Laurie Mylroie - Support For Saddam Hussein

Support For Saddam Hussein

In 1988, Laurie Mylroie published an article advocating "The Baghdad Alternative," which involved bolstering U.S. ties to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Ken Silverstein gives this summary:

Iraq’s good fortune, said Mylroie, was due to the wisdom of Saddam, who was implementing an economic "perestroika" and political "glasnost." Iraqi officials interviewed by Mylroie told her that Saddam was "much concerned about democracy... He thinks that is healthy," and she wagered this was "not just idle chatter." From an American perspective, Mylroie concluded, "the more Saddam Hussein exercises control over the Baath Party, including the ideologues, the better."

... She proposed that the Bush (Senior) Administration should offer Saddam extensive economic and military aid. “Iraq and the United States,” she wrote, "need each other."

Isikoff and Corn write:

Mylroie continued to advocate engaging Saddam, even after the Iraqi dictator slaughtered tens of thousands of Kurds in what became known as the Anfal campaign of 1987 and 1988. That horrific attack caused the Reagan Administration to formally condemn Iraq for its use of chemical weapons in September 1988. In May 1989, Mylroie wrote in The Jerusalem Post that Israel and the United States should not 'poke' Iraq 'with a stick' and should refrain from tossing 'idle threats and harsh words' at Baghdad. She suggested Iraq might become a benign, if not positive, presence in the region.

Isikoff and Corn argue that Mylroie "was looking to change the region through back-channel, private diplomacy -- and she aspired to be a behind-the-scenes peacemaker who would broker a deal between Saddam and Israel." To this end, she met with Iraqi officials including Tariq Aziz. After Saddam's invasion of Kuwait, however, the would-be diplomat "turned against the dictator she had once wanted Washington to help, with the passion of one who felt personally betrayed."

In October 1990, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gave a speech publicizing Mylroie's trips to Baghdad and Israel, which she later denied. Isikoff and Corn, however, interviewed five of her former associates (including Judith Miller) who all "confirmed that she had been a secret go-between between Baghdad and Jerusalem."