons to be used in war with Iran.

          - US government  removes Hussein's Iraq from state supporting terrorism (Howard Teicher)

           - George Bush sr. armed Iraq with weapons of mass destruction (Iraqgate).

 

1983  - In December, Rumsfeld  met Iraq's Foreign minister, Aziz and Hussein  in Baghdad to deliver letter from President Reagan to Hussein, letter classified but Aziz quoted from letter "the Iran-Iraq war could pose serious problems for the economic and security interests of the US, its friends in the region and in the free world.

 

1985-1989 - American suppliers licensed by US Department of Commerce exported biological and chemical materials to Iraq (William Blum, 1998; 1994 Senate Report)

            - exports continued to at least November 1989 even after Iraq engaged in chemical and biological warfare against Iranians and Kurds as early as 1984

 

1986 - President Reagan sent secret message to Saddam to step up airwar and bombing of Iran (Teicher of National Security Council, 1996)

 

1988 -  US supplied helicopters used in gassing the Kurds (Los Angeles Times)

              US companies sold Iraq over $1 billion worth of components for nuclear weapons and missles including Scud missles (William Blum, 1996)

               US Senate unanimously passed sanactions denying Iraq American technology after genocide of Kurds

                White House denied sanctions because American companies wouldn't get "massive post-war reconstruction contracts (declassified documents)

 

1989 - George Bush sr. became president of the United States.