Bill Delahunt: “Halabja is where Saddam slaughtered some 5,000 Iraqi Kurds with chemical weapons. The resolution appears to suggest that…”

“Halabja is where Saddam slaughtered some 5,000 Iraqi Kurds with chemical weapons. The resolution appears to suggest that this despicable act--this crime against humanity--provides some justification for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. But the tragedy of Halabja occurred in March of 1988. And we did nothing then. Because Saddam was our ally. And many of those currently serving in the Bush Administration were key figures in that alliance. They were fully aware of what happened in Halabja. Our Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld, was a special envoy to Saddam. The Vice President, Dick Cheney, was Secretary of Defense for the first President Bush. The Secretary of State, Colin Powell, served as both National Security Advisor and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The history of our relationship with Saddam is important so that we do not repeat the errors of the 80s and 90s in today's war on terror. Under Presidents Reagan and Bush, Iraq was removed from the terrorist list. Full diplomatic relations were restored. Billions of dollars in loan guarantees were provided to Saddam. The sale of dual-use technology for weapons of mass destruction was approved--no wonder, after the first Gulf War, that we found that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weapons program. We gave them the tools to build it. We let other countries supply U.S. military equipment. We even shared highly sensitive satellite intelligence with Saddam's army.”