10/20/2004

In an October 25, 2004, article titled ‘Iraq Removed from List of State Sponsors of Terrorism,’ the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs about U.S. foreign policy reported that, “The United States has officially removed Iraq from its list of state sponsors of terrorism to reflect the fundamental change in the country’s leadership and policies, as well as to show support for Iraq’s interim government, says State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. Iraq had been on the state sponsors list for 14 years. It was removed on October 20 [2004], when Secretary of State Colin L. Powell formally announced the change in the Federal Register, Boucher said during a Washington briefing October 22. ‘I hereby rescind the determination of September 13, 1990, that Iraq is a country which has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism,’ Powell said in the Federal Register announcement. ‘This action is a further step to cement the partnership of the United States and Iraq in combating acts of international terrorism, and is an act of symbolic importance to the new Iraqi government.’ ”

 – Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr., “Iraq Removed from List of State Sponsors of Terrorism,” U.S. Department of State, Oct. 25, 2004