Lets see, Reagan broke the air traffic controllers when he stepped in there, put an import tax on Jap motorcycle's and gave that to Harley Davidson to help them get back on their feet. Cut the spending to the DCM to make that self paying, stood up to the Russians and told them where to get off at. Got Carters inflation down and basically told the Iranians that if they didn't free the hostage's, and if any of them were hurt, he'ld probably nuke the sh*t out of them. Wish we had more puppets like that now!!! gypsyman
1980s: Reagan administration
[edit]Iran–Iraq War
See United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war
The United States gave Saddam Hussein the green light for attacking Iran. Then-Secretary of State Alexander Haig wrote:
"It was also interesting to confirm that President Carter gave the Iraqis a green light to launch the war against Iran through Prince Fahd" of Jordan." [21]
Further, the U.S. materially supported Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War.[22][23] U.S. intelligence and logistical support played a crucial role in arming Iraq in the Iraq-Iran war. The Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations authorized the sale to Iraq of numerous dual use items that had both military and civilian applications, including poisonous chemicals and deadly biological viruses, such as anthrax and bubonic plague.[24]
The U.S. provided critical battle planning assistance to Iraq at a time when U.S. intelligence agencies knew that Iraqi commanders would employ chemical weapons in waging the war, according to senior military officers with direct knowledge of the program. The U.S. claimed to have carried out the covert program at a time when Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Secretary of Defense Frank C. Carlucci and National Security Adviser General Colin L. Powell were publicly condemning Iraq for its use of poison gas, especially after Iraq attacked Kurdish villagers in Halabja in March 1988. U.S. officials publicly condemned Iraq's employment of mustard gas, sarin, VX and other poisonous agents, but sixty Defense Intelligence Agency officers were secretly providing detailed information on Iranian deployments, tactical planning for battles, plans for airstrikes and bomb-damage assessments for Iraq. It has long been known that the U.S. provided intelligence assistance, such as satellite photography, to Saddam's regime. Carlucci said: "My understanding is that what was provided" to Iraq "was general order of battle information, not operational intelligence." "I certainly have no knowledge of U.S. participation in preparing battle and strike packages," he said, "and doubt strongly that that occurred." "I did agree that Iraq should not lose the war, but I certainly had no foreknowledge of their use of chemical weapons." Secretary of State Powell, through a spokesman, said the officers' description of the program was "dead wrong," but declined to discuss it.[25] According to reports of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the U.S. Senate, the United States under successive presidential administrations sold materials including anthrax, VX nerve gas, West Nile fever and botulism to Iraq right up until March 1992. The chairman of the Senate committee, Don Riegle, said: "The executive branch of our government approved 771 different export licences for sale of dual-use technology to Iraq. I think its a devastating record."[26] In 2000, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright expressed regret for that support.[27]
[edit]1983: Hezbollah bombings
The U.S. contends that the organization of Hezbollah has been involved in several anti-American terrorist attacks, including the April 1983 United States Embassy bombing which killed 17 Americans, the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing which killed 241 U.S. peace keepers in Lebanon, and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing.
A U.S. District court judge ruled in 2003 that the April 1983 United States Embassy bombing was by what had been at the time a new organization called Hezbollah supported by the state of Iran.[28]
In May 2003, in a case brought by the families of the 241 servicemen who were killed, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran was responsible for the 1983 attack. Lamberth concluded that Hezbollah was formed under the auspices of the Iranian government, was completely reliant on Iran in 1983, and assisted Iranian Ministry of Information and Security agents in carrying out the operation.[29]
A U.S. federal court has found that the Khobar Towers bombing was authorized by Ali Khomeini, then ayatollah of Iran[30]
[edit]Iran-Contra Affair
Further information: Iran-Contra Affair
In 1986 members of the Reagan administration helped sell weapons to Iran, using the profits to fund Contras militants in Nicaragua.[31] This event led to the Iran-Contra Affair which was a political scandal occurring in 1987 as a result of earlier events during the Reagan administration in which members of the executive branch sold weapons to Iran, an avowed enemy, and illegally used the profits to continue funding anti-Communist rebels, the Contras, in Nicaragua.[32] Large volumes of documents relating to the scandal were destroyed or withheld from investigators by Reagan administration officials.[33][34] The affair is still shrouded in secrecy. After the arms sales were revealed in November 1986, President Ronald Reagan appeared on national television and denied that they had occurred.[35] A week later, however, on November 13, Reagan returned to the airwaves to affirm that weapons were indeed transferred to Iran. He denied that they were part of an exchange for hostages.[31]
[edit]United States attack of 1988
In 1988 the United States launched what it called Operation Praying Mantis against Iran, claimed to be in retaliation for the Iranian mining of areas of the Persian Gulf as part of the Iran-Iraq war. The U.S. attack was the largest American naval combat operation since World War II.[36] The U.S. action began with coordinated strikes by two surface groups and neutralized the Sassan oil platform and the Sirri oil platform of Iran. In the ensuing battle, Iran lost one major warship and a smaller gunboat. Damage to the oil platforms was eventually repaired.[37] The International Court of Justice dismissed Iran's claim for reparation against the United States for breach of the 1955 Treaty of Amity between the two countries but noted that "the actions of the United States of America against Iranian oil platforms on October 19, 1987 (Operation Nimble Archer) and April 18, 1988 (Operation Praying Mantis) cannot be justified as measures necessary to protect the essential security interests of the United States of America."[38] The U.S. attack helped pressure Iran to agree to a ceasefire with Iraq later that summer.[39]
[edit]1988: Iran Air Flight 655 tragedy
Main article: Iran Air Flight 655
On July 3, 1988 towards the end of the Iran–Iraq War, the U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian Airbus A300B2 on a scheduled commercial flight in Iranian airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, killing 290 civilians from six nations, including 66 children. USS Vincennes was in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Earnest Will. The United States at first contended that flight 655 was a warplane and then said that it was outside the civilian air corridor and did not respond to radio calls. Both statements were untrue, and the radio calls were made on military frequencies to which the airliner did not have access.[40] According to the Iranian government, the shoot down was an intentionally performed and unlawful act, and even if there had been a mistaken identification, which Iran has not accepted, it argues that this constituted gross negligence and recklessness amounting to an international crime, not an accident, because the aircraft was not on a trajectory that threatened the Vincennes and had not aimed radar at it.[41] However, the United States has expressed regret only for the loss of innocent life, refusing to make a specific apology to the Iranian government.[42]
