In The Iraq War Reader, Murray Waas wrote: “In the first week of September [1988], Iraqi Minister of State Saadoun Hammadi, a member of Saddam Hussein’s inner circle, came to Washington to meet with Secretary of State Shultz. The State Department, uncharacteristically, condemned the use of gas. ‘The Secretary today conveyed to Iraqi Minister of State Hammadi our view that Iraq’s use of chemical weapons … is unjustifiable and abhorrent.’ Such violence, the statement went on to say, was ‘unacceptable to the civilized world.’ It was one of the few public condemnations of Iraq by the Reagan administration.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Eds. Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf, The Iraq War Reader, Page 37