Did Saddam Really Gas the Kurds?

[erpowers]

I am not sure if this has been discussed before, but there is a good article, which appeared in the New York Times on January 31, 2003, that discusses this topic. According to the author, Stephen Pelletiere, Saddam may not have gassed the Kurds. In the article he explains why there are doubts as to whether Saddam really gassed the Kurds. I guess the article also proves that there is a media bias against the truth. Pelletiere mentions that the Kurd incident is brought up frequently without anyone providing the information about the type of gas used to kill the Kurds. I found this article by doing a Lexis Nexis search. I used the words Stephen Pelletiere, Saddam Hussein, and Kurds. I first hear of the doubts about who really gassed the Kurds on the website www.truthaboutwar.org. If anyone wants to see the article but cannot get to it I would be willing to post it hear later.

[historian]

1. he did

During the gulf war in 1991 Bush Senior (they love spreading death dont they) encouraged the Kurds to attack Hussein from the north. They did, but then Bush pulled out and left them dangling. Hussein came in and with the Gas which Bushco had given him, slaughtered thousands of them. Dont -put anyhting past this family.

[Wonk]

2. Yes, back in the 80's, and it didn't bother Raygun or Poppy Bush a bit.

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/kurds/battle.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22prevention+of+genocide+act%22

[Zynx]

3. But...But...You're a traitor for saying that.

That's what right-wingers say whenever you corner them.

[Mikimouse]

4. As I understand it...

the time line is critical to understanding the deaths of the Kurds in Halabja (SP?). The New York Times article argued that the UN examined the bodies of the Kurds and determined that they died from exposure to 'Blood agents'. At the time, the Iranians had 'blood agents', but the Iraqis only had blister agents (mustard gas, and perhaps others of that ilk). The Iranian soldiers in Halabja died from exposure to blister agents, but the Kurds died from 'blood agents', so it appears that the Kurds were already dead when the Iraqi attack occurred. Seem that the Iranian troops gassed the Kurds first and then got gassed, afterward, by the Iraqis. I am doing this from memory, so I may be off on some of the details. Please correct as needed, but the that is the gist of the article.

[Florida_Geek]

6. DIA claims Iran

And the story gets murkier: immediately after the battle the United States Defense Intelligence Agency investigated and produced a classified report, which it circulated within the intelligence community on a need-to-know basis. That study asserted that it was Iranian gas that killed the Kurds, not Iraqi gas.


http://foi.missouri.edu/polinfoprop/warcrime.html

[Mikimouse]

8. That is what I recall as well...

Good to know that I didn't imagine it. Thanks!

[madrchsod]

5. scott ritter claimed that

the Iranians used gas against civilians and that saddam was blamed for it. saddam did gas civilians.

[troublemaker]

7. Final analysis

I think it ended up being that both Iraq and Iran dumped beaucoup WMD on that town -- it was during a raging battle. Iraq and Iran were using different chem agents and the first victims on TV looked to have been felled by the Iranian type -- The DIA even identified it as an Iranian attack at first (we still preferred Saddam to Iran at the time) but finally decided there were plenty of victims caused by both sides.

[Heyo]

9. Read up....

Read up on the Anfal campaign if you want to learn about Saddam's use of CW against Kurdish villiages.

Just an FYI.

Heyo