Saddam Hussein: Difference between revisions

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{{Quote|My name is Saddam Hussein. I am President of Iraq, and I want to negotiate.|Saddam Hussein to U.S. troopers.}}

'''Saddam Hussein''' (April 28, 1937 - December 30, 2006) was the President of Iraq from 1979 until being overthrown in 2003~~, after iraq war started~~. Saddam is widely known for his invasion of Iran in 1980, which kickstarted the Iran-Iraq war, his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 for more oil and committing [[genocide]] against Iraq's Kurdish and Shi'a Muslim populations. The death total was 1 million. He is considered to have been one of the most brutal and authoritarian dictators of the modern era.

'''Saddam Hussein''' (April 28, 1937 - December 30, 2006) was the President of Iraq from 1979 until being overthrown in 2003 during the early stages of the [[Iraq War]]. Saddam is widely known for his invasion of Iran in 1980, which kickstarted the Iran-Iraq war, his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 for more oil and committing [[genocide]] against Iraq's Kurdish and Shi'a Muslim populations. The death total was 1 million. He is considered to have been one of the most brutal and authoritarian dictators of the modern era.

==Early Life==

Born Saddam which in Arabic means "one who confronts", he never knew his father who died just 6 months after he was born, and his 13 year old brother soon died of cancer. His mother had reportedly intended to abort him, but a Jewish couple convinced her otherwise. Although he officially used 28 April 1937 as his birth date, his real birthdate is unknown, obtaining this birth date from a classmate he was envious. He is believed to have been born between 1935 and 1939. He then lived with his uncle until he was three, and his mother got remarried. Saddam got three brothers out of this marriage, and a father, but he treated him horribly (Saddam's father in law), and he ran away to his uncle in Baghdad again. Later he got an education at a nationalistic Iraqi high school, and went to law school for three years after which he dropped out to join the pan-Arab [[Ba'ath Party]], which his uncle supported.

Apparently he was a secondary school teacher at this time. Later socialists and progressives were trying to rise to power, in fact in Egypt a pan-Arab had already gotten control. Now in Egypt, Libya, and Iraq monarchies were overthrown. After being sent to prison, he married Sajida Talfah, whom he bore several children, including [[Uday Hussein|Uday]] and [[Qusay Hussein|Qusay]]. In Iraq the military leader Abd al-Karim Qasim overthrew the government, and created himself a dictatorship. Saddam Hussein was part of the plot to assassinate him (which failed) due to the fact that his party disagreed with his view.

Apparently he was a secondary school teacher at this time. Later socialists and progressives were trying to rise to power, in fact in Egypt a pan-Arab had already gotten control. Now in Egypt, Libya, and Iraq monarchies were overthrown. After being sent to prison, he married Sajida Talfah, whom he bore several children, including [[Uday Hussein|Uday]] and [[Qusay Hussein|Qusay]]. In Iraq the military leader [[Abd al-Karim Qasim]] overthrew the government, and created himself a dictatorship. Saddam Hussein was part of the plot to assassinate him (which failed) due to the fact that his party disagreed with his view.

Hussein also expressed admiration for dictators like [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Joseph Stalin]].

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In 1980 Saddam gave weapons and safe haven to the Syrian [[Muslim Brotherhood]] seeking to overthrow another secular Ba'athist dictator, [[Hafez al-Assad]], in neighboring Syria whose Alawite regime was allied with Shi'a Iran. This was the beginning of Saddam's support for international [[terrorism]].

Saddam went to war with neighboring Iran in 1980, fearing that, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], who rose to power in Iran, would rally Iraq's Shi'ite population against him. Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos, it made limited progress and was quickly repelled; Iran regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982. For the next six years, Iran was on the offensive until near the end of the war. After accusing Kurdish forces of allying with Iran, he ordered his cousin [[Ali Hassan al-Majid]] to gas Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq. Iraqi Air Force helicopters rained chemical weapons – including mustard gas, Sarin, and VX nerve gas – upon scores of Kurdish villages, causing tens of thousands of Kurds as well as several Assyrians nearby to die from suffocation and burning. The Anfal campaign led to the destruction of thousands of villages, the deportation of thousands of Kurds to southern and central Iraq, and the deaths of over 100,000 Kurds. The campaign takes its name from Surah al-Anfal in the Qur'an (the holy book of Islam), which describes the spoils of war. The campaign was also directed against other minority communities in the country including Assyrians, Shabaks, Yazidis, Jews, Mandaeans and Turkmens, and the villages of these ethnic groups were destroyed. An estimated 50,000 to 182,000 people were killed.

Saddam went to war with neighboring Iran in 1980, fearing that, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], who rose to power in Iran, would rally Iraq's Shi'ite population against him. Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos, it made limited progress and was quickly repelled; Iran regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982.

For the next six years, Iran was on the offensive until near the end of the war. After accusing Kurdish forces of allying with Iran, he ordered his cousin [[Ali Hassan al-Majid]] to gas Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq. Iraqi Air Force helicopters rained chemical weapons – including mustard gas, Sarin, and VX nerve gas – upon scores of Kurdish villages, causing tens of thousands of Kurds as well as several Assyrians nearby to die from suffocation and burning.

The Anfal campaign led to the destruction of thousands of villages, the deportation of thousands of Kurds to southern and central Iraq, and the deaths of over 100,000 Kurds. The campaign takes its name from Surah al-Anfal in the Qur'an (the holy book of Islam), which describes the spoils of war. The campaign was also directed against other minority communities in the country including Assyrians, Shabaks, Yazidis, Jews, Mandaeans and Turkmens, and the villages of these ethnic groups were destroyed. An estimated 50,000 to 182,000 people were killed.

After many uprisings in southern Iraq by Shia as well as Marsh Arabs, Saddam ordered the marches around the Tigris and Euphrates to be drained, causing the marshes to become desert. Dams and canals were built to divert the rivers away from the marshlands. Thousands of Marsh Arabs either died due to the drought, killed, or displaced. It was believed that his son [[Qusay Hussein|Qusay]] helped squash the uprisings. By 2000, it was estimated that 90% of the marshes had disappeared. Although there have been efforts to reflood the marshes, the droughts still affect southern Iraq today. This was labeled as one of the worst environmental disasters in modern history.

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[[Category:Social Darwinist]]

[[Category:Propagandist]]

[[Category:Eco Destroyer]]

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 }}
 {{Quote|My name is Saddam Hussein. I am President of Iraq, and I want to negotiate.|Saddam Hussein to U.S. troopers.}}
-'''Saddam Hussein''' (April 28, 1937 - December 30, 2006) was the President of Iraq from 1979 until being overthrown in 2003, after iraq war started. Saddam is widely known for his invasion of Iran in 1980, which kickstarted the Iran-Iraq war, his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 for more oil and committing [[genocide]] against Iraq's Kurdish and Shi'a Muslim populations. The death total was 1 million. He is considered to have been one of the most brutal and authoritarian dictators of the modern era.
+'''Saddam Hussein''' (April 28, 1937 - December 30, 2006) was the President of Iraq from 1979 until being overthrown in 2003 during the early stages of the [[Iraq War]]. Saddam is widely known for his invasion of Iran in 1980, which kickstarted the Iran-Iraq war, his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 for more oil and committing [[genocide]] against Iraq's Kurdish and Shi'a Muslim populations. The death total was 1 million. He is considered to have been one of the most brutal and authoritarian dictators of the modern era.
 ==Early Life==
 Born Saddam which in Arabic means "one who confronts", he never knew his father who died just 6 months after he was born, and his 13 year old brother soon died of cancer. His mother had reportedly intended to abort him, but a Jewish couple convinced her otherwise. Although he officially used 28 April 1937 as his birth date, his real birthdate is unknown, obtaining this birth date from a classmate he was envious. He is believed to have been born between 1935 and 1939. He then lived with his uncle until he was three, and his mother got remarried. Saddam got three brothers out of this marriage, and a father, but he treated him horribly (Saddam's father in law), and he ran away to his uncle in Baghdad again. Later he got an education at a nationalistic Iraqi high school, and went to law school for three years after which he dropped out to join the pan-Arab [[Ba'ath Party]], which his uncle supported.
-Apparently he was a secondary school teacher at this time. Later socialists and progressives were trying to rise to power, in fact in Egypt a pan-Arab had already gotten control. Now in Egypt, Libya, and Iraq monarchies were overthrown. After being sent to prison, he married Sajida Talfah, whom he bore several children, including [[Uday Hussein|Uday]] and [[Qusay Hussein|Qusay]]. In Iraq the military leader Abd al-Karim Qasim overthrew the government, and created himself a dictatorship. Saddam Hussein was part of the plot to assassinate him (which failed) due to the fact that his party disagreed with his view.
+Apparently he was a secondary school teacher at this time. Later socialists and progressives were trying to rise to power, in fact in Egypt a pan-Arab had already gotten control. Now in Egypt, Libya, and Iraq monarchies were overthrown. After being sent to prison, he married Sajida Talfah, whom he bore several children, including [[Uday Hussein|Uday]] and [[Qusay Hussein|Qusay]]. In Iraq the military leader [[Abd al-Karim Qasim]] overthrew the government, and created himself a dictatorship. Saddam Hussein was part of the plot to assassinate him (which failed) due to the fact that his party disagreed with his view.
 Hussein also expressed admiration for dictators like [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Joseph Stalin]].
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 In 1980 Saddam gave weapons and safe haven to the Syrian [[Muslim Brotherhood]] seeking to overthrow another secular Ba'athist dictator, [[Hafez al-Assad]], in neighboring Syria whose Alawite regime was allied with Shi'a Iran. This was the beginning of Saddam's support for international [[terrorism]].
-Saddam went to war with neighboring Iran in 1980, fearing that, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], who rose to power in Iran, would rally Iraq's Shi'ite population against him. Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos, it made limited progress and was quickly repelled; Iran regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982. For the next six years, Iran was on the offensive until near the end of the war. After accusing Kurdish forces of allying with Iran, he ordered his cousin [[Ali Hassan al-Majid]] to gas Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq. Iraqi Air Force helicopters rained chemical weapons – including mustard gas, Sarin, and VX nerve gas – upon scores of Kurdish villages, causing tens of thousands of Kurds as well as several Assyrians nearby to die from suffocation and burning. The Anfal campaign led to the destruction of thousands of villages, the deportation of thousands of Kurds to southern and central Iraq, and the deaths of over 100,000 Kurds. The campaign takes its name from Surah al-Anfal in the Qur'an (the holy book of Islam), which describes the spoils of war. The campaign was also directed against other minority communities in the country including Assyrians, Shabaks, Yazidis, Jews, Mandaeans and Turkmens, and the villages of these ethnic groups were destroyed. An estimated 50,000 to 182,000 people were killed.
+Saddam went to war with neighboring Iran in 1980, fearing that, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], who rose to power in Iran, would rally Iraq's Shi'ite population against him. Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos, it made limited progress and was quickly repelled; Iran regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982.
+For the next six years, Iran was on the offensive until near the end of the war. After accusing Kurdish forces of allying with Iran, he ordered his cousin [[Ali Hassan al-Majid]] to gas Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq. Iraqi Air Force helicopters rained chemical weapons – including mustard gas, Sarin, and VX nerve gas – upon scores of Kurdish villages, causing tens of thousands of Kurds as well as several Assyrians nearby to die from suffocation and burning.
+The Anfal campaign led to the destruction of thousands of villages, the deportation of thousands of Kurds to southern and central Iraq, and the deaths of over 100,000 Kurds. The campaign takes its name from Surah al-Anfal in the Qur'an (the holy book of Islam), which describes the spoils of war. The campaign was also directed against other minority communities in the country including Assyrians, Shabaks, Yazidis, Jews, Mandaeans and Turkmens, and the villages of these ethnic groups were destroyed. An estimated 50,000 to 182,000 people were killed.
 After many uprisings in southern Iraq by Shia as well as Marsh Arabs, Saddam ordered the marches around the Tigris and Euphrates to be drained, causing the marshes to become desert. Dams and canals were built to divert the rivers away from the marshlands. Thousands of Marsh Arabs either died due to the drought, killed, or displaced. It was believed that his son [[Qusay Hussein|Qusay]] helped squash the uprisings. By 2000, it was estimated that 90% of the marshes had disappeared. Although there have been efforts to reflood the marshes, the droughts still affect southern Iraq today. This was labeled as one of the worst environmental disasters in modern history.
@@ Line 162: / Line 166: @@
 [[Category:Social Darwinist]]
 [[Category:Propagandist]]
+[[Category:Eco Destroyer]]