US: Iraq Used Chemical Weapons Against Kurds

On this day, State Department officials said that US intelligence agencies have confirmed Iraq's use of chemicals in its recent drive against Kurdish civilians in Northern Iraq.Until now, the US government has always stated that it had no conclusive proof that Iraq was using chemical weapons against Iranians and Iraqi Kurds.In a meeting with Saadoun Hammadi, Iraq's minister of state for foreign affairs, Secretary of State George Shultz accused Iraq of "unjustifiable and abhorrent" use of poison gas against the Kurds. After the meeting, Hammadi characterized the charge as "absolutely baseless."Shultz had presided over a strong pro-Iraq tilt in US policy and, in spite of the fresh accusations, continues to oppose sanctions against Iraq."The Secretary stressed to Dr. Hammadi that we attach great importance to the further development of our relationship with Iraq, but that we do not intend to pursue this course if illegal Iraqi use of chemical weapons and other human rights abuses continue," Redman said. Read full story