5. Banca Nazionale del Lavoro of Italy and its Branch in Atlanta begin to funnel $5 billion in unreported loans to Iraq. Iraq, with the blessing and official approval of the US government, purchased computer controlled machine tools, computers, scientific instruments, special alloy steel and aluminum, chemicals, and other industrial goods for Iraq's missile, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.

What supports the contention that these items were specifically purchased by Iraq for those areas with the knowledge and consent of the US Government? Absolutely nothing that I can see, and as previously stated those items have many uses for a country at war and under embargo from their main arms suppliers (The Soviets).

6. October, 1983. The Reagan Administration begins secretly allowing Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt to transfer United States weapons, including Howitzers, Huey helicopters, and bombs to Iraq. These shipments violated the Arms Export Control Act.

I very much doubt that US Artillery was exported by anyone to Iraq. Iraqi armed forces used Soviet and Warsaw Pact weapons and weapons systems with a few items of military hardware from France. To switch to US weapons would require retraining and re-jigging munitions plants to produce ammunition. The Huey helicopters were of no significant military value and the bombs provided were GP "dump" iron bombs supplied by Saudi Arabia. Now then Amos tell us what had been going on between 22nd September 1980 and October 1983.

In the first two years of the war Iraq seemed to be winning and in that time nothing in the form of help was given to the Iraqi's. Not wishing that any side should win meant that help had to given to the Iranians. The US wished to secure the release of hostages held by Iranian sponsored terrorists in Beirut who included one, William Buckley, the CIA Head of Station in Beirut. Without US knowledge or approval as early as December 1980 Israel started funnelling aircraft spares to Iran to keep their McDonald Douglas Phantom F-4's flying. In this instance it was Israel who was violating the Arms Export Control Act, not the US Government.

As 1982 wore on it was obvious that Iraq's early successes had reached a "high water" mark and that Iran was now looking like winning the conflict. A report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee put it, the choice was between permitting Iran to dominate the West's oil supply in the Persian Gulf and direct U.S. military intervention. The first was unacceptable and contrary to the dictates of the "Carter Doctrine" and the latter was undesirable and unpalatable. So some intermediate means had to be found so the US settled on the "Bear Spares" programme where Israeli and Egyptian stockpiles of Soviet and Warsaw Pact weaponry, useless to either state (The Egyptian armed forces were now re-arming with US weapons) were passed down to Iraq. The French at the same time "leased" Super Etendard strike aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force to boost their strike capability.

All of the above was done as a balancing act to ensure that no side "won the war".

7. November 1983. George Schultz, the Secretary of State, is given intelligence reports showing that Iraqi troops are daily using chemical weapons against the Iranians.

Wow, shock, horror and amazement!!! Bad men do nasty things with nasty weapons!!! What the hell do you think chemical and biological weapons are for if not to be used against your enemies in time of war? Chemical and Biological weapons were developed both as offensive weapons and as a defensive measure against the type of "human wave" attacks favoured by the Iranians. At this stage in their war Iraq was in a corner and desperate.

8. December 20, 1983. Donald Rumsfeld , then a civilian and now Defense Secretary, meets with Saddam Hussein to assure him of US friendship and materials support.

Ah got the date right this time round - Amos that statement is a bit different from the contention you quoted above isn't it? Where are the proclamations about Rumsfeld handing over chemical and biological weapons? Or are we to just left to inference that the assurance of materials support automatically meant the supply of chemical and biological weapons that the US did not have. The material support that Saddam and Iraq received direct from the USA was pretty slight and amounted to intelligence and planning.

9. July, 1984. CIA begins giving Iraq intelligence necessary to calibrate its mustard gas attacks on Iranian troops.

In military terms this amounts to providing satellite information of troop deployments and weather forecasts.