Saddam Hussein has come to the end of the trail…
Saddam Hussein has come to the end of the trail according to the decision of the judicial system in Iraq. Interestingly, he went down fighting—showing no remorse still screaming and hollering his hatred for the West and particularly the USA. He called for Iraq to continue the fight against imperialism.
What drives a person like Saddam to this state of affairs? What makes them do that which they do?
I have never taken the time to study such people and so I do not know if they generally have had a terrible and abusive childhood and they take it out on those around them. Maybe they are just very egocentric and carry a mean streak a mile wide. It does seem to me, however, that they usually have a cause which the population can identify with and that helps propel them to office. They look good to begin with but they fade in the stretch.
They rise to power only after creating a circle of henchmen, with whose help they kill their opponents and take office. They usually scrap the constitution, if there is one, make null and void the laws that would slow them down, stifle the media, take money from the national treasury and, of course, open a Swiss bank account.
Ultimately, the population hates them
The henchmen become the soldiers who are beholden to the despot. He rewards them and they do his bidding in order to put bread on the kitchen table. They become very powerful in state affairs and in the lives of the guy on the street. Ultimately, the population hates them.
One can bet a despot is in charge of a country when the dictator begins to protect himself and the office he has created. They do this by creating an intelligence service to spy on the general population. They link the intelligence agency to the secret police and with this combination they monitor and take action (capture, torture, imprison, murder) against any and all opponents.
Usually, by the time the despot goes down he is old news
Usually, by the time the despot goes down he is old news. Slobodan Milosevich died of a heart attack in jail while under trial. No one cared. Adolph Hitler took his own life as the allied armies were closing in on Berlin. The Germans were glad he was gone and the war was ending. Mao, with his cultural revolution, great leap forward and other schemes that set China back, was not missed when he went to despot heaven or despot hell.
...the current fight is all about who the next despot will be
So how will the Iraqi’s respond to the hanging of Saddam? No one knows but I predict that there will be some sympathizers carrying flags and some noise on the streets but it will all blow over quickly. Why? Because Saddam is old news and the current fight is all about who the next despot will be. No one will be willing to support Saddam in death because he can’t put bread on the dinner table for anyone after he is dead.
Did Saddam Hussein deserve to go? He was one mean mass killer---so send him to the gallows and don’t allow him to pass ‘Go’ and collect two hundred dollars.
