Saddam Hussein, 1937-2006

Saddam Hussein Al Tikriti was hanged this morning. He was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court for his actions in the northern Iraqi town of Dujail in 1982. Someone had taken a shot at Saddam as his motorcade traveled through the town. He took immediate revenge for the attack and ordered 148 men and boys to be executed. This was typical of Saddam. Under his tyrannic rule many thousands of Iraqis would be imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Thousands would be massacred for political dissent and millions would die in his self-defeating wars.

There is no doubt that many Iraqis will rejoice at the news of his execution. There is also little doubt that for many the news of his hanging will inspire acts of vengeance. Vengeance seems to be a primary motivator in today's troubled Iraq. Some will see Saddam as a martyr. This is hardly a surprise in a region where the only people who are not considered martyrs are the ones who are fortunate enough to die from natural causes.

But to really understand Saddam, one must study the 20th century history of Iraq, the Baath Party, and the Middle-East. One must also understand the imperialism of the European and American powers in the region. Germany, excluded from the oil fields of the Middle-East as a result of world war (largely motivated by the need for secure oil supplies), nurtured Arab colonial dissent during the period between WWI and WWII. This dissent was to give birth to the Baath Party. The word Baath roughly translates to renaissance.

The following documentary is rather long, but well worth viewing.

History Channel: Saddam and the Third Reich