Frontline Season 9 Episode 1 The Arming of Iraq: Frontline Special

The Arming of Iraq: Frontline Special is the first episode of the ninth season of the Emmy award-winning documentary series, Frontline. This special episode delves into the history of the arming of Iraq, and how the United States helped Saddam Hussein build his military arsenal. The episode argues that the United States, along with other European and Middle Eastern countries, played a significant role in arming Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and in the lead-up to the 1991 Gulf War.

The documentary highlights the various deals that were made between western countries and Iraq, including the sale of chemical and biological weapons components, military hardware, and other dual-use technologies that could be used for both civilian and military purposes. It also examines how corporations such as Siemens, Philips and other European firms contributed to the buildup of Iraq's military capacities. These deals were encouraged by strategically important countries, however, US policy under the Reagan administration more specifically, tilted in favour of supporting Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War. These policies facilitated the sale of weapons to Iraq, which was struggling to keep up with Iran's military might, all while Iran and the U.S. engaged in a proxy war.

The episode exposes how the arming of Iraq helped Saddam Hussein build his reputation as a regional power, and how he used this power to intimidate neighboring countries. It also shows the toll this arms buildup had on innocent civilians, both in Iraq and Iran, as well as internationally. The documentary includes interviews with former officials from the Reagan and Bush administrations, as well as with officials from countries that supplied weapons to Iraq.

The documentary sets the stage for the Gulf War in 1991, and highlights how the US suddenly began to portray Iraq as a serious and imminent threat to the US and its allies; even though it had supplied Iraq with arms in their previous war with Iran. The episode explores the inconsistencies in US policy towards Iraq, and how the US used the weapons and training that it had previously provided to Iraq against them. Through declassified tapes and documents, the documentary explores how the recommendations of arms export monitoring groups were ignored, allowing arms sales to Iraq to continue.

The year is 2021, and with the benefit of historical perspective since the Iraq war, the documentary creators highlight the effect of the weapons sale on the ongoing strife in the region. The episode was produced after 9/11, and examines what the Iraq War of 2003 meant in light of what had gone before.

Overall, The Arming of Iraq: Frontline Special is a thought-provoking and comprehensive documentary that offers a revealing account of the US's arming of Iraq in the 1980s and 1990s. The episode provides insight into the complexities of US foreign policy in the Middle East and the consequences of those policies for innocent civilians. This documentary offers an opportunity to learn from history and question the decisions and vested interests that shape relations between countries. It examines the human consequences of statecraft, particularly the ways in which policies of powerful nations have the capacity to impact the lives of communities globally.