Patrick Cockburn

I first saw Saddam Hussein making a speech on a distant platform in Baghdad in 1978. He was already known as “The Strong Man of Iraq” and the following year he executed several leaders of the ruling Baath Party who were opposed to him to become the all-powerful president.
Criticism of the leader and his family was highly dangerous. People in cafes in Baghdad were nervous if they accidentally spilled their coffee on their newspaper. They feared they might be accused of deliberately defacing the picture of Saddam Hussein that invariably appeared on the front page.
He wanted to be a world historical figure and in a way he achieved his ambition. He compared himself to the great heroes of the Iraqi past, such as Sargon of Akkad, Nebuchadnezzar and Saladin. At the height of the Iran-Iraq War, when resources were strained in Iraq, he rebuilt part of ancient Babylon with ugly yellowed bricks, on each of which was printed his name.
Surprisingly, he succeeded in making the world ring with his name. But he did so through defeat and not victory. In 1980 he invaded Iran and started an eight-year-long war in which one million Iraqis and Iranians were killed and wounded. In 1990 he occupied Kuwait and was defeated by US-led forces.
Hussein destroyed his own country. When he came to power it had oil, money, a competent administration and a well-educated population. He left it in ruins. He inflicted on his people years of war that still show no sign of ending. [more]