Michael J. Haber – 4/30/06

This page was last updated on April 30, 2006.

About Saddam’s chemicals; Michael J. Haber; Beaver County Times; April 30, 2006.

In his previous three letters since August 2005, Mr. Haber alleged the Iraq War is a war for oil.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Recently, an opinion writer (‘On the front lines,’ April 18) acknowledging Saddam’s gassing of Kurds asked, ‘Where did this chemical come from?’

“Senate hearings of the early 1990s exposed where materials for Iraq’s nuclear, biological and chemical warfare programs originated. Hearings uncovered that materials and precursors for such weapons were sold to Iraq by U.S. companies and some of our allies. Some materials were still being shipped to Iraq up to the eve of Desert Storm. As I and hundreds of thousands of American troops sat in the desert, U.S. companies were still supplying Saddam. When did this start?

“In 1983, Middle East envoy Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad with a message from President Reagan telling Saddam, ‘Let us help you.’ Soon after, loans and war materiel flowed to Iraq, even though Iraq was classified a terrorist state in 1979. Arguing that we were supplying the lesser of two evils regarding Iran-Iraq is pointless. Later, Iran-Contra would reveal the U.S. also supplied Iran during the Iran-Iraq War.”

[RWC] According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the allegation that U.S. “war materiel flowed to Iraq” is wrong. The SIPRI asserts the only “arms” the U.S. sold to Saddam’s Iraq were civilian helicopters eventually “taken over by [the] Air Force.” If we had armed Iraq during the Iran/Iraq War, would that have differed from FDR making Joseph Stalin an ally during World War II? The “enemy of my enemy is my friend” strategy is always open to criticism.

“The Pentagon reported both Iran and Iraq used chemical weapons in Halabja, Iraq, in 1988. Initially, the assumed culprit was cyanide gas. Ironically, its recorded cyanide was shipped to Iraq from a Florida plant in 1988.

“Biological pathogens including anthrax were also sold to Iraq by U.S. companies. The Centers for Disease Control maintained a record of such shipments from 1984 to 1993.

“Even U.S. Marines reported American-made chemical munitions at an Iraqi ammo dump in 1991, but like the findings of the hearings and Gulf illness, this too was swept under the rug.

“In summary, many U.S. companies illegally supplied Iraq with materials for WMDs. Investigations later indicated President G.H.W. Bush, former Secretary of State James Baker, the CIA, and Commerce Department knew of and approved the undertakings.

“Apparently, such undertakings enabled Saddam and did nothing to liberate the Middle East from perpetual turmoil.”

[RWC] Mr. Haber didn’t cite the sources of his “facts” and I’m too lazy to go hunting for them. I’ll leave it at I’m dubious of his allegations without citations and the ability to review them.