Saddam Hussein's Doctor Reveals the Man Behind the Tyrant

Jun 14, 2018 • Under the Skin of Saddam (2004): Ala Bashir was Saddam's personal doctor for 22 years. despised by the Ba'ath party hierarchy, he nonetheless managed to survive the fall of the regime by getting close to Saddam when it mattered.

Irak: Die Wahrheit über Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein geht ohne jeden Zweifel als einer der brutalsten Herrscher des 21. Jahrhunderts in die Geschichte ein. Seine Karriere beginnt 1979, als er den Präsidenten Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr stürzt und sich selbst zum neuen Staatsoberhaupt ernennt. Seine erste Amtshandlung besteht in der blutigen Säuberung der Ba'ath-Partei von Gegnern. Es folgen zahllose Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit, darunter die systematische Ermordung nordirakischer Kurden. "Die Wahrheit über Saddam Hussein" wirft einen umfassenden Blick auf das Leben des Diktators und zeigt, wie US-Truppen schließlich seine Festnahme gelingt.

Saddam Hussein: 'I Knew Saddam'

Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, was executed on December 30, 2006. His death, like his life, was filled with controversy.

Saddam Hussein was born into humble beginnings, but his straightforward, brutal efficiency eventually propelled him to power. By 1979 he had absolute control of Iraq, and had become a prominent figure on the world stage.

I Knew Saddam was first broadcast on Al Jazeera English in 2007.

Saddam Hussein – The Truth: Documentary

Donald Trump Praises Saddam Hussein

During a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday night, Donald Trump praised the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

Trump: «Avec Saddam et Kadhafi, le monde serait meilleur»

LE MATIN: PRÉSIDENTIELLE AMÉRICAINE — Le monde se porterait mieux si les dictateurs irakien Saddam Hussein et libyen Mouammar Kadhafi étaient toujours au pouvoir, a estimé Donald Trump.

«Sans nul doute!», a répondu le milliardaire américain à la question posée par un journaliste de CNN.

Saddam Hussein et Mouammar Kadhafi ont été renversés en 2003 et 2011 respectivement, lors d'interventions militaires menées ou soutenues par les Etats-Unis.

«Regardez la Libye. Regardez l'Irak. Avant il n'y avait pas de terroristes en Irak. Il (Saddam Hussein) les tuait immédiatement. (L'Irak) est maintenant devenu l'université d'excellence du terrorisme», a justifié M. Trump.

«Franchement, désormais il n'y a plus d'Irak ni de Libye. Ils ont volé en éclats. Il n'y a plus aucun contrôle. Personne ne sait ce qui se passe», a-t-il poursuivi.

Le candidat républicain à la prochaine présidentielle a jugé que l'Amérique était confrontée à un retour à «l'époque médiévale», avec des violences au Moyen-Orient d'une brutalité inédite «depuis des milliers d'années». » | afp/nxp | dimanche 25 octobre 2015

Tony Blair Says He's Sorry for Iraq War 'Mistakes,' But Not for Ousting Saddam

CNN: (CNN) – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he's sorry for "mistakes" made in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but he doesn't regret bringing down dictator Saddam Hussein.

"I can say that I apologize for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong because, even though he had used chemical weapons extensively against his own people, against others, the program in the form that we thought it was did not exist in the way that we thought," Blair said in an exclusive interview on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS that airs Sunday.

Blair was referring to the claim that Saddam's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction, which was used by the U.S. and British governments to justify launching the invasion. But the intelligence reports the claim was based on turned out to be false.

The ensuing war and dismantling of Saddam's government plunged Iraq into chaos, resulting in years of deadly sectarian violence and the rise of al Qaeda in Iraq, a precursor of ISIS. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, more than 4,000 U.S. troops and 179 British service members were killed in the lengthy conflict.

As the most high-profile foreign ally of former U.S. President George W. Bush in the Iraq invasion, Blair has found his legacy overshadowed by the war, with questions and criticism following him wherever he goes.

The consequences of Bush's decision to to take America into Iraq has repeatedly reared its head this year among candidates vying for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. (+ CNN video) » | Jethro Mullen, CNN | Sunday, October 25, 2015

Tariq Aziz, Ex-Saddam Hussein Aide, Dies in Iraqi Prison

BBC AMERICA: Tariq Aziz, known as the face of Saddam Hussein's regime on the world stage for many years, has died in an Iraqi prison, officials say.

Aziz, 79, served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister and was a close adviser to the former leader.

He was sentenced to death by the Iraqi Supreme Court in 2010 for the persecution of religious parties under Saddam's rule but was never executed.

He surrendered to US troops in 2003 shortly after the fall of Baghdad.

Aziz, who was known for his black-rimmed glasses and love of cigars, first came to prominence while serving as foreign minister during the first Gulf War in 1991.

As a Christian in a mainly Sunni Muslim government, he was not considered a member of Saddam Hussein's innermost circle.

A fluent English speaker, he played a vocal role before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, meeting Pope John Paul II in the Vatican to call for peace. » | Friday, June 05, 2015

Iraq Conflict: Saddam's Tomb Destroyed in Tikrit Fighting

BBC AMERICA: The tomb of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been almost completely levelled in fighting near Tikrit.

Footage filmed by the Associated Press shows that all that remains standing of the once-lavish mausoleum in the village of al-Awja are some pillars.

Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militia are battling to drive Islamic State (IS) militants from Tikrit.

Last year, the local Sunni population said they had removed Saddam's body and taken it to an unknown location. » | Monday, March 16, 2015

Impeach Tony Blair: As Iraq Burns, Parliament Should Put This Deluded Liar On Trial, Writes Simon Heffer

Tony Blair appeared a self-serving fantasist with blood on his
hands when he was interviewed on Sky News

MAIL ONLINE: With allies of Al Qaeda running amok in Iraq and heading for Baghdad, the disastrous legacy of Britain's entanglement there with the invasion of 2003 becomes ever more blindingly obvious.

Obvious to everyone, that is, except the man who ordered it.

Seven years after leaving office, and 11 years after British troops flooded across the southern border, Tony Blair continues to cause outrage and bewilderment over Iraq.

Noting the eruption of the jihad there, Mr Blair professes that ‘we have to liberate ourselves from the notion that “we” have caused this. We haven't.'

Only a handful of American neo-conservatives, most of them discredited and seeking to protect their reputations, too, would agree with him. To most people, he appears a self-serving fantasist with blood on his hands.

Saddam Hussein was evil and vicious. However, the mixture of repression and corruption with which he governed meant Iraq was spared the Sunni-on-Shia violence that is tearing the country apart now, threatening the entire region and, with it, the security and prosperity of the West.

Some would question Mr Blair's sanity. Indeed, a former close friend, the novelist Robert Harris, did so only recently, suggesting he had a ‘messiah complex'.

It takes a rare politician to admit any error, let alone one based on a lie — the sexed-up ‘dodgy dossier' Mr Blair put before Parliament in March 2003 to support his contention that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction — which cost the lives of 173 British servicemen and six servicewomen. Read on and comment » | Simon Heffer | Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Tony Blair Is A 'Tragic' Narcissist With A Messiah Complex, Says Former Confidant And Author Robert Harris »

'Iraq Chaos Is Tony Blair’s Legacy’: Intervention by Ex-PM in 2003 Destabilised the Country and Left It Open to Extremism, Says Home Office Minister

MAIL ONLINE: Government 'rules out' new Iraqi campaign despite major Jihadist threat / Al Qaeda militants have seized large areas of northern Iraq / Norman Baker said Iraq was stable under Saddam 'in a vile sort of way'

The disaster unfolding in Iraq was branded ‘Tony Blair’s legacy’ last night as Britain ruled out military intervention.

Though Islamist extremists are threatening to seize Baghdad, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain was ‘not contemplating’ any form of action, and Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said there was no role for the alliance.

US President Barack Obama insisted his country had an interest in stopping jihadists taking control and said he was looking at ‘all options’, including drone strikes.

Iraq is facing a return to its darkest days after al Qaeda-linked militants seized a huge swathe of the Iraq’s northern region and vowed to press on to the capital. Read on and comment » | James Chapman | Thursday, June 12, 2014

Iraq Is Still Bleeding 10 Years after Saddam Hussein's Capture

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Friday's anniversary of the dictator's arrest sees the country struggling with a resurgent al-Qaeda and a death rate double that of a decade ago

Ten years after the capture of Saddam Hussein, Iraq is at risk of becoming a failed state again as al-Qaeda reclaims vast swathes of the country.

Friday’s anniversary of the Iraqi dictator’s arrest sees the country still struggling with his legacy, with al-Qaeda launching a fresh campaign of terrorist atrocities from new territory carved out in western and northern Iraq.

Backed by jihadists fighting the civil war in neighbouring Syria, the group is trying to create an “emirate” straddling the two countries, taking advantage of the collapse in security across the border.

Bridges linking four key border towns on the Iraqi side have been dynamited, making it difficult for security forces to operate in the area.

Road signs have even been put up proclaiming it to be the turf of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the name for the joint Syrian-Iraqi al-Qaeda franchise. » | Colin Freeman, Baghdad | Thursday, December 12, 2013

Saddam Hussein's 'Nephew' Seeks Asylum in Austria
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A man claiming to be the fugitive nephew of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has requested asylum in Austria after being picked by police in a routine identity check, media reported on Friday.

Police spotted the 42-year-old man in the company of two other Iraqi men on Thursday at the train station in Traiskirchen, some six miles south of Vienna, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.

When the police tried to do a routine identity check, the men admitted they had flown to Austria with fake passports that their helper then confiscated and that they were seeking asylum, ORF said, citing an interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck. » | Friday, June 22, 2012

NOE.ORF.AT: Neffe von Saddam Hussein in Traiskirchen gefasst: Ein Neffe des ehemaligen irakischen Diktators Saddam Hussein wurde am Bahnhof Traiskirchen gefasst. Der Mann wurde seit 2006 im Irak gesucht, war aber jahrelang untergetaucht. Bei einer Schleierfahndung wurde der 42-Jährige am Donnerstag aufgegriffen. » | Freitag, 22. Juni 2012

KRONE.AT: Zivilfahnder fassten Saddam Husseins Neffen in NÖ: Riesenerfolg für die Zivilfahnder der Polizei: Am Bahnhof von Traiskirchen in Niederösterreich ging ihnen mit Bashar N. ein wegen Terrorgefahr per internationalem Haftbefehl gesuchter Neffe des ehemaligen irakischen Diktators Saddam Hussein (im Bild bei seinem Prozess im Jahr 2006) ins Netz. Bei seiner Festnahme schrie der 42-Jährige sofort "Asyl". Der Risiko-Häftling wurde aus Sicherheitsgründen an einem geheimen Ort untergebracht. Jetzt muss geklärt werden, ob Österreich für das Asylverfahren zuständig ist. » | Christoph Matzl und Thomas Schrems, Kronen Zeitung/AG/red | Freitag, 22. Juni 2012

Jörg Haiders Wüstenspuren: Die Ära Schüssel in neuem Licht?
NZZ ONLINE: Die undurchsichtige Affäre um Jörg Haiders schwarze Konten in Liechtenstein ist um eine Facette reicher. In einem irakischen Dokument ist die Rede von Zahlungen des Diktators Saddam Hussein an Haider und einen Parteigenossen in Millionenhöhe.

Unbeirrt von den Dementis der Staatsanwaltschaft Vaduz und des deutschen Bundeskriminalamts zu den angeblichen schwarzen Konten des früheren Kärntner Landeshauptmanns Jörg Haider in Liechtenstein, setzt das österreichische Nachrichtenmagazin «Profil» seine seine Recherchen fort. Kleine Zuwendungen >>> Charles E. Ritterband, Wien | Mittwoch, 11. August 2010

Hussein's House Becomes Tourist Destination
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:

Iraq Inquiry: Saddam Posed Very Limited Threat to UK, Ex-MI5 Chief Says
THE GUARDIAN: Eliza Manningham-Buller tells Chilcot inquiry that Iraq invasion radicalised part of a generation of Muslims

Eliza Manningham-Buller. Photo: The Guardian
The former MI5 director general Eliza Manningham-Buller today delivered a withering assessment of the case for war against Iraq.

Manningham-Buller said the threat posed by Saddam Hussein was low and that the US-led invasion in 2003 had done more harm than good.

Giving evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, she said Saddam's threat to the UK was "very limited and containable".

In evidence that undermined the case for war presented by the former prime minister Tony Blair, she was asked whether it was feared Saddam could have linked terrorists to weapons of mass destruction, facilitating their use against the west.

"It certainly wasn't of concern in either the short term or the medium term to me or my colleagues," she replied.

Manningham-Buller said the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan had radicalised parts of a generation of Muslims who saw the military actions as an "attack on Islam". >>> Haroon Siddique | Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Iraqi Baathist Resentment Simmers in Syria
BBC: Saddam Hussein's Baath party is banned in Iraq, but the doors of its office in the heart of the Syrian capital, Damascus, are wide open.

"That's our hero," says Khudeir Rashidi, the party spokesman, pointing at Saddam Hussein who looks down from portraits on the walls.

Iraq's dictator may be dead, but his supporters in Damascus insist that his party lives on.

"We have millions of members in Iraq who are working for the cause," Mr Rashidi says.

The cause, he says, is the liberation of Iraq from the American occupiers through military resistance.

"We have many weapons, we manufacture bombs, we are working very effectively underground," he says.

Baath 'threat'

The true extent of the involvement of the Baath party in the armed insurgency back in Iraq is very difficult to measure.

There is little doubt that the party has a wide and powerful network of former members, if only because virtually everyone had to join its ranks under Saddam Hussein.

Sceptics argue that despite its outreach, the Baath party is politically decapitated, morally bankrupt and ideologically irrelevant - in other words very much a thing of the past.

But the Iraqi government says Baathists pose a real threat. >>> | Friday, March 05, 2010

Mystery Tribute Channel to Saddam Hussein Launched
BBC: A television channel dedicated to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has appeared on Arab satellite networks.

Its launch came on the third anniversary, on the Islamic calendar, of the former president's execution.

It is not clear who is behind the channel which broadcasts the speeches, images and even poetry of Saddam Hussein, backed with patriotic music.

It is broadcast from outside Iraq and some analysts suspect his former political supporters of bankrolling it.

Saddam Hussein's family and some exiled members of the Baath party he once headed have denied any connection to it.

The Associated Press news agency said it contacted a man called Mohammed Jarboua who claimed to be the channel's chairman, in the Syrian capital Damascus. However, his claim can not be verified. 'Glorification of a tyrant' >>> | Monday, November 30, 2009

Blair Lied and Lied Again: Mandarins Reveal that 10 Days Before Iraq Invasion PM Knew Saddam Couldn't Use WMDs
MAIL ONLINE: The full extent of how Tony Blair misled the public about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction before and after the Iraq War was laid bare yesterday.

The Chilcot Inquiry heard that just ten days before the invasion of Iraq Mr Blair was told Saddam had no way of using weapons of mass destruction.

And weapons experts revealed that the former Prime Minister took Britain to war based on intelligence that his own spies rated just 'four out of ten' for accuracy.

On the eve of the conflict, intelligence chiefs told Mr Blair that the Iraqi dictator had no warheads capable of delivering chemical weapons, dramatically undermining the Prime Minister's case for war.

Yet Mr Blair gave the go-ahead for the invasion despite strong evidence that Iraq was no threat to Britain.

Then, after the war, officials had to tell Mr Blair not to 'declare success too rapidly' in the quest to find WMD in Iraq as he continued to make misleading statements claiming that 'massive evidence' had been found.

The revelations reinforce the case that intelligence evidence that Saddam was no threat was ignored by Mr Blair to take Britain to war on a false prospectus. >>> Tim Shipman | Thursday, November 26, 2009

Hussein Pointed to Iranian Threat: Specter of Arms Allowed Him to Appear Strong, He Told U.S.
THE WASHINGTON POST: Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews released yesterday. The former Iraqi president also denounced Osama bin Laden as "a zealot" and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda.

Hussein, in fact, said he felt so vulnerable to the perceived threat from "fanatic" leaders in Tehran that he would have been prepared to seek a "security agreement with the United States to protect [Iraq] from threats in the region."

Former president George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq six years ago on the grounds that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and posed a threat to international security. Administration officials at the time also strongly suggested Iraq had significant links to al-Qaeda, which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Hussein, who was often defiant and boastful during the interviews, at one point wistfully acknowledged that he should have permitted the United Nations to witness the destruction of Iraq's weapons stockpile after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. >>> Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Staff Writer | Thursday, July 02, 2009