Go back to your nap. You dont even know what it is were talking about.
Most of the world would hear this idiotic statement and probably agree. They cant say 'why" they would agree, or give you any facts. But they have been conditioned to repeat anti-US sentiment so thoroughly, like a bunch of Dodos en route to extinction, that they agree unconditionally. Even mind screwed Americans will look at their shoes in guilt.
Actually, Die Hard is quite correct. The initial invasion of Iran by Iraq (the whole mess that started their war) was initially successful and Iraq had captured large amounts of Iranian territory. The Iraqi offensive stalled and by 1982, the Iranians were able to recapture virtually of its lost territory and invade Iraq.
Chronology of U.S. Involvement
September, 1980. Iraq invades Iran. The beginning of the Iraq-Iran war.
February, 1982. Despite objections from congress, President Reagan removes Iraq from its list of known terrorist countries.
December, 1982. Hughes Aircraft ships 60 Defender helicopters to Iraq.
1982-1988. Defense Intelligence Agency provides detailed information for Iraq on Iranian deployments, tactical planning for battles, plans for air strikes and bomb damage assessments.
November, 1983. A National Security Directive states that the U.S would do "whatever was necessary and legal" to prevent Iraq from losing its war with Iran.
November, 1983. Banca Nazionale del Lavoro of Italy and its Branch in Atlanta begin to funnel $5 billion in unreported loans to Iraq. Iraq, with the blessing and official approval of the US government, purchased computer controlled machine tools, computers, scientific instruments, special alloy steel and aluminum, chemicals, and other industrial goods for Iraq's missile, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.
October, 1983. The Reagan Administration begins secretly allowing Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt to transfer United States weapons, including Howitzers, Huey helicopters, and bombs to Iraq. These shipments violated the Arms Export Control Act.
November 1983. George Schultz, the Secretary of State, is given intelligence reports showing that Iraqi troops are daily using chemical weapons against the Iranians.
December 20, 1983. Donald Rumsfeld , then a civilian and now Defense Secretary, meets with Saddam Hussein to assure him of US friendship and materials support.
July, 1984. CIA begins giving Iraq intelligence necessary to calibrate its mustard gas attacks on Iranian troops.
January 14, 1984. State Department memo acknowledges United States shipment of "dual-use" export hardware and technology. Dual use items are civilian items such as heavy trucks, armored ambulances and communications gear as well as industrial technology that can have a military application.
March, 1986. The United States with Great Britain block all Security Council resolutions condemning Iraq's use of chemical weapons, and on March 21 the US becomes the only country refusing to sign a Security Council statement condemning Iraq's use of these weapons.
May, 1986. The US Department of Commerce licenses 70 biological exports to Iraq between May of 1985 and 1989, including at least 21 batches of lethal strains of anthrax.
May, 1986. US Department of Commerce approves shipment of weapons grade botulin poison to Iraq.
March, 1987. President Reagan bows to the findings of the Tower Commission admitting the sale of arms to Iran in exchange for hostages. Oliver North uses the profits from the sale to fund an illegal war in Nicaragua.
Late 1987. The Iraqi Air Force begins using chemical agents against Kurdish resistance forces in northern Iraq.
February, 1988. Saddam Hussein begins the "Anfal" campaign against the Kurds of northern Iraq. The Iraq regime used chemical weapons against the Kurds killing over 100,000 civilians and destroying over 1,200 Kurdish villages.
April, 1988. US Department of Commerce approves shipment of chemicals used in manufacture of mustard gas.
August, 1988. Four major battles were fought from April to August 1988, in which the Iraqis massively and effectively used chemical weapons to defeat the Iranians. Nerve gas and blister agents such as mustard gas are used. By this time the US Defense Intelligence Agency is heavily involved with Saddam Hussein in battle plan assistance, intelligence gathering and post battle debriefing. In the last major battle with of the war, 65,000 Iranians are killed, many with poison gas. Use of chemical weapons in war is in violation of the Geneva accords of 1925.
August, 1988. Iraq and Iran declare a cease fire.
August, 1988. Five days after the cease fire Saddam Hussein sends his planes and helicopters to northern Iraq to begin massive chemical attacks against the Kurds.
September, 1988. US Department of Commerce approves shipment of weapons grade anthrax and botulinum to Iraq.
September, 1988. Richard Murphy, Assistant Secretary of State: "The US-Iraqi relationship is... important to our long-term political and economic objectives."
December, 1988. Dow chemical sells $1.5 million in pesticides to Iraq despite knowledge that these would be used in chemical weapons.
If it wasn't for the US normalizing relations with Iraq, lobbying on its behalf for monetary loans, getting the Gulf States to give billions, having our allies sell Iraq US military equipment, turning a blind eye when US companies would sell 'dual use' equipment and military assistance, Iraq would not have been able to survive. Our excuse of using the Tanker War to enforce 'freedom of navigation' in the Gulf was just a cover for the real reason and that was ensure the flow of Iraqi oil. Iraq was pretty much unable to ship their oil through the Gulf or through the only other way, which was an oil pipeline that went through Syria. The Syrians, an ally of Iran, shut down the pipeline and denied Iraq a way of getting its oil out.
At the time, as bad as Saddam was, he never engineered the hostile takeover of an American embassy. An internationally accepted "Act of War". I was in the MidEast under arms at the time.
Where were you?
What's the got to do with anything? Being an enlisted man in the region at the time doesn't give you an extra insight as to what happened, it's not like you were in a command staff position that was privy to better information. Didn't you claim to be in the USAF Air Police? So, what's your military service have to do with anything related to this discussion?
ack-ack
