> But the Islamic Republic wasn’t an American creation. Neither was Saddam’s Iraq Saddam's Iraq was, though; Saddam's rise to power in Iraq was backed activel

> But the Islamic Republic wasn’t an American creation. Neither was Saddam’s Iraq Saddam's Iraq was, though; Saddam's rise to power in Iraq was backed actively by the US because he was seen as a useful anti-Communist, and once in power he was backed by the US government (to the point of rushing Donald Rumsfeld out as Reagan's special envoy to assure both Saddam and the world of our support for him after he used chemical weapons) in its long war of aggression against Iran in the 1980s.