What was the reaction of the international media to Iraq's use of chemical weapons against civilians in the Iran-Iraq war?

by Nogoodnik_V

Was it widely known/covered? Was there outrage and condemnation? Did Saddam and his allies attempt to suppress evidence of the attacks?

tinlizzey12

First it was denial. The US urged its representative at the UN to pressure other members of the UN to "take no decision" with respect to Iranian complaints about Iraqi chemical weapons use. http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq47.pdf

Then it was obfuscation. It was Iran that first disclosed the atrocity at Halabja, when Iranian news reporters reached the scene. The the US promoted the idea that 'both sides' were using chemical weapons and that the deaths in Halabja was actually the fault of Iran. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/17/opinion/17iht-edjoost_ed3_.html

This bit of misinformation and propaganda is still occasionally mentioned today, but in reality Iran did not use chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war because Khomeini prohibited the use of WMDs on moral grounds, though it had developed the capacity to to make chemical weapons. http://cns.miis.edu/archive/cns/programs/dc/briefs/030701.htm

More

http://cns.miis.edu/archive/cns/programs/dc/briefs/030701.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Poisonous-Affair-America-Gassing-Halabja/dp/0521876869