This is a disgusting debate to me. This isn't about a war protest, this is about political party bias, and people that don't like Bush. Perhaps they're still pissed about the election, who knows. But what I do know is, a majority of the "war protestors" are Democrats. Would they still be against the war if Al Gore had won the election, and decided to take action against Saddam Hussein? Perhaps some of the more intelligent ones, that actually have legitimate reasons for being anti-war (besides hating Bush) would... but for the most part, I think not. This is just another excuse for Democrats to lash out at a leader that they can't stand. It's just like when Republicans were trying to impeach Clinton over that B.S. with Monica Lewinski (pffft...).
In order for me to take the protestors seriously, they would have to first prove to me that Iraq, and more importantly, Saddam Hussein, is not a threat to the safety of the American people. But instead of doing that, they whine about how much they hate Bush, and come up with ridiculous conspiracy theories about how he's trying to take over the world (even comparing him to Hitler), starting with Iraq. Give me a break. If you don't like Bush, fine. I could care less. But instead trying to discredit him and push propaganda and conspiracy theories, why don't you do your homework on Saddam Hussein. You compare Bush to Hitler, but you've got it all wrong.
I can't take credit for the following (excluding my own commentary). If you want more information, check out these links:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/27/spr...gainst.saddam/,
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/26/us....eda/index.html, or [url="[URL=http://www.efreedomnews.com/News%20Archive/Iraq/SpecialReportWaronIraq/SR1new.htm]http://www.efreedomnews.com/News%20....new.htm"]
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"When Saddam Hussein grew up, he did so in the shadow of a giant portrait that hung on the wall of his father's house, a portrait of the face of a man his father adored above every other political leader. It was the face of Adolph Hitler."
- Jan Willem van der Hoeven
During WWII, in April, 1941, in accordance to a 1930 treaty, Iraq permitted the British to move their troops into Iraq. Opposition Iraqis in the Army received Nazi support and attacked the British air base at Habbaniya. The Iraqi army was beaten and England resumed military control. Saddam Hussein's uncle Khayrallah Tulfa, an Iraqi Army Officer, was jailed for his role in the Nazi sponsored insurrection. He was released in 1946. He was a staunch supporter of Nazi Germany and revered Hitler.
In 1947, at the age of ten, Saddam was allowed to move in with his uncle, Khayrallah Tulfah, in Baghdad. Tulfah had a profound effect on young Saddam's political education and thought. He was so important to Saddam, that he later was appointed Governor of Baghdad under Hussein. In 1981, Saddam republished a pamphlet written by his uncle entitled "Three Whom God Should Not Have Created: Iranians, Jews, and Flies."
Saddam joined the radical socialist nationalist movement Baath party when he was 19. In 1956, he participated in a non-successful coup attempt against the monarchy of King Faisal II. In 1958, a non-Baathist group of army officers succeeded in overthrowing the King. The group was led by General Abdul Kassim.
In 1959, Saddam and a group of Baathist supporters attempted to assassinate Gen. Kassim. The attack was unsuccessful, but it helped place Hussein in a leadership position in the Baath party. After the attack, in which Hussein was wounded, he fled to Syria and then to Cairo, Egypt where he would spend the next four years.
In 1963 Saddam returned to Iraq to take part in another revolt against General Kassim. A group of Baathist army officers tortured and assassinated General Kassim. This was done on Iraqi television. They also mutilated many of Kassim's devotees and showed their bodies in close up on the nightly news.
Hussein rose quickly through the ranks, known for his extreme efficiency as a torturer. He was appointed to be a member of the Baath Regional Command. In 1964, Hussein was jailed by some "rightist" military officers who opposed the Baathist takeover. In 1966 he "escaped" from prison and Saddam's older cousin, General Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, appointed him deputy Secretary-General of the Baathists.
Saddam was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and built the Iraqi secret police network. On July 16, 1979, President Bakr resigned, officially due to health problems, but in reality a victim of Hussein's thirst for power.
Saddam called a major Baathist meeting on July 22, 1979, where various family members and other Hussein devotees urged that the party be "cleansed". Hussein then read a list of names and asked that they step outside. Once there, they were taken into custody.
A high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Command, the head of the labor unions, the leading Shiite member of the Command, and twenty others were then systematically and personally killed by Hussein and his top party officials.
During the next few days, 450 other military officers, deputy prime ministers, and "non-party faithful" were rounded up and killed. This purge insured Hussein's consolidation of power in Iraq.
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Here is a short, but far from complete list of some of Saddam's atrocities: