The Reality Of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein was born in 1937 in Al-Awja, Iraq. His father died before his birth, leading to a difficult childhood. His mother, Subha Tulfah, struggled financially and considered not raising him. At three, he was sent to live with his maternal uncle, Khairallah Talfah, in Baghdad, an army officer with strong nationalist and anti-British sentiments. This period significantly influenced Saddam, as he absorbed his uncle's ideology, which advocated for Arab unity, Sunni supremacy, and an end to Western influence in the Middle East. He developed a strong aversion to the British-backed Hashemite dynasty ruling Iraq and actively participated in protests from a young age.

Saddam initially failed to join the army but later enrolled in law school, where he became a student leader and allied himself with street gangs. In 1955, he dropped out of college to join the newly formed Ba'ath Party, which resonated with his ideals of Arab unity and challenging Western dominance. In 1958, a coup led by Brigadier Abd Al-Karim Qasim overthrew the Hashemite monarchy. However, Qasim's subsequent alignment with the Soviet Union angered both the Ba'ath Party and the US. Collaborating with the CIA, the Ba'ath Party, including Saddam Hussein, plotted to assassinate Qasim. Though the assassination attempt on October 7, 1959, failed, Saddam was injured and became a wanted man. He fled to Syria and then to Egypt with CIA assistance, where he continued to strengthen the Ba'ath Party and maintain contact with US intelligence.

The Ba'ath Party, with CIA support and members of Iraq's Free Officers Group, successfully overthrew Qasim's government in February 1963. This event, known as the Ramadan Revolution, brought the Ba'ath Party to power, with Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr as Prime Minister. Saddam, returning from Egypt, was appointed head of the Ba'ath Party's intelligence wing, Jihaz al-Haneen, responsible for eliminating opposition. However, political instability continued, and in November 1963, President Arif banned the Ba'ath Party, leading to Saddam's imprisonment. After escaping in 1966, Saddam rebuilt the Ba'ath Party, collaborating with al-Bakr and even communicating with the American Consulate in Basra. His efforts culminated in another coup on July 17, 1968, re-establishing Ba'ath Party rule. Saddam, initially Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, officially became Iraq's Vice President at 31, wielding significant power and distrusting potential rivals.

Once in power, Saddam ruthlessly consolidated control, establishing a vast intelligence network to monitor any dissent. He ensured loyalty by placing relatives in key positions and eliminating threats, such as forcing PM Abdul Razzaq to resign at gunpoint. On June 1, 1972, Saddam nationalized Iraq's oil industry, removing foreign companies and bringing all oil production under Iraqi government control. This move, while economically beneficial for Iraq, was a direct challenge to Western interests, particularly the US. The increased oil revenue fueled rapid development and cemented Saddam's image as a national hero. He also secretly diverted 5% of Iraq's yearly oil income to a Swiss bank account as a contingency fund for the Ba'ath Party. By July 16, 1979, Saddam had maneuvered Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr out of the presidency and assumed the position himself, further solidifying his autocratic rule. His brutal crackdown on 68 alleged conspirators, broadcast live on Iraqi television, demonstrated his absolute power.

Saddam faced a demographic challenge in Iraq, where Shia Muslims were the majority, but his Ba'ath Party was Sunni-led. He implemented policies to suppress Shia identity and promote secular nationalism to maintain control. The 1979 Iranian Revolution, which replaced the US-backed Shah with Ayatollah Khomeini, heightened Saddam's fears of a similar Shia uprising in Iraq. Khomeini's calls for exporting the Islamic Revolution to other Muslim countries, including an appeal to Iraqi Shias to overthrow Saddam, exacerbated tensions. Another key issue was control over the Shatt al-Arab river, Iraq's only sea route for oil exports. Believing Iran was weakened by its revolution and with implicit US support against Khomeini, Saddam abrogated the Algiers Agreement on September 17, 1980, claiming the entire Shatt al-Arab. On September 22, 1980, he launched a full-scale invasion of Iran, initiating the devastating Iran-Iraq War. The US, despite its prior dealings with Saddam, sided with him, providing arms, intelligence, and financial aid to counter Iran. During this prolonged war, Saddam resorted to chemical weapons, notably mustard gas and sarin, against Iranian troops and even Iraqi Kurdish civilians in Halabja who supported Iran, resulting in thousands of casualties and widespread disability. The US was aware of these chemical attacks but remained silent, and even actively worked to prevent UN intervention. After eight years, a ceasefire was enacted in 1988, but Iraq was left with a massive debt of $130 billion and no territorial gains.

After the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam was burdened by immense debt, and countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which had funded him, demanded repayment. Saddam argued he had fought on behalf of the entire Arab world against Iran's Shia regime. Kuwait, however, insisted on its money. Saddam then accused Kuwait of violating OPEC regulations by overproducing oil, causing a fall in oil prices and significant financial losses for Iraq. He also alleged that Kuwait was slant drilling into Iraqi oil fields, stealing billions. These accusations became a pretext for invasion. On July 25, 1990, despite warnings, Saddam proceeded with his plan. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. This act directly threatened US interests, particularly oil supplies. The UN immediately condemned the invasion and imposed heavy sanctions on Iraq. When Saddam declared Kuwait as Iraq's 19th province on August 8, 1990, the US, along with a coalition of 42 countries, launched Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991, successfully expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Despite his defeat, Saddam attempted to maintain an image of victory, even purportedly ordering a Quran to be written in his own blood to legitimize his Islamic leadership. The war and subsequent sanctions severely weakened Iraq, leading to widespread suffering and civilian deaths due to lack of food and medicine.

Despite expelling Saddam from Kuwait, the US sought to neutralise his long-term threat. Saddam's expulsion of Western oil companies demonstrated his unpredictability, and his ambition to develop nuclear and chemical weapons was a major concern. The US, under President Bush Sr., initially opted for a 'Containment Strategy,' imposing UN sanctions and inspections instead of direct military intervention. However, Saddam's alleged attempt to assassinate President George Bush Sr. in 1993, while denied by Iraq, solidified US enmity. UN inspectors, initially unable to find WMDs, later confirmed the existence of chemical weapons from the 1980s and a biological weapons facility due to information provided by Saddam's son-in-law, Hussein Kamal. After 1998, Saddam expelled UN inspectors and resorted to illegal oil sales, leading President Bill Clinton to pass the Iraq Liberation Act, openly declaring a US objective to remove Saddam. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the US, under President George W. Bush, adopted a more aggressive stance. Despite a lack of direct evidence linking Saddam to 9/11 or the development of new WMDs, US officials repeatedly implied connections. On March 17, 2003, President Bush issued a 48-hour ultimatum for Saddam to leave Iraq, which he refused. On March 19, 2003, the US launched a full-scale invasion of Iraq. Saddam initially evaded capture by hiding in fortified bunkers. As US forces advanced into Baghdad, Saddam fled with his sons and loyalists to his ancestral region near Tikrit. His sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a shootout with US forces on July 22, 2003. Saddam remained at large until December 13, 2003, when US forces, acting on intelligence derived from interrogating his associates and family members, located him hiding in a 'spider hole' near Ad-Dawr.

Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003. He was held and interrogated by US forces until June 2004, at which point he was handed over to the interim Iraqi government for trial. Saddam maintained his innocence regarding 9/11 and developing new chemical weapons programs. His trial focused on crimes against humanity, specifically the 1982 Dujail massacre, where 148 Shia villagers were executed in retaliation for an assassination attempt. On November 5, 2006, Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed on December 30, 2006, and buried in his hometown of Al-Awja the following day. After his removal, Iraq's oil industry, which Saddam had nationalized, was re-opened to Western companies like BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil. The US denied that its intervention in Iraq was for oil, citing security and peace in the Middle East. However, Alan Greenspan, former head of the US Federal Reserve, stated that removing Saddam was crucial for the world oil market. Subsequent reports from the Pentagon and CIA found no direct link between Saddam and 9/11, and no evidence of the 'weapons of mass destruction' for which the US had justified the invasion.