My dad and I talk about Iraq alot, and everytime he brings up "He gassed his own people" I'm not sure exactly how to respond. If that is true, it's probably the most convincing evidence that the man is complete evil.

But is it true? I can't find anything that can support that it is, and my "news and views" radar has regisetered more and more bleaps claiming it is a fabrication. The lastest one is from a Christian Journal, of all places, but its only one of many:

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1115-01.htm

Did Saddam Hussein gas the Kurds? He is regularly accused of doing so, but the story may not be true. A little-known Army War College study, written by Stephen Pelletiere and Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Johnson, came to the conclusion that he did not. Throughout the Iran-Iraq war, Pelletiere served as the CIA's senior political analyst on Iraq, and Johnson has taught at the U.S. Military Academy. Their study investigated what happened at Halabja, where gas was used by both sides.

Saddam, the authors concluded, did not use poison gas against his people. While hundreds of civilians died in the crossfire, what felled them was the kind of gas used by Iranians. The Iranians, however, insisted that the gas came from the Iraqis. Their story prevailed in the U.S.

Jeffrey Goldberg wrote damningly about Iraq's role at Halabja (New Yorker, March 25), but when asked by the Village Voice why he had ignored the War College study, he explained that he trusted other sources. Why ignore significant evidence to the contrary?

The New York Times has recently disclosed that the Reagan administration, which supported Iraq against Iran, acquiesced in the use of gas (August 17). According to retired Colonel Walter P. Lang, who was senior defense intelligence officer at the time, "The use of gas on the battlefield by the Iraqis was not a matter of deep strategic concern."

Dilip Hiro says that while Saddam may have gassed civilians, conclusive proof was lacking at the time. "That is where the matter rested for 14 years--until 'gassing his own people' became a catchy slogan to demonize Saddam in the popular American imagination" (Nation, August 28).

Sounds awfully similar to the "Babies in Incubators" story that gave the American's the hate they needed to support our first war. That story too, turned out to be a fabrication.

In your opinion, would definitive evidence either way change anything?