Today marks the first anniversary of the execution of Saddam Hussein. Hussein died at 6am on December 30th 2006 on the gallows used by his regime to crackdown on dissenters. As I watched Saddam swing, his neck askew, I couldnt help but think that whilst his neck may be broken.. we had only strengthened his legacy further. His death was intended to close a brutal and dark chapter of Iraq’s history. So on the first anniversary, has the desired result been achieved… is Iraq pacified…has the death of Saddam closed a bloody chapter?
No matter how the politicians may try to jazz it up, it is inescapably clear Iraq is failed and the Hussein legacy is far from closed. The Iraqi “government” is nothing more than a puppet. When the British and Americans leave Iraq will undoubtedly slip back in to old ways. A leader far worse or on a par with Saddam Hussein will ultimately replace him. Arab nations are no strangers to oppressive and authoritarian regimes. In a curious way it is familiar to them and it is what they respond to. A western government has no right, cause or sense to attempt to impose our style of democracy on an Arab nation. Any attempt is bound to fail and ultimately the coalition imposed Iraqi government is unsustainable.
Whether the west wishes to acknowledge it or not the fact remains that Saddam Hussein was well-regarded in much of the world and his demise only strengthened support. Brazilians remembered that thousands of their countrymen were recruited by Saddam to build the advanced highway and bridge systems that once crisscrossed Iraq. Egyptians did not forget that a few million of their countrymen owned and worked land in Iraq prior to January 1991. Indians did not forget the reciprocal dealings with Iraq and how the Ba’athists gave support to Indian causes. The Lebanese remembered the dozens of Iraqi trucks that showed up daily at the Lebanese border during that country’s civil war. They were laden with food and clothing for any Lebanese person in need. The convoys’ recipients included all Lebanese, not a certain faction of those battling in the civil war.
Further to this most Palestinians display a picture of Saddam Hussein on their walls! To them and many others Saddam is a true Arab hero. Over the years, many nations have temporarily supported the Palestinian cause, only to withdraw aid once threatened by the U.S. Saddam Hussein, even during the embargo years, supported the Palestinians with no exception, while other Arab regimes did not want to get involved because they did not want to upset their puppeteers in Washington and Tel Aviv. More importantly Iraqis now look back at the Hussein era as a period of relative clam and prosperity and the grotesque actions of Hussein and his regime are being somewhat ignored. At the risk of raising yet more controversy it is my deeply held belief that the execution of Saddam Hussein was a capital mistake. Saddam Hussein met his end a martyr and the west unintentionally assisted this. Our indifference led the bloodstained legacy of Saddam Hussein to be glossed over and glorified due to the abhorrent manner of his death.
Leaders such as Saddam require an end such as his in order for their brand of politics to continue after their demise. Saddams legacy remains unfinished, whether the west wishes to see it or not. His support still grows as Iraq descends further in to chaos. Saddam Hussein will never return to power but a protégé of the Hussein legacy is likely to emerge. Although he may have died on the Baghdad gallows one year ago today his legacy still looms large over Iraq. As the situation in the Middle East deteriorates and the people suffer further hardship they begin to look more nostalgically to the legacy of the martyrs. Hussein is one of the martyrs and as we fail his legacy goes from strength to strength.
