Trump speaks kindly of dictators, communist and fascist — Putin, Gaddafi, Assad, Kim Un and Saddam Hussein. But he’s seems to be using Hussein to advocate policy for America, how we should fight terrorism. Does he even know what he’s talking about? And does America really need to learn from Saddam? Could Bush and the Republicans have been that wrong?
“He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn’t read them the rights. They didn’t talk. They were terrorists. Over. [July 5]” He didn’t mention a single terrorist group who lost even one terrorist to Hussein. There weren’t any. Al Qaeda was not in Iraq and and ISIS did not exist. Here’s the scoop.
Saddam ran perhaps the world’s most terroristic state from 1974 to 2003. He was a member of a Sunni tribe and persecuted Iraqi Kurds (and other minorities) and Iraqi Shi’ites (the majority). In 1993 he attempted to assassinate George H. W. Bush in Kuwait, for which Pres. Clinton launched 24 Tomahawk missiles against his intelligence agency.
Saddam also sheltered terrorist organizations in Baghdad. These included the Palestine Liberation Front and Abu Nidal, which attacked twenty countries including the US. In April 2002, Saddam Hussein increased from $10,000 to $25,000 the payment he offered to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers who attacked Israel.
His son Uday, ran the Football Association, had his own torture chamber and his own 20,000+ terrorist organization (the Fedayeen Saddam). More than once he tortured his football team for losing. Saddam’s regime was probably the most horrendous in the world for torture — much too horrible to report on it here.
If he didn’t kill terrorists, who did he kill?
50,000 to 100,000 non-combatant Kurds killed in the Al-Anfal campaign from 1986 – 89, labeled as genocide by Norway and the U.K. This included women and children killed by starvation and poison gas. (see also NY Times) Kurds are now our main allies on the ground fighting ISIS in Syria and our most reliable allies on the ground in Iraq. They were fighting Saddam’s terrorism then.
Roughly 1,000,000 Iranians. On 22 Sept 1980 he invaded Iran to get more territory and oil.
About 1,000 Kuwaitis. On 2 Aug 1990 he took over Kuwait, caused 300,000 refugees and set about 700 oil wells on fire.
20,000 to 50,000 Kurds and 60,000 to 130,000 Shi’ites in uprisings after the Kuwait invasion.
While G. W. Bush’s invasion was a terrible idea, and Iraq now has ISIS, this does not mean Saddam “killed terrorists so good.” He was a far more lethal terrorist than ISIS and just as sick. He certainly played an even larger role than George Bush in fueling the hatred between Sunnis and Shi’ites that led to the current mess.
But here’s what really matters
Trump has been talking up Saddam since last October, so this is no passing fancy. So this is what we should expect of Trump if he became president.
(A) Facts wouldn’t matter. Bush’s Iraq war was a disaster, but being willfully ignorant of Saddam’s own terrorist nature is a recipe for other disasters.
(B) Here’s the worst of it: He’s implying America should be more like Saddam. As we face terrorism at home, there’s a real danger the government will trample our liberties. The last thing we want is a president who takes lessons from Saddam. (Trump generally has a soft-spot for dictators.)
(C) The ironic point is that letting fear of ISIS attacks intimidate the United States of America into backing the likes of Saddam Hussein is probably the most despicable act of cowardice ever contemplated by an American politician.
Keep America Great
