Do you think that sort of thing should be forgotten? I suppose - we sure haven't learned from history.

According to a New York Times article in August, 2002, Col. Walter P. Lang, a senior defense intelligence officer at the time, explained that D.I.A. and C.I.A. officials "were desperate to make sure that Iraq did not lose" to Iran. "The use of gas on the battlefield by the Iraqis was not a matter of deep strategic concern," he said. One veteran said, that the Pentagon "wasn't so horrified by Iraq's use of gas." "It was just another way of killing people _ whether with a bullet or phosgene, it didn't make any difference."

DONALD RUMSFELD’S MEETING WITH SADDAM HUSSEIN IN 1984. Documents found by the National Security Archive showed evidence that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld was not honest about his prior dealings with Iraq. The NSA documents showed that, as President Reagan’s top envoy to Iraq, Rumsfeld met in Baghdad in 1984 with Saddam Hussein and assured him that Iraq’s use of chemical weapons would not endanger the two countries’ relations. (Washington Post, December 18, 2003)

When Rumsfeld was asked about his trip to Iraq in September 2002, he told CNN that he had “cautioned” Saddam Hussein about the use of chemical weapons. Rumsfeld said, “I have no knowledge of (the United States government) being involved in assisting Iraq develop chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.” (Washington Post, December 18, 2003)

However, Rumsfeld’s account of his communications with Hussein differed from the declassified State Department notes of his 90-minute meeting, which did not mention such a “caution.“ Rumsfeld’s comments also conflicted with the new documents which showed that he was sent to Iraq by President Reagan specifically “to improve bilateral relations” and “that the United States’ public criticism of Iraq for using chemical weapons would not derail Washington’s attempts to forge a better relationship.” (Washington Post, December 18, 2003)

Additionally, a Newsweek article, entitled “How We Helped Create Saddam” detailed the Reagan administration’s sales of computer databases to Hussein to allow him to track political opponents and shipments of “bacteria/fungi/protozoa” (Newsweek, September 23, 2002; Washington Post, December 18, 2003)