Donald Rumsfeld Meets Saddam Hussein as Reagan Special Envoy to Iraq

President Reagan sends Donald Rumsfeld as a special envoy to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, establishing formal diplomatic relations and initiating a strategic partnership during the Iran-Iraq War. The now-infamous handshake between Rumsfeld and Hussein symbolizes the Reagan administration’s “tilt” toward Iraq despite full knowledge of Hussein’s use of chemical weapons against Iranian forces.

At the time of Rumsfeld’s visit, U.S. intelligence agencies are secretly aware that Iraq is using chemical weapons against Iranian troops almost daily, including sarin nerve gas. Declassified CIA documents later reveal that U.S. intelligence officials conveyed the precise locations of Iranian troop positions to Iraq, fully aware that Hussein’s military would attack these positions with chemical weapons.

The Reagan administration provides Iraq with several billion dollars in economic aid, dual-use technology, critical satellite intelligence (IMINT), and special operations training. Between 1983 and the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, the U.S. provides over $1 billion in economic aid, freeing up Iraqi revenues for weapons purchases. The U.S. also sells Iraq over $200 million in helicopters used in military operations.

The United States continues defending Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical weapons as late as 1988, maintaining this strategic relationship through the first Bush administration until Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. This cynical partnership, driven by fears of Iranian regional dominance, demonstrates the Reagan administration’s willingness to support a brutal dictator engaged in war crimes when aligned with perceived U.S. interests.