Heavy acrid smoke inexorably finds its helpless victims with its stench of human calamity that has snaked its way around the Middle East for years now. It is 1982 and prideful Saddam is just about to launch an attack on his Iranian neighbours. Bristling with all possible Western arms and moral support he does not have to fear any reprisals save for some stray Iranian bullet. Not to worry, he’d stay away from the front limiting such chances to just about zero. It is essentially a no lose proposition for him, more oil and money on the upside and only a bit of embarrassment on the other. Nothing matters more than his proven loyalty to the West in exchange for impunity. After all, they would do the same had they had a chance to whitewash their arguments without losing their next election, “Oh well, Saddam, our next best thing, will do”.
They did not renege on their word of supplying him with all sorts of weaponry, prohibited and mass murdering. Their foreign policy and personal profits would not suffer even when faced with some “minor” embarrassments such as the annihilation of Kurds under the pretence of quashing an inconvenient rebellion. They would have done the same under the circumstances. If in doubt, recall the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two biggest acts of murder perpetrated by weapons of mass destruction. This said, the relationship was treading a tenuous ground when Saddam, imprudently, decided to kill the sacred cow when getting on the Israel case.
The next thing we know, the unwise dictator broke the second cardinal rule by trying to assert Iraqi claims on the tiny Kingdom of Kuwait. Oil was another sacred cow and the West was fed up. You cannot offend Israel, impair friendly control of oil and get away Scot-free. The consequences were quick and devastating as the retreating and helpless Iraqi army was massacred by the West with ferocity that had not seen since the great wars. Saddam would have done the same if he could have.
Fast-forward to a frigid December morning in 2006. Saddam stands in front of the noose, nearly trembling, his face white in horror. The cameras, the newest accoutrements of terror, zoomed in to relay the message. The sectarian chants deafened the conclusions of the predictable trial and George read yet another pre-canned speech on justice and democracy. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth…
They did not renege on their word of supplying him with all sorts of weaponry, prohibited and mass murdering. Their foreign policy and personal profits would not suffer even when faced with some “minor” embarrassments such as the annihilation of Kurds under the pretence of quashing an inconvenient rebellion. They would have done the same under the circumstances. If in doubt, recall the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two biggest acts of murder perpetrated by weapons of mass destruction. This said, the relationship was treading a tenuous ground when Saddam, imprudently, decided to kill the sacred cow when getting on the Israel case.
The next thing we know, the unwise dictator broke the second cardinal rule by trying to assert Iraqi claims on the tiny Kingdom of Kuwait. Oil was another sacred cow and the West was fed up. You cannot offend Israel, impair friendly control of oil and get away Scot-free. The consequences were quick and devastating as the retreating and helpless Iraqi army was massacred by the West with ferocity that had not seen since the great wars. Saddam would have done the same if he could have.
Fast-forward to a frigid December morning in 2006. Saddam stands in front of the noose, nearly trembling, his face white in horror. The cameras, the newest accoutrements of terror, zoomed in to relay the message. The sectarian chants deafened the conclusions of the predictable trial and George read yet another pre-canned speech on justice and democracy. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth…
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