Rep. Don Bacon, Speaking on House Floor, Commemorates 36th Anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s Gas Attack on Halabja

“I deployed four times, and the Kurds were our great allies, and I will always remain grateful,” Bacon said.

Laurie Mylroie 2024/03/22 11:21

The U.S Capitol photographed on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

World Don Bacon Congressman Kurdish Congressional Caucus Halabja Chemical Attack Anfal US-KRG Relations

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – On Thursday, Rep. Don Bacon (R, Nebraska), Co-Chair of the Kurdish Congressional Caucus, spoke on the House floor to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the chemical weapons attack on the town of Halabja by Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime.

Some 5,000 innocent people were killed in the attack that day—March 16, 1988—with another 10,000 injured, according to the U.S. State Department.

“Thirty-six years ago this week, Saddam Hussein unleashed a nightmare upon the peaceful Kurdish town of Halabja, forever etching it into the annals of human tragedy,” Rep. Bacon began, as he explained that the chemical attack, consisting of mustard gas and nerve agents, was part of the regime’s “genocidal ‘Anfal’ campaign.”

And Halabja was only “one chapter in the harrowing saga” of that campaign, he continued. “Over the course of two years, more than 180,000 civilians perished, their villages razed to the ground.”

As the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has explained,“90% of Kurdish villages and more than 20 small towns and cities were completely destroyed” in the Kurdish genocide committed by the regime.

But Bacon, a retired Air Force officer, who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the U.S.-led war that overthrew Saddam, also offered a hopeful perspective.

“In honoring the memory of those who perished in Halabja, let us also honor the resilience of the survivors, whose spirit remains unbroken despite the unimaginable suffering they have endured,” he continued.

“May their courage,” he said, “inspire us to redouble our efforts” to prevent “atrocities like those committed in Halabja” from happening again.

Appreciation of “Kurdish Allies” for Shared Fight Against Common Enemies

‘I also want to take a moment to thank our Kurdish allies for their friendship and partnership in the fight against ISIS, al Qaeda in Iraq, and the Shi’a militias in Iraq,” Bacon said.

“I deployed four times, and the Kurds were our great allies, and I will always remain grateful,” he added, explaining his personal perspective.

Not surprisingly given his background, Bacon, who retired from the Air Force as a Brigadier General, sits on the House Armed Services Committee. He is also the Republican Co-Chair of the Kurdish Congressional Caucus.

Last June, Bacon met with the KRG Interior Minister, Rebar Ahmed, as he visited Washington.

In February, when the KRG Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, visited Washington, Bacon met with him as well.

As Barzani tweeted after that meeting, “The KRI-US relationship has deepened enormously in the last decade. Congressman @RepDonBacon and others have been central to those efforts, and we look forward to doing more together.”

The KRI-US relationship has deepened enormously in the last decade. Congressman @RepDonBacon and others have been central to those efforts, and we look forward to doing more together. pic.twitter.com/QD7KXCg8CU
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) February 28, 2024