A Poisonous Affair—America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja

The Open Society Institute Middle East & North Africa Initiative sponsored a presentation and discussion of Joost Hiltermann's A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja (Cambridge).

In March 1988, during the Iran-Iraq war, thousands were killed in a chemical attack on a town in Iraqi Kurdistan. Both sides accused the other. Gradually it emerged that Saddam Hussein, with the tacit support of his Western allies, was responsible. This book tells the story of the gassing of Halabja, and how Iraq amassed chemical weapons to target Iranian soldiers and Kurdish villagers as America looked the other way. Today, as the Middle East sinks further into turmoil, these policies are coming back to haunt the West.

Joost Hiltermann is Middle East Project Director for the International Crisis Group.  Based in Amman, Jordan, Hiltermann manages a team of analysts conducting research in countries of the Middle East and writing policy-focused reports on the factors that increase the risk of and drive armed conflict.

Rina Amiri, Senior Regional Advisor for OSI's Central Eurasia Project and Middle East & North Africa Initiatives, introduced the event.

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The Open Forum speaker series aims to enhance policy debate on key issues facing Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the Middle East, and to raise public awareness of important developments in these regions. Monthly Open Forum events are held in New York and Washington, DC, and are attended by leading policymakers, scholars, NGO staff, and journalists. All events are free of charge.