Iraq broke off diplomatic relations with the US over the 1967 Arab-Israel War. They were our enemies under Saddam Hussein from 1979 until we put a big US combat boot up his ass. Don't re-write history. Mudcat has some standard opinions that must be adhered to for purposes of getting along. They ain't true, but that don't matter here.

Iraq never was our ally and they never received a "wink" from the US ambassador to invade Kuwait. They had less than 2.5% US arms going into the Kuwait invasion, none of that material was authorized by the US government (read: from illegal arms deals). The nerve gas and biological agents Reagan authorized in about 1986 consisted of small samples (vials carried in one briefcase) and came with technical help. The purpose was to identify the chemical and biological agents that Iran was using against the Iraqi army and civilians. And we gave spy plane photos but only after repulsed the Iraqi aggression and moved into Iranian territory to conquer Iraq.