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Saddam Hussein was the 5th President of Iraq, serving from July 16, 1979 to April 9, 2003. He also held the position of prime minister from 1979 to 1991. He rose to power as a leader of the revolutionary Baath Party, which organized an overthrow of General Abd al-Karim Qasim in 1968. Hussein was deposed by the invading multi-national force (led by the U.S.) in 2003. He was captured on December 14, 2003 and executed by hanging in 2006 after being found guilty of "crimes against humanity."CNN: Hussein Executed With 'Fear in His Face' (December 30, 2006)
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Fast Facts
- Born: April 28, 1937China Daily: Saddam Hussein Facts (December 14, 2003
- Birthplace: Al-Awja, Iraq
- Iraq's president: 1979-2003
- Executed: December 30, 2006CNN: Hussein Executed With 'Fear in His Face' (December 30, 2006)
- Full name: Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti
- Spouse: Sajida, his first cousinChina Daily: Saddam Hussein Facts (December 14, 2003
- 5 children with SajidaCNN: Hussein Executed With 'Fear in His Face' (December 30, 2006)
- Second wife: Samira al ShahbandarChina Daily: Saddam Hussein Facts (December 14, 2003
- 1 son with SamiraChina Daily: Saddam Hussein Facts (December 14, 2003
- Religion: Sunni IslamChina Daily: Saddam Hussein Facts (December 14, 2003
- Executed after being found guilty of murdering 148 people in Dujail, IraqCNN: Hussein Executed With 'Fear in His Face' (December 30, 2006)
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The Baath Party
Hussein joined the Baath party in 1963, while in college.BBC News: Saddam Hussein ProfileAfter the Baaths took control of the government in 1963, Hussein rose quickly through the ranks. On June 1, 1972, now sitting at the head of the party, Hussein nationalized Iraq's oil reserves.The Christian Science Monitor: Saddam Hussein: 'Not a Lunatic' (October 23, 2002) He continually worked to consolidate his power, and on July 16, 1979, officially assumed the position of Iraqi President.BBC News: Saddam Hussein Profile
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Rule
Hussein's government was based on the "cult of personality" he had established around himself in place of the strictly religious authorities to which most Iraqi citizens answered.Global Policy Forum: Sectarianism He presided over an ethnically divided nation, and used his power to hold it together. Hussein favored Iraq's Sunni population and oppressed the country's Shiite and Kurdish populations.Global Policy Forum: SectarianismMuch of his administration was consumed with fighting a war with Iran, which raged from September 22, 1980 to August 20, 1988 and essentially bankrupted the country. Hoping to claim the neighboring country's oil reserves for his own, Hussein initiated an invasion of Kuwait in 1990, only to be repelled by an international coalition in 1991 during the First Gulf War.BBC News: Saddam Hussein Profile
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Capture and Execution
Hussein's government effectively collapsed shortly after the March 20, 2003 invasion of Iraq by a multinational coalition led by U.S. General Tommy Franks. He disappeared before the fall of Baghdad in early April of that year and was found hiding in a farm near Tikrit on December 14, 2003. His sons Uday and Qusay and grandson Mustapha were killed during a fight with U.S. forces on July 2003.Hussein was put on trial in Iraq by a special tribunal, specifically for actions taken against citizens of Dujail in 1982 as punishment for a planned assassination attempt. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity and executed via hanging on December 30, 2006. The execution was videotaped and replayed all around the world, and the Iraqi government was criticized strongly for the secretive and unprofessional manner in which the hanging was conducted.BBC News: Saddam Hussein Profile
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Legacy
By most accounts, Hussein was a brutal dictator who ruled over his people using fear and the threat of violence. He is known to have used chemical weapons on the Kurdish populations living in the northern region of the country.CNN.com: 'Idealist' Tried to Halt Saddam's Kurdish Slaughter (December 4, 2008) -
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CNN: Hussein Executed With 'Fear in His Face'
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SourceWatch: Saddam Hussein
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Wikipedia: Saddam Hussein
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USAF CPC: Explaining Saddam Hussein: a Psychological Profile (December 1990)
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CBS News: Saddam Hussein Interview with Dan Rather
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Rotten.com: Satirical Piece on Saddam Hussein
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YouTube Video: Saddam Execution with English Subtitles (Time: 2:00)
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CNN: Hussein Executed With 'Fear in His Face'
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Saddam Hussein on Twitter Powered by Twitter
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Nem sempre é amigo aquele que te tira do buraco. (Saddam Hussein)
@daniiferrero | November 08, 2009 05:34 PM -
"Nem sempre é amigo aquele que te tira do buraco." Saddam Hussein (kkk '/meracho com essas frases)
@mandynhaway | November 08, 2009 05:29 PM -
RT - My fav. tweet from Sat. @cbrannon: There are 2 guys who lost to Navy twice in a row: Saddam Hussein & Charlie Weiss- @TraceyLMJ) :-D
@JamesB2B | November 08, 2009 04:57 PM -
"The law is anything I write on a scrap of paper." - Saddam Hussein
@tprimex | November 08, 2009 04:16 PM -
RT @TimCary: RT @TerrillMusic: Only two people have been beat by Navy twice on their own turf...Charlie Weis and Saddam Hussein
@FunnelFiasco | November 08, 2009 03:51 PM
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Questions and Answers About Saddam Hussein | View All | Ask a Question
View All Saddam Hussein Questions (3) | Ask a QuestionHow was Saddam Hussein linked to Al Qaeda? (3 Answers)Cheney's lies have all been debunked in the past. Quotes from: IRAQ: PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING, 23 JULY "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of ... read moreApril 9, 2003: Was the toppling of Saddam Husseins statue a planned media event or a spontaneous act by Iraqis? (3 Answers)Rageh Omaar, BBC Correspondent, eye witness to toppling of the statue has described it as "show put on for the media". His words - "The statue coming down was, to ... read moreWas it worth the USA and allies going to Iraq or should the country have been left under Saddam Hussein's rule? (1 Answer)To me, the Iraq must have been left under Saddam. Then the people may not be suffering this much . The US money could have been used in US itself ... read more
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Saddam Hussein on Amazon | View All
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House of Saddam - $29.98
Revealing the private world of Saddam Hussein and his inner circle, this gripping 4-part, 4-hour miniseries charts the rise and fall of one of the most significant political figures in recent history. Over the course of 27 years, Saddam (Ig...
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America at a Crossroads: The Trial of Saddam Hussein - $24.99
Follow the courtroom drama surrounding the trial of Iraq's former president, revealing a tainted procedural that can be seen as a microcosm of the challenges and dysfunctions of forming the Iraqi government. The divisions between Shia, Sunn...
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Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein---As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture - $25.99
Everyone has seen the footage: a heavily bearded Saddam Hussein blinking under the bright lights of infantry cameras, dazed to find himself in U.S. Army custody. Yet while the breaking news was broadcast around the world, the story of the r...
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Saddam Hussein - The Butcher of Baghdad (Biography) - $9.99
Saddam Hussein - The Butcher of Baghdad is a biography of Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq from 1979 until 2003. Saddam was a brutal dictator; he was responsible for the genocide in 1987 and 1988 that claimed the lives of nearly 200,00...
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Enemy of the State: The Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein - $24.95
At 12:21 p.m., on October 19, 2005, Saddam Hussein was escorted into the Courtroom of the Iraqi High Tribunal in Baghdad for one of the most important and chaotic trials in history. For a year, two American law professors had led an...
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