US, Iraq Change from 'Allies' to Enemies: Commentary

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 09, 2003

US, Iraq Change from 'Allies' to Enemies: Commentary

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Bush Addresses US on Iraq Issue

The United States has made people feel the "irreconcilable hatred" existing between it and Iraq as its forces are heavily deployed along the Gulf, presenting mounting threat of the outbreak of war, and as one associates this with the televised speech concerning the Iraq issue given by President George W. Bush to the nation in Cincinnati on October 7 last year.. In the speech he said: This Iraqi dictator must never be allowed to threaten the United States and the world at large with his horrible toxic agent, poison gas, disease and atomic weapon.

But who would imagine that in the not too distant past, the United States once regarded Iraq as a "noteworthy ally"! At the end of last year, an article carried in Washington Post disclosed: A recently decoded US government document indicated that the US foreign policy was once tilted toward Iraq during the Iraq-Iran War in the 80s. The nation provided Iraq not only with military intelligence about the Iranian army, but also with cluster bombs through foreign companies. Both Reagan and George Bush administrations approved sales of anthrax bacteria, lymph plague virus and other pestilence used to make biological weapons and toxic agents for chemical weapons. The then US government knew full well that Iraq was fighting the Iranian army with these weapons "almost every day", but this did not prevent the US President's special envoy from holding a 90-minute talks on December 20, 1983 with Iraqi President Saddam on improving ties between the two countries. The envoy was none other than the current US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who is busy with the US plan to "overthrow Saddam".

The US most logical reason for toppling the "evil" Saddam is that he "possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons", and "is seeking nuclear weapons", in view of this, the United States has awaken to "feel its own weakness and even threats form the other end of the globe" (in Bush's words). Besides, the United States accuses Saddam of having links with international terrorist organizations. What people are somewhat puzzled is how would the United States have looked upon Saddam as an ally who is said to be so evil?

In fact, the change of US policy on the Iraq issue is not hard to understand if we come to see the pattern of the strategic trend during the Iraq--Iran War. In the early period of the war, the United States assumed a posture of being indifferent, but soon became restless when the Iranian army closed in on Basrah, the second biggest city of Iraq, because this would bring instability to America's traditional "allies" in the Gulf area and proceed to threaten its oil supply line. Under this circumstance, preventing Iraq from being routed became an urgent task of the United States, and Saddam was thus eyed as an "ally" by the United States which provided Iraq with intelligence, sold weapons and sent envoy to it.

US President Vows to Use All Tools to Remove Saddam Hussein

It is said that currently senior government officials in Washington detest the mentioning of past event of the United States and Iraq which were once "allies". Actually, there is no need to do so! The situation has changed with the passage of time. The United States wouldn't be satisfied until it gets rid of this old "ally". This matter appears to be self-contradictory, but in fact it is not because US principle remains the same: The standard for actions of the White House has always been the "strategic interests" of the United States. The dispatch of a special envoy for talks with Saddam in 1983 was aimed mostly at securing its supply line of energy; today when it wants to get rid of Saddam, maybe its aim is continue to fix it eyes on that supply line, or to make this line "more secure" and so on. It is really ridiculous for it to put on sanctified airs while it is stubbornly going its own way for its own gain.

By PD Online Staff Member Li Heng

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