Secretary of State James A. Baker III, Israel and Saddam Hussein
Dr. Joseph Lerner 2 January 2004

Israel Radio reports that U.S. President George Bush has appointed James
Baker as a special U.S. envoy to the Middle East. VOA reports that the
mission is in search of Iraqi debt relief.

In the period immediately before the first Gulf War, then Secretary of State
Baker sought to assure Saddam Hussein the US was with him and would protect
him from Israel. Moshe Ahrens relates in his 1995 book "Broken Covenant"
(214):

""Baker sent a message to Saddam Hussein reminding him that when an Israel
Air Force raid had destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor, 'we condemned the
1981 raid. And would do so again today. We are telling Israel so'. "

When the US went to war against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait the US was
glad that Israel had destroyed Iraq's nuclear potential in 1981.
Unfortunately, the US failed to finish the job in the Gulf War even though
the U.S. had seen Hussein was not a power to be easily snuffed out. Instead,
it left Saddam with his power intact as he smashed segments of Iraq's
population and supported terrorists as demonstrated by his substantial gifts
to families of suicide bombers who murdered Israelis.

As for Baker's disdain for Israel, Shortly before assuming office as
Secretary of State, Baker invited an interviewer from Time magazine to
accompany him on a turkey hunt. At one point during the hunt, when he was
discussing Israel and the Arabs, Baker remarked: "The trick is in getting
them where you want them, on your terms. Then you control the situation, not
them. You have the options. Pull the trigger or don't. It doesn't matter
once you've got them where you want them. The important thing is knowing
that it's in your hands, that you can do whatever you determine is in your
interest to do." When the reporter asked Baker if he was referring to the
turkeys, Baker replied, "No, I mean Israel." (Time, February 13, 1989) [as
cited in ZOA press release June 7, 1996].