Who won the war between Iraq and Iran and could that be a reason the US

[Toots]

lost faith in Saddam. I think Saddam basically lost the war and that pissed off the US. We gave him satellite information and sold him modern weapons and he still did not humiliate our enemy Iran enough for us. Saddam was a loser so he had to go. He was beginning to get a little upity. We enticed him into attacking Kuwait so we had a good excuse to take him out but when the time came to actually go into Baghdad the UN and Coalition troops said the job was done. Iraq was ousted from Kuwait and that was that. We could not just go do it against the rest of the world so we decided to bide our time. Well we know what happened next but Iran still has not been humiliated enough for America. After all they attacked our Embasy and held Americans captive for two years. America can not let that stand or the rest of the world won't fear and respect us. Iraq and Afghanistan had to be first so we could have launching pads for attack. I believe Iran is in for some hell and oil and War Profiteering are just Bonus.

[ET Awful]

1. We were selling Iran weapons during that war as well.

Thus the origin of the Iran-Contra scandal. The Reagan administration was selling TOW-missile anti-tank systems to Iran that were used against Iraq.

edit: It should be noted that those sales to Iran served two purposes. They provided funding for far-right rebels in Nicaragua in their attempt to overthrow a democratically elected leftist government, and they also served as a bargaining tool to appease terrorists holding American hostages in Lebanon.

[kliljedahl]

2. "rest of the world won't fear and respect us"?

Sorry, the only option left is fear, we lost any chance of gaining back the respect we had when * was "elected" the second time.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[justinsb]

6. bingo

at least respect would take a generation or two..fear you've already got.

[justinsb]

3. It's a good theory

But the US was also selling weapons to Iran at the time it was a great time to be a weapons dealer.

[Ganja Ninja]

4. Oil and war profiteering are the main if not only reason ...

we went after Iraq and it'll be the same if we go after Iran.

[kentuck]

5. I think there were massive casualties on each side...

which may account for many of the mass graves...It is debatable whether Saddam invaded Iran or if Iran invaded Iraq? But we did side with Saddam in that war and assisted him against our new enemies, the Ayatollahs. Then there was the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, because Kuwait was doing diagonal-type drilling across their border into Iraq, and Saddam thought he had the OK from April Glaspie, Bush envoy, to invade Kuwait. That was beginning of the end of the young relationship between Saddam and the US..

[LynnTheDem]

11. Iran 300,000; Iraq up to 240,000

1980

-April 1: The pro-Iranian Da'wah Party claims responsibility for an attack on Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz at Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad.

-September 4: Iran shells Iraqi border towns; Iraq considers this the start of the Iran/Iraq war. (Wouldn't America, if Canada bombed US border towns after attempts to assassinate US govt officials?)

-September 22: Iraq attacks Iranian air bases, Iran retaliates by bombing Iraqi military and economic targets

[atreides1]

7. Actually Iran was the first to cry uncle

It was Iran that offered to open peace negotiations in 1988.

It wasn't a question of the US losing faith in Saddam, so much as it was the fact that the US was losing control over someone that they wanted to make a puppet permanently.

The US really didn't have to do very much to entice Iraq to attack Kuwait. Kuwait was suspected of slant drilling under the borders between the two countries.

All the US did was to let Saddam know that the US was not going to become involved in what they considered to be a regional problem.

[LynnTheDem]

12. That's not true; Iraq cried Uncle first. Several times.

Pre-war;

In July 1979, Saddam reiterated interest in establishing close relations with Iran "based on mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs." The Ayatollah rejected Hussein's offer. Again taking the initiative, Saddam asked to visit Tehran in August of 1979, but the request was denied by the Iranian leadership.

-In late 1980, Tehran rejected a settlement offer.

During the war;

-1982; Hussein announced that the Iraqi units would withdraw from Iranian territory. Saddam ordered a withdrawal to the international borders, believing Iran would agree to end the war. Iran did not accept this withdrawal as the end of the conflict, and continued the war into Iraq.

-In late June 1982, Baghdad stated its willingness to negotiate a settlement of the war and to withdraw its forces from Iran. Iran refused.

-1984; Iraq tried to force Iran to the negotiating table by various means.

-Iraq turned to diplomatic and political means. In April 1984, Saddam Hussein proposed to meet Khomeini personally in a neutral location to discuss peace negotiations. But Tehran rejected this offer and restated its refusal to negotiate.

-Iraq sought to involve the superpowers as a means of ending the war.

-By late spring of 1987, the superpowers became more directly involved because they feared that the fall of Basra might lead to a pro-Iranian Islamic republic in largely Shia-populated southern Iraq. They were also concerned about the intensified Tanker War.

-Iran accepted United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 598, leading to a 20 August 1988 cease-fire.

Sources at; http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3801741

[LynnTheDem]

8. Asked what the logic was of aiding both sides in a bloody war,

a former official replied, "You had to have been there."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3801741

[amazona]

9. shhh we've always been at war with Eastasia!

Good catch.

[Amonester]

10. Psssst... the British Empire too... (n/t)

[theboss]

13. We weren't supporting Iraq for them to win

We were supporting them to bloody Iran and weaken both countries.