Saddam Hussein :: essays research papers

Saddam Hussein From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (Redirected from Saddam) Saddam Hussein Enlarge Saddam Hussein Saddām Hussein ʻAbd al-Majid al-Tikrītī (Often spelled Husayn or Hussain; Arabic صدام حسين عبدالمجيد التكريتي; born April 28, 1937 1) was President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003. A rising star in the revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and socialism, Saddam (see 2 regarding names) played a key role in the bloodless 1968 coup that brought the party to power. As vice president under the frail and elderly General Ahmed Bakr, Saddam tightly controlled conflict between government departments and the armed forces at a time when many organizations were considered capable of overthrowing the government by forging a repressive security apparatus. Meanwhile, Iraq's economy grew at a rapid pace in the 1970s. 3 As president, he developed a pervasive personality cult, ran an authoritarian government, and maintained power through the devastating Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and the first Persian Gulf War (1991), which both corresponded with a sharp decline in living standards and the human rights situation. Saddam Hussein's government, in particular, engaged in hard repression of movements that it deemed threatened his rule, as well as of ethnic groups that sought independence or autonomy. While he remained a popular hero among many disaffected Arabs for standing up to the West and for his staunch support for the Palestinians,4 the United States continued to view Saddam with deep suspicion following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Saddam was deposed by the U.S. and its allies during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Captured by U.S. forces on December 13, 2003, he will stand trial under the new Iraqi government set up by U.S.-led forces. Contents [showhide] 1 Youth 2 Rise in the Ba'ath party 3 Consolidation of power 3.1 Saddam's consolidation of power and the modernization of Iraq 3.2 Succession 4 Saddam Hussein as a secular leader 5 Foreign affairs 5.1 The Iran–Iraq War 5.2 Tensions with Kuwait 6 The Persian Gulf War 6.1 Postwar aftermath 7 1991-2003 8 2003 invasion of Iraq 8.1 Pursuit and capture 9 Trial 10 Personal 11 Notes 12 Related articles 13 External links [edit] Youth Saddam Hussein was born in the village of Al-Awja, in the Tikrit district of Iraq, to a family of sheep-herders. His mother named her newborn "Saddam," which in Arabic means "one who confronts." He never knew his father, Hussein 'Abd al-Majid, who died or disappeared five months before Saddam was born. Shortly afterwards, Saddam's twelve-year-old brother died of cancer, leaving his mother severely depressed in the final months of the pregnancy.