U.S. chapter often overlooked in the history of Anfal

Eric Black, Star Tribune

As his trial resumes today, Saddam Hussein stands charged with massacring tens of thousands or more Kurds, including thousands who were killed by chemical weapons dropped from aircraft.

President Bush has often cited this atrocity as part of the justification for removing from power "a man who is willing to gas his own people."

But coverage of the trial and stories about Saddam seldom emphasize an awkward historical fact: Saddam was an ally of the United States before, during and after the 1986-89 campaign of slaughter known in Arabic as al-Anfal.

Saddam started a war with Iran in 1980. Because of U.S. enmity with Iran, the Reagan administration "tilted" toward Iraq in 1981. In 1982, the State Department removed Iraq from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

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