Official cover-ups

The White House kept secret for 10 years illegal and military support for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. President George Bush ordered a cover-up of the embarrassing history in 1991. A high-level meeting was convened of all federal agencies and departments which had had overt and covert dealings with Iraq over the period in order to minimize public exposure and develop a strategy to frustrate, evade and stifle Congressional investigations into the matter. A secret mechanism was set in place to take control of all Iraq-related public records and make them virtually impossible to obtain -- even if their existence was known. Senate investigations have later revealed that chemical and biological weapons sold to the Iraqis prior to 1989 were used against allied forces in 1991.