Who is Saddam Hussein and how did he rule Iraq and become a dictator?
480032
Saddam Hussein0 Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي), born April 28, 1937 1, was the President of Iraq from 1979 until he was captured by the military of the United States on December 13th, 2003, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.\n\nA leading member of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and socialism, Saddam (see 2 regarding names) played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power.\n\nAs vice president under his cousin, the frail General Ahmed Bakr, Saddam tightly controlled conflict between the government and the armed forces by creating repressive security forces and cementing his own firm authority over the apparatuses of government.\n\nAs president, Saddam ran an authoritarian government and maintained power through the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and the Persian Gulf War (1991). Saddam's government repressed movements that it deemed threatening, particularly those from ethnic or religious groups that sought independence or autonomy. While he remained a popular hero among many Arabs for standing up to his opponents in the West, such as the United States, some members of the international community continued to view Saddam with deep suspicion following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Saddam was deposed by the United States and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Captured by U.S. forces on December 13, 2003, he is standing trial charged with crimes against humanity and genocide before the Iraq Special Tribunal, established by the Iraqi Interim Government.\nSaddam Hussein\nDate of birth April 28, 1937\nPolitical Party Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party\nPolitical positions \n\n    * Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council and President of Iraq (1979-2003)
60250
President of Iraq: Jalal Talabani\n\nJalal Talabani (in Kurdish:ﻰﻧ ﺎﺑﻪﻟﺎﺗ ﻝﻻﻪﺟ /Celal Talebanî )(in Arabic: جلال طالباني: jalâl tâlabânî) (born 1933), Iraqi politician, was named President of Iraq on April 6, 2005 by the Iraqi National Assembly. Talabani is founder and secretary general of one of the main Iraqi Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He was a prominent member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, which was established following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
841781
Yes, the United States of America and her allies must all pitch in and help rebuild Iraq. When Saddam Hussein first came into power, he was Mr. Nice Guy but once the 1980's came around, he went from being Mr. Nice Guy to becoming Mr. Not So Nice Guy and started to build palaces for himself and had his people live in ruins. Not that Hussein is no longer the President, Iraq is moving everyday towards democracy. If you want to hear the Truh of the Democracy taken shape in Iraq, I recommend that you watch a show titled The 700 Club.
625209
He invaded Kuwait, an ally of ours. He began to kill the people and burn the oil fields. Desert Storm drove him out of Kuwait and back to Iraq where he continued to butcher his own people and threaten to amass weapons of mass destruction.
910354
I hear so many stories I no longer know what to believe. \nWMD\n\nOIL\n\nFree people from a dictator.\n\nThe one thing I don't understand is why our government would want to remove a Sunni dominated government that kept the Shiites of Iran in check. Now there will be a Shiite dominated government in Iraq that will be more cooperative with the Shiites of Iran and if you look at a world map you will see that a Sunni dominated Iraq acted as  a buffer zone between Iran and Saudi Arabia which is the only Arab country friendly to the US. When the Shiites take control of Iraq, they will set their eyes on Saudi Arabia. You can see from the map that Iraq has a very long border with Saudi Arabia.  That is the one aspect that to me makes the least sense...
42000
i think a lot of it..comes from islam.  although it contains five pillars, of peace and charity - one is required to defend islam (this is played down by moderates and used mostly by extremists) and that is exactly what saddam did. he could have killed millions MORE, but in defense of islam it would have been somewhat acceptable.  islam does mean "peace" but when your new occupying power, US, are not brothers within the islam faith, we're technically the infidels, and shouldn't be tolerated.  the people of iraq are mostly peaceful people and should be viewed as such... But islam only allows that to go so far when you've lived under a theocracy your whole life...
1116569
Have the Iraqi's formed a democracy of their own choosing? Yes. Is Saddam removed from power and on trial for his horrible crimes? Yes. Is Iraq forming its own military and police forces to be able to protect itself? Yes. Sounds like we are winning to me.
117024
He is Sunni, part of the minority group in Iraq. Now that Sadaam is no longer in power, Sunni's are having trouble adjusting to not having things their way. Some keep insisting that they're the majority group in Iraq.
922473
Bush was wrong from the beginning.\n\nSadam Hussein was a dictator and he deserved to be overthrown. But the idea of "teaching democracy" to Iraq was wrong and non-executable from the beginning. You cannot teach democracy from today to tomorrow. You cannot force democracy. The process of transformation should be slow and should be internally driven. You need wandering 40 years in the desert until a new generation grows up.\n\nAdditionally, the reason of existence of mass destruction weapons were entirely faulty. The only reason America went to was was controlling the oil of Iraq.
946126
foolish hypocracy.\nthere're lots of people who deserve being sentenced to death much more than Saddam
886629
Cromwell was a military dictator.  During his reign of terror, 10% of the population of Great Britain and Ireland was murdered.  This is a figure that Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot could only dream about.  Saddam was not even in that league.\n\nOK.  In the UK you've got a one in 500,000 chance of being killed by a religious zealot.  That's got to be better than one in 10.
641731
these liberals want you to believe that Saddam was over there minding his own business and petting his kittens. But in actuality he was defying UN mandates for over 10 years. gassing (WMD's) people in his own country who he thought were inferior. and jailing, torturing and killing people who did not share his religious and political views.
211623
If you make a mistake, do you clean it up or do you let it be?\n\nWe created Iraq by giving him military support durning the Iraq-Iran war. \nWe also created Iran through giving a dictator our support to opress his people. \n\nWe are responsible for Saddam's military appetite and the Islamic government taking power in Iran. \n\nWe made a mess and we need to clean it up.\n\nCountry girl you are right, We were attacked by radical Islam on 9/11 and we are fighting radical Islam in Iraq. Yes they are connected!!!
1026976
My money is on Muqtada al-Sadr, one of the al Mahdi army or one of Iran's SVAMA agents. Lots of Shiites would like to be rid of Saddam himself.
466037
Saddam killed his own people vs Bush sent his own people to be killed.
133808
Saddam was the Baathist party leader in Iraq.  Most Sunni's are Baathist as well.  That is the connection between the two.  Saddam is by no means a religious man.  It was on rare occasion that he even wore Arab garb.  The Sunni's enjoyed most of the perks under his watch.  Most of the army was Sunni, yet most of the Republican Guard were from his home town. These are the people that he trusted the most; these were his most loyal followers, it had nothing to do with religion. His relationship with all other segments of Iraqi society was at best, guarded.  The Kurds would have had his ass in a New York minute, given half the chance.  The Turkman had no particular edge with Saddam, and the Christians just stayed out of his way. The Shiites, particularly those in the south, had strong ties to Iran.  Iran's brand of Islam is predominately Shiite, so Saddam was not particularly friendly to the Shiites.  Saddam ruled with scare tactics and he was pretty effective with them.  He kept every one under control but at a high price.  The mass graves still pop up occasionally!
61858
i know that saddam is a dictator but those days before the war un iraq are much much better than the days now .... terror ... bommings.. killing ... kidnaping ... OILstealing ... torturingv...\nall that because of his majesty G.W.bush