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Iraq Admits Starting War Against Iran
The Iraqi government acknowledged yesterday that former leader Saddam Hussein had initiated the eight-year war against Iran in 1980, the New York Times reported (see GSN, July 6, 2004). Hussein and other former Iraqi officials must be tried for acts of “military aggression against the people of Iraq, Iran and Kuwait,” according to the statement issued during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi. “The file of the war, we want to put it behind us,” said Iraqi Foreign Ministry official Labeed Abbawi, who helped prepare the statement. “We want to open a new path of cooperation.” One expert said the joint statement seemed to be aimed at addressing Iraq’s use of chemical weapons during the war. Iran has sought to have Hussein prosecuted for using such weapons, but the new Iraqi government chose not to charge the former leader with crimes that occurred outside of Iraq, the Times reported. “The issue for Iranians is not whether or not Iraq is identified as the aggressor,” said Farideh Farhi, a professor of Iranian politics at the University of Hawaii. “That was something that had been settled before. The issue that is not settled for them is the issue of war crimes. During the time the Iraqis were using chemical weapons on Iran, the international community was not willing to take a side on that issue” (Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times, May 20).
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