How threatening was Sadam Hosein to the world?

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

or another way to look at it, it was written as an open thing in order to be used as a pretext to reopen hostilities when it suits the policy of the us government.

and he did hide in a hole in the ground... that didn't work out either.

Yes, both ways to look at it are legit.
I just wish we hadn't given the Kurds every reason to think we'd support them in an uprising we urged, and then not helped when they rose up.
And subsequently got slaughtered.

 

[sadclown]

Yes, both ways to look at it are legit.
I just wish we hadn't given the Kurds every reason to think we'd support them in an uprising we urged, and then not helped when they rose up.
And subsequently got slaughtered.

a nation acts in self-interest, first and foremost.

the goal of the us, as with any empire, the ultimate aim to maintain global dominance... promises will be made and broken, collateral damages will be counted and discounted, wars will be fought, homes will be destroyed, lives will be disaffected, alliances will be made and broken... it's just a part of the game.

whatever it takes... but with the same goal always in mind = maintaining global dominance.

it's not about moral, good versus evil... it's simply geopolitics.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

a nation acts in self-interest, first and foremost.

the goal of the us, as with any empire, the ultimate aim to maintain global dominance... promises will be made and broken, collateral damages will be counted and discounted, wars will be fought, homes will be destroyed, lives will be disaffected, alliances will be made and broken... it's just a part of the game.

whatever it takes... but with the same goal always in mind = maintaining global dominance.

it's not about moral, good versus evil... it's simply geopolitics.

I'm a fan of the USA.
Got some Global Dominance apple pie to eat.

 

[sadclown]

I'm a fan of the USA.
Got some Global Dominance apple pie to eat.

i'm not necessarily a fan... but rather eat some american pie than chinese dumpling or russian solyanka...

somebody gotta be in charge, and there are worse than uncle sam.

 

[ShinkanPo]

i'm not necessarily a fan... but rather eat some american pie than chinese dumpling or russian solyanka...

somebody gotta be in charge, and there are worse than uncle sam.

I agree with you in these considering the military power of the USA and its influence in global economy they could have fuck up more countries good thing most Americans are not blood thirsty war lords.

Look at what the chinese are doing in SEA they are not a super power yet they are already bullying neighboring countries and their people agree with that.

 

[cartizel]

What with his transforming WMD Megatron trucks? Have you not seen Transformers, bro?

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

i'm not necessarily a fan... but rather eat some american pie than chinese dumpling or russian solyanka...

somebody gotta be in charge, and there are worse than uncle sam.

Yep. I'm by no means a fan of every foreign policy decision we carry through, but I'm proud that when disaster strikes around the world, the US is in the vanguard of sending help.

 

[chardog]

Huge threat




to iraqis

 

[ShinkanPo]

Yep. I'm by no means a fan of every foreign policy decision we carry through, but I'm proud that when disaster strikes around the world, the US is in the vanguard of sending help.

When the big storm hit our country a few years ago the Americans are on it right away with their Black Hawk helicopters sending in food to remote areas for some its the first help they received since the Typhoon struck.


One of the more moving photographs from that disaster is picture of a group of US servicemen raising the Philippine Flag from a flag pole that was broken off at Philippine Army base that was over run by flash floods. Reminds me of the Marines at Iwo Jima but this time its another countries flag.

 

[Uchi Mata]

I'm not one of those at all. In this case though, Saddam was building a giant gun to shoot Israel with and they lobbied for his destruction.

Not a difficult cookie here.

Pretty much. He was a real threat to Israel, he was lobbing scuds at Tel Aviv. He wasn't a big threat to the US, though more because of lack of capacity than lack of will. He pretty clearly did not have WMDs.

He probably played a valuable regional role holding Sunni-Shia violence in check to some degree.

 

[ShinkanPo]

The way I see it now Sadam is pretty much one of the worst human beings that ever existed but as bad as he is he is only a threat to his own people post Gulf War 1? So he is like comparable to Paul Pot probably just a bit threatening to Pol Pot since Pot from what I know did not invade another country but have brutally killed thousands in Cambodia.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Pretty much. He was a real threat to Israel, he was lobbing scuds at Tel Aviv. He wasn't a big threat to the US, though more because of lack of capacity than lack of will. He pretty clearly did not have WMDs.

He probably played a valuable regional role holding Sunni-Shia violence in check to some degree.

Do you remember when they examined some of those SCUDs that had been fired, and it turned out that they were capping some of them with big rocks instead of explosives? Cheap ass weapons system

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

When the big storm hit our country a few years ago the Americans are on it right away with their Black Hawk helicopters sending in food to remote areas for some its the first help they received since the Typhoon struck.


One of the more moving photographs from that disaster is picture of a group of US servicemen raising the Philippine Flag from a flag pole that was broken off at Philippine Army base that was over run by flash floods. Reminds me of the Marines at Iwo Jima but this time its another countries flag.

I'm never more proud to be an American than when we get selfless in crisis relief.
But that transcends borders and becomes more a humans helping humans thing.

 

[Awesomesauce]

The way I see it now Sadam is pretty much one of the worst human beings that ever existed but as bad as he is he is only a threat to his own people post Gulf War 1? So he is like comparable to Paul Pot probably just a bit threatening to Pol Pot since Pot from what I know did not invade another country but have brutally killed thousands in Cambodia.

Your comparing Saddam to Pol Pot? Seriously? I think you need to look up Pol Pot.

 

[Awesomesauce]

Kuwaiti and Saudi interests coincide with American interests ie not letting the supply of oil leave the hands of the sphere of US influence, the price remaining stable.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait he was certainly a threat to US and Kuwaiti interests, and it's not much of a stretch to assume that he had the resources to run over Saudi Arabia too. It would be unthinkable to allow one armed nation to dictate the lifeblood of world commerce, as even the Mighty US is subject to the whims of middling nations with minor oil reserves every now and then.

Saddam didn't destroy the Iraqi infrastructure and middle/professional class of Iraq, US bombs did. Obviously, Iraq was bombed because of the invasion.

In 2003 Saddam was absolutely harmless and Iraq was a shell of a country with a partially rebuilt infrastructure and a joke of a military.

This is the thing I don't understand, Saddam was very much a pawn of the US. He was as much a US ally as Saudi Arabia. He basically did whatever the US said, so what made the situation change so rapidly? Was it simply that the US had decided it was time to take more direct control of the oil in the region and Iraq gave them their first pretext? Iraqs central location combined with the fact it had the most cost effective oil extraction in the region would certainly have made it a great first step in this direction.

 

[ShinkanPo]

Your comparing Saddam to Pol Pot? Seriously? I think you need to look up Pol Pot.

I don't have much info on polopot so I need to read up aboout The Pot. So is Pol Pot more horible than Sadam Husein?

 

[Hoof Hearted]

I don't have much info on polopot so I need to read up aboout The Pot. So is Pol Pot more horible than Sadam Husein?

There's been lots of brutal dictators, some supported by the west and some opposed by the west. As brutal as Saddam was, he doesn't really stand out as one of the worst. And the sanctions against Iraq were responsible for more deaths than those at the hands of Saddam.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

to the people around him, he made them rich and powerful, and also fearful of him.


to his opponents, he made them dead.

This can be said for most dictators.

The US-backed Pinochet of Chile tortured and killed thousands of opposition supporters (many of them students) after the democratically-elected leader was removed in a coup.
The US-backed Shah of Iran had his opponents killed once he resumed control of Iran after the democratically-elected leader was removed in a coup.
The US-backed Guatemalan death squads killed over 200,000 people after the democratically-elected leader was removed in a coup.
etc.. etc..

 

[WrestlingNerd]

I don't have much info on polopot so I need to read up aboout The Pot. So is Pol Pot more horible than Sadam Husein?

By the time he was deposed by the Vietnamese 1/3 Cambodians were dead due to starvation and crimes like wearing glasses, speaking French, being educated etc.

 

[Krav McGraw]

Pol Pot committed a genocide. Not a good comparison.