( CNN ) -- The U.S. diplomatic courtship with Iraq in the 1980s continued despite Saddam Hussein 's use of chemical weapons . Click on the links to read once-classified documents from the Reagan administration . Once-classified documents show the U.S. continued its courtship with Iraq despite use of chemical weapons . Date : December 5 , 1986 Subject : U.S.-Iraqi Relations : Picking Up the Pieces Summary : After disclosures that the United States was secretly providing weapons to Iraq 's enemy , Iran , Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy recommends strengthening commercial ties with Saddam Hussein because `` U.S.-Iraqi relations are in crisis . '' Read the document ( pdf ) Date : March 3 , 1988 Subject : Iraq 's Foreign Policy : Deeper into the Mainstream Summary : Anticipating an end to the Iran-Iraq war , a State Department official is optimistic that continued ties between the United States and Iraq will lead Saddam Hussein `` deeper into the mainstream . '' The author concludes that `` fears of Iraq 's aggression seem exaggerated . '' Two weeks later , Iraqi forces attack Kurdish civilians in Halabja with poisonous gas . Read the document ( pdf ) Date : December 29 , 1988 Subject : Export-Import Financing for Iraq Summary : In the closing days of the Reagan administration , the State Department 's top human rights official argues that continued financial aid to Iraq `` can simply not be squared with our worldwide human rights policy . '' However , Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy counters that U.S. financial ties with Iraq have `` far greater use with Baghdad as a carrot than as a stick . '' A year and a half later , Iraq invades Kuwait . Read the document ( pdf )
Diplomatic courtship with Iraq continued despite use of chemical weapons . Read once-classified documents from the Reagan administration . Subjects include `` Export-Import Financing for Iraq '' and `` Iraq 's Foreign Policy ''