The Reagan administration had marked its course: by mid-1983, it had shifted from a panicked effort to stave off an Iranian takeover of Iraq to an acceptance of Saddam as a prospective partner in America’s strategy for the Middle East. It was a decision that would have deep and unforeseen consequences for the U.S., Iraq, and Iran. Washington had now lashed itself to a dictator whose economic ambitions and ruthless “dark side” were easy enough to grasp.
