Interesting read about Saddam

[Suave]

I found this article very interesting.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saddam/interviews/aburish.html

Some excerpts:

The cost was horrendous. Both countries were bled to death. And a friend of mine interviewed Saddam Hussein and he said in the interview -- it was during the war with Iran -- that if the superpowers wanted this war to stop, they would stop it. He became aware that he was in a trap. There is a great deal to show that the United States wanted both sides weakened. They didn't like Khomeini. They didn't like Saddam. They sold stuff to Saddam, they sold stuff to Khomeini secretly. They supplied information to both sides at different stages of the game. They didn't want either side to lose and they didn't want either side to win. And that is what happened.

On Iraq post Desert storm.

I think Saddam and the United States very often have a commonality which bonds them together and that is simply this: That without Saddam Hussein, Iraq would disintegrate into several countries and make more trouble for the rest of the Middle East. I know no Iraqi who believes that -- whether Sunni, Shia or Kurd. The American administration believes that however, and Saddam Hussein believes that. When the rebellion started against Saddam in 1991, that danger loomed. The United States helped Saddam crush that rebellion. They didn't only stand by, on occasions they stopped the rebels from reaching arms depots to arm themselves. On other occasions, American planes flew over Saddam's helicopters while they were shooting the rebels. On a third occasion, they gave his Republican Guards safe passage through American lines to reach a certain rebel position.

The American administration was afraid that Iraq will disintegrate. They had no plan for what might follow Saddam Hussein. And certainly President Bush was explicit on that subject, saying he did not want to be mired in Iraqi internal affairs -- until he was forced into getting into Iraq by television and the pictures of the poor Kurds. And so that rebellion failed.

[Gunslinger]

did you not read the news during the 90's.  I hardly find this interesting because it's old news......and history.

you make it sound in the post as if we were the primary arms supplyer to Iraq.  It wasn't American tanks we were blowing up in desert storm.  It wasn't American rifles shooting at us.  It wasn't American air deffenses we had to penetrate.  It wasn't American airplanes and helicopters we were shooting down.

[Suave]

I read the whole interview, but I don't remember reading that part.

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Suave
I read the whole interview, but I don't remember reading that part.

you don't remember reading what part?

Here's the scary parts for me:

Saddam Hussein is a planner

He wanted to take Iraq into the 20th century. But if that meant eliminating
50 percent of the population of Iraq, he was willing to do it.

he has to lead Iraq, make it a model for the Arab countries and then attract the rest of the Arab countries and become the sole Arab leader of modern times

Saddam Hussein borrowed from Stalinism

The visits to the American embassy by Saddam Hussein and other members of the Ba'ath Party had one purpose, and one purpose only: to cooperate with the Americans towards the overthrow of General Kassem in Iraq. Kassem was slightly pro-communist and the Americans wanted to get rid of that danger

Wow I could got on but why bother like he said read the interview.  good post suave

[Suave]

Yeah, in my opinion the guy actually sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Not just a talking head from the media. Anyway I found it interesting.