NIXON, RICHARD M.

(1913-1994)

U.S. president Richard M. Nixon and his national security advisor,Henry Kissinger, presided over the covert and unkept promises toMulla Mustafa Barzaniin the early 1970s that encouraged theIraqiKurds to rebel but eventually led to their final defeat at the hands of the Iraqi government in 1975. Nixon and Kissinger were simply using the Iraqi Kurds as a pawn in their larger strategy to helpIsraeland oppose theSoviet Union. Later Kissinger explained that "covert action should not be confused with missionary work."

See alsoPike Committee Report.