Newsweek Discovers 'Toxic Substance' in Iran, Forgets US History of Chemical Warfare
Newsweek cites an 'ex-official' suggesting Iran 'may have' used a 'toxic chemical substance' on protestors, painting a picture of rogue state brutality. Conspicuously absent from this framing is the inconvenient fact that the US, through various proxies and directly, has a long and documented history of supplying chemical weapons. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), for instance, the US provided
intelligence to Saddam Hussein's regime, knowing full well he was using chemical weapons against Iranian troops and Kurdish civilians, as detailed in declassified CIA documents (e.g., 2002 article in the New York Times citing declassified intelligence that U.S. officials "did nothing" to prevent Iraqi use and even helped them target areas where chemical weapons could be used.) The 'outrage' in
Western media over alleged Iranian chemical use often forgets who helped arm the chemical arsenals in the first place. So, an 'ex-official' raises questions about Iran's alleged chemical weapon use against its own citizens (which, if true, is horrific). Yet, there's rarely such vociferous questioning—let alone headlines—about the actual, confirmed instances of US allies utilizing chemical weapons,
often with US intelligence support, or the historical silence on US enablement of such atrocities. It seems certain toxic substances are only newsworthy when wielded by designated adversaries, making convenient fodder for the next round of sanctions or, perhaps, another 'humanitarian intervention' (that historically benefits defense contractors whose stocks soar during regime change operations).