US grooms dictators

Mothobi Mokhethi* argues that the US supports and even grooms dictators, as long as they coincide with US interes

The talk of the US invasion of Iraq without mentioning the Iranian revolution is propaganda. The overthrow of the pro-US Shah of Iran in 1979 threatened US imperialism in the oil-rich region. The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union was another serious threat to Washington and the US had to weaken Iran and the Soviet Union in order to limit the ability of these countries to challenge its interests in the region. The US began to cast about for ways to undermine or make up for the loss of the Shah of Iran. Iraq jumped in and led the invasion of Iran in 1980 backed by the US. In 1982, Iran went on the offensive against Iraq. The US and its allies feared that Iran might defeat Iraq and cause the collapse of Hussein’s regime. Using its Middle-East allies, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait, the US shipped arms to Iraq. According to Norm Dixon, in January 1984, the Washington Post reported that the US had “…informed friendly Persian Gulf nations that the defeat of Iraq in the three-year-old war with Iran would be ‘contrary to its interests’ and made several moves to prevent the results”. Throughout necessary to halt Washington’s blossoming love affair with Hussein. In August 1998, the Progressive reported that Sam Gejdenson, chairperson of the Congressional subcommittee investigating US exports to Iraq, disclosed that from 1985 until 1990 “… the US approved 771 licenses for the export to Iraq of $1.5 billion worth of biological agents and high-tech equipment with military application”. The main US concern at the time was that the defeat of Iraq would result in the spread of the Iranian revolution in the region.

The removal of Iraq in 1982 from Washington’s official list of countries that support terrorism meant that Iraq was eligible for US economic and military aid. Hussein did not waste time, but took advantage of the opportunity to intensify his military programmes with the assistance of US intelligence. The killing of 5000 Iraqi people, (twice the number of deaths in the 11 September bombing) in 1988 by their own Iraq forces in the village of Kurdish with poisonous gas, got a relaxed response from Washington.

There are distinct similarities between the relationship between the old and the new South African government and Washington, and the then relationship between Iraq and Washington.

According to the US, there was nothing wrong with Apartheid as long as its interests were served. Today, there is no problem with the new ANC government’s cutting off of water and electricity of poor people,

What Causes Civil Wars and Unrest in Africa?

the bloody eight-year-long-war which cost at least 1 million lives, US, Britain, and Italy backed Iraq.

The Iranian invasion did not go down well with the Soviet Union, particularly the repression of

the Communist Party of Iraq. It was reported that during the war Iraq used mustard gas against the Iranian soldiers. The US did not only turn a blind eye on the use of chemical weapons against Iran, but the programme continued even when it became clear that the Iraq military had used internationally outlawed weapons throughout the war. This meant that US plans were made knowing that Iraq was using chemical weapons. It is said that the Pentagon viewed this as “just another way of killing people, whether with bullets or phosgene, it did not make any difference”. The US has no problem with the use of chemical weapons and massacres, as long as it serves their imperialist interests and is used under their watchful eye.

On March 24, 1984, Reagan delegated Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq, and it is said that on the same day, the UPI wire service reported from the UN that “Mustard gas laced with a nerve agent has been used on Iranian soldiers”. Rumsfeld was aware of the use of the internationally outlawed chemical weapons, but did not consider it

because if they do not pay Gear and Nepad (New

Partnership for Africa’s Death) would fail.

As for South Africa, the local and continental agent of Washington’s imperialism, the signs are clear. Should South Africa take any position against the US, the poor will have to pay the price. The reaction of the South African government by saying that it does not support the invasion of Iraq by Bush and Blair is but a smoke screen. If this is true, why

is this government implementing Washington’s policies like GEAR and Nepad. The continued manufacturing of arms by DENEL for Washington and its allies Britain and Israel is a clear indication of where this government stands. The love affair between Mbeki and Bush is exactly the same as the love affair between Reagan and Hussein. Mbeki supports war. To whatever degree Saddam is a dictator; he would not be that without the US government. We should be on the alert for other dictators that are being groomed by the US.

* Mothobi Mokhethi is an activist in the social movements and works at Khanya College.