Word: saddamism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...migration, which was suspected to total 100 planes, left allied officials perplexed. "It's tough for me to put any kind of interpretation on what's going on," said chief of allied operations General H. Norman < Schwarzkopf. If Saddam Hussein was behind the exodus -- and that was not absolutely certain -- his goal was obvious: to save his air force from being destroyed on Iraqi soil by allied bombers. But what had motivated Iran to give a helping hand to its erstwhile enemy...
...clear explanation came from Tehran. Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani did assure the U.S.-led coalition, however, that the decision to provide sanctuary to some of Saddam's most sophisticated French and Soviet fighters and most of his SU-24 Fencer bombers would not affect Iran's neutral status. The planes, Iranian officials said, will be impounded and held until hostilities end. They also insisted that no deal had been cut with Baghdad in advance...
Whether that is true or not, the decision to hold on to Saddam's planes allows Tehran to play each side against the other in the gulf conflict, to its own advantage. By facilitating the removal of some 10% of Iraq's planes from combat, Iran earns the gratitude of the U.S. and its allies. "These aircraft are capable of reaching Israel, and their absconding from Iraq greatly reduces Iraq's war potential," said Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens last week...
...Saddam Hussein, Iran is giving him hope that should he outlast the U.N. coalition, he can still retain some of his military muscle. By helping out Saddam, Rafsanjani is assuaging the feelings of radical Islamic factions within Iran's parliament, who are unhappy to see Iran ignore the pummeling of fellow Muslims by Western forces...
...Iran has already gained a great deal by staying out of the conflict. Not long after Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, Saddam, in a clear effort to keep Tehran neutral, announced that he would release Iranian prisoners of war and give up Iranian territory still held from the Iran-Iraq war. The gulf conflict also has given Rafsanjani an opening to repair relations with Saudi Arabia and the other gulf states, which supported Iraq in its war with Iran. According to a senior Saudi official, Tehran, as a reward for its neutrality, is asking for loans and a lifting...