Years before the first Gulf War , Saddam Hussein was slaughtering Iraq 's Kurds . Although then-Secretary of State George Schultz warned Iraq that use of outlawed chemical weapons jeopardized the two countries ' budding relationship , Schultz 's spokesman said imposing economic sanctions would be premature . Peter Galbraith was one of the first Westerners to see the effects of the killing . A Senate staffer at the time , he tried to invoke the U.N. Genocide Convention . He got a lot more than that from his superiors in Washington and Baghdad who were afraid of what would happen if they didn't do something about it.
Years before the first Gulf War , Saddam Hussein was slaughtering Iraq 's Kurds . Peter Galbraith was one of the first Westerners to see the effects of the killing . A Senate staffer at the time , he tried to invoke the U.N. Genocide Convention . He got a lot more than that from his superiors in Washington and Baghdad who were afraid of what would happen if they didn't do something about it.