#hussein

I got hold of a copy of the video that showed how Saddam Hussein had actually confirmed himself in power. This snuff-movie opens with a plenary session of the Ba'ath Party central committee: perhaps a hundred men. Suddenly the doors are locked and Saddam, in the chair, announces a special session. Into the room is dragged an obviously broken man, who begins to emit a robotic confession of treason and subversion, that he sobs has been instigated by Syrian and other agents. As the (literally) extorted confession unfolds, names begin to be named. Once a fellow-conspirator is identified, guards come to his seat and haul him from the room. The reclining Saddam, meanwhile, lights a large cigar and contentedly scans his dossiers. The sickness of fear in the room is such that men begin to crack up and weep, rising to their feet to shout hysterical praise, even love, for the leader. Inexorably, though, the cull continues, and faces and bodies go slack as their owners are pinioned and led away. When it is over, about half the committee members are left, moaning with relief and heaving with ardent love for the boss. (In an accompanying sequel, which I have not seen, they were apparently required to go into the yard outside and shoot the other half, thus sealing the pact with Saddam. I am not sure that even Beria or Himmler would have had the nerve and ingenuity and cruelty to come up with that.) ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#ba-athism #ba-athist-iraq #beria #conspiracy #cull

We made them drink poison last night and Saddam Hussein's soldiers and his great forces gave the Americans a lesson which will not be forgotten by history. Truly. ↗

— Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf

#forces #forgotten #gave #great #his

Saddam Hussein was a horrible man, and I am pleased he is no longer running Iraq. But the war was wrong. ↗

— Ed Balls

#horrible #hussein #i #i am #iraq

I may find Saddam Hussein's regime abhorrent - any normal person would - but the survival of it is in his hands. ↗

— Tony Blair

#any #find #hands #his #hussein

The threat from Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological, potentially nuclear weapons capability - that threat is real. ↗

— Tony Blair

#capability #chemical #destruction #hussein #mass

As the Iraqi people better understand that Saddam Hussein and his regime are history, it is my hope that they will get behind the coalition effort to help them create a democratic government and rebuild their country. ↗

— Pete Domenici

#better #coalition #country #create #democratic

I believe that sooner or later we're going to have to deal with Saddam Hussein, because of his general reputation, because of what I'm convinced he's done with regard to terrorism and the support thereof. But I'm not at all sure I believe that it has to be right now. ↗

— Lawrence Eagleburger

#believe #convinced #deal #done #general

As someone who has seen war first hand, and as a father of three young adults, it was my hope that we could have resolved this conflict and disarmed Saddam Hussein without war. However, this was not the case. ↗

— Allen Boyd

#conflict #could #disarmed #father #first

What holds an Arab leader in power is a mixture of violence and prestige. Both President Assad and King Hussein were felt to have defended Arab interests against the world. That, in the end, is more important than what they wear on their head. ↗

— James Buchan

#arab #both #defended #end #felt

For all who love freedom and peace, the world without Saddam Hussein's regime is a better and safer place. ↗

— George W. Bush

#freedom #hussein #love #peace #place