In 1982, the Reagan Administration removed Saddam Hussein’s Iraq from the list of states supporting terrorism, despite credible information that Iraq was, in fact, still supporting terrorism. The decision came as Iraq was on the brink of losing its war with Iran which had begun in September 1980. At the same time, according to the 1995 sworn affidavit of Howard Teicher, a member of Reagan’s National Security Council, Reagan pushed the United States directly into the Iran-Iraq war:

In June 1982, President Reagan decided that the United States could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran. President Reagan decided that the United States would do whatever was necessary and legal to prevent Iraq from losing the war with Iran. CIA Director Casey personally spearheaded the effort to ensure that Iraq had sufficient military weapons, ammunition and vehicles to avoid losing the Iran-Iraq war. Pursuant to the secured NSDD, the United States actively supported the Iraqi war effort by supplying the Iraqis with billions of dollars of credits, by providing U.S. military intelligence and advice to the Iraqis, and by closely monitoring third country arms sales to Iraq to make sure that Iraq had the military weaponry required.

(Source: Washington Post 12/30/02; Photo by Daniel Grunberg, one of the thousands of portraits of Saddam Hussein painted on government buildings)