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Saddam says Reagan helped him during Iran-Iraq war; Reagan and me, good: Saddam
Tehran Times ^ | Reuters

Posted on 06/21/2005 4:53:47 PM PDT by F14 Pilot

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Saddam Hussein, washes his hands compulsively and thinks fondly of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan, according to American soldiers who guarded him and tell their story in the July issue of GQ magazine.

The jailed former Iraqi leader described how Reagan, who was president during the time of Iraq's 1980-88 war with Iran, sold him planes and helicopters.

"Reagan and me, good,'" Saddam said, according to the article by Lisa DePaulo in the July issue that goes on sale June 28.

"He said, 'I wish things were like when Ronald Reagan was still president,'" said one of the soldiers who guarded him.

The article recounts the stories of five U.S. soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard who watched over the captive for nearly a year..

President George W. Bush and his father, former President George H. W. Bush, are "no good," while former President Bill Clinton was "OK," Saddam told his captors. The former president led a UN-coalition that defeated Saddam in the 1991 Persian Gulf War after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; US: Pennsylvania; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: america; bad; bush; captor; clinton; good; iran; iraq; jail; military; national; persiangulf; planes; prisonersaddam; reagan; ronaldreagan; saddam; war
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1 posted on 06/21/2005 4:53:48 PM PDT by F14 Pilot
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To: nuconvert; parisa; NY Attitude; Valin; AdmSmith; Reborn; warsaw44; McGavin999; seamole; sionnsar; ..

PING!


2 posted on 06/21/2005 4:54:43 PM PDT by F14 Pilot (Democracy is a process not a product)
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To: F14 Pilot

Is this guy, like, nuts or what?


3 posted on 06/21/2005 4:54:53 PM PDT by bnelson44
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To: bnelson44

I don't know!


4 posted on 06/21/2005 4:55:10 PM PDT by F14 Pilot (Democracy is a process not a product)
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To: F14 Pilot
'I wish things were like when Ronald Reagan was still president,'"

I bet he does. He never had it so good.

5 posted on 06/21/2005 4:57:22 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: F14 Pilot

What's stopping us from putting a bullet in his head?


7 posted on 06/21/2005 4:57:58 PM PDT by Callahan
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To: Callahan

civilization.


8 posted on 06/21/2005 4:59:37 PM PDT by satchmodog9 (Murder and weather are our only news)
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To: F14 Pilot

So things don't get out of hand here. Do let us remember we sold him a bunch of small chopers, forget the model Bells, for commercial use. We did not sell him any planes. Nor ordnance or munitions to wage war with. Just to clear up any "cloud" that could enter someones mind as they read this barn stuff.


9 posted on 06/21/2005 5:00:47 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle (Honor must be earned)
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To: F14 Pilot

During the Reagan years, we didn't want Iran or Iraq winning the war between them. It wouldn't surprise me if we gave them enough intel or other minimal means of support to keep the balance. Keeping two destructive regimes busy, read that too busy to target others, is not such a bad idea.

Look what happened when Hussein was freed up after that war.


10 posted on 06/21/2005 5:02:32 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (US socialist liberalism would be dead without the help of politicians who claim to be conservative.)
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To: Mr. Mojo

" I bet he does. He never had it so good."

Your sure right. He even has his own bucket to wash his underwear in. Guy got it made. Where's the rope.


11 posted on 06/21/2005 5:02:50 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle (Honor must be earned)
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To: F14 Pilot
The Reagan policy during the Iran Irag war was as followe.

Both Iran and IRaq are enemies of the United States.There are two factors.. If they are fighting each other they are not likely to have the ability to harm us. And as long as they are at war with each other both nations would have to pump all the oil they could to pay for the war. The more oil they pumped the cheaper gasoline was .. Remember 85 cent gasoline?

Reagan therefor had Ollie North doing the following. Help which ever side is losing at the moment. If Iraq is losing sell Saddam arms. If Saddam starts to win sell Iran arms to tip the balance.

Reagan was helping Iran as well as Iraq. He wwas helping whoever was losing at the momemt. Democratrs ending that policy is what Iran Contra was about.

I think it was a good policy. Helping your enemies kill each other is not a bad policy. And Saddam going after Iran was better than Saddam going after Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

If that policy had been continued it is possible that a very long an difficult war could haved broght about the over throw of both the government of Iran and Iraq.

When enough soldiers have died in a fruitless winless war, the amries tend to turn on their Natioal leaders. If that had happened we woiuld be a lot better off today.

However the Democrats needed a scandal so they ran with Iran Contra.. AS a result we have to face the Mullahs still in power and we have lost over 2000 lives taking Saddam down with our troops.

Of course as soon as Saddam got out of the War with Iran he set up to capture Kuwait and Saudi. It cost us a bundle to reverse that and to prevent him from taking Saudi.

Imagine what wouild have happened if Saddam had Kuwait and Saudi.. Can you say 150 dollar a barrel oil and Saddam with Nukes purchased from the Russians pointed at the entire USA?

12 posted on 06/21/2005 5:11:10 PM PDT by Common Tator
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To: All

We may have sold him some stuff when Rumsfeld visited there, BUT FRANCE sold him stuff too.


13 posted on 06/21/2005 5:11:12 PM PDT by areafiftyone (Politicians Are Like Diapers, Both Need To Be Changed Often And For The Same Reason!)
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To: bnelson44

Well at least he likes Reagan.


14 posted on 06/21/2005 5:11:22 PM PDT by escapefromboston (manny ortez: mvp)
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To: F14 Pilot

'I wish things were like when Ronald Reagan was still president,'

Hey those times were good for us too! Saddam is now officially smarter, in my book, than many American liberal Democrats..


15 posted on 06/21/2005 5:11:33 PM PDT by kaotic133
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To: DoughtyOne

That war did cost more than 1 milion people!


16 posted on 06/21/2005 5:16:57 PM PDT by F14 Pilot (Democracy is a process not a product)
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To: areafiftyone
We sold armaments to both Saddam and OBL in the 80s, and considering the geopolitical chessboard at the time it was the right thing to do.
17 posted on 06/21/2005 5:18:18 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: F14 Pilot

Yep, started by Saddam Hussein, it did cost 500 thousand of his citizen and Iranian citizens their lives. If Iraq or Iran had wone we'd have probably seen more elevated numbers than that.

Hussein's chemical attack on the kurds was reported to have cost hundreds of thousands of lives, I believe. And then he and his sons were probably directly or indirectly responsible for another 500 thousand or so deaths in Iraq.

The democrats blithely ignore this when they decry our entry into Iraq. Amazing.


18 posted on 06/21/2005 5:22:33 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (US socialist liberalism would be dead without the help of politicians who claim to be conservative.)
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To: Mr. Mojo

right thing at the time? A relativistic conservative eh?


19 posted on 06/21/2005 5:40:41 PM PDT by Austin Willard Wright
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To: Mr. Mojo

right thing at the time? A relativistic conservative eh?


20 posted on 06/21/2005 5:40:41 PM PDT by Austin Willard Wright
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