motherfucker got what he deserved when he was hung. i noticed his knees buckle when he saw the noose......fucking coward killed others with ease yet shit his pants when he saw the noose...burn in hell you fucking tyrant along with the rest of them...hahahaha
@amjadami - Would it have served the interests of the larger population of Iraq had he been executed in a more public and less partisan way? He had earned his death through his deeds, but was the method employed the most sensible given the aftermath or would it have mattered? Can we also speak with words rather than expletives?
@britishlaw - And that is what so many people thought about Stalin, too. Once you have a totalitarian autocrat, whether you are a vocal supporter or a silent dissident, your status is equally precarious because you are not significant in the final analysis, only the whim of the "emperor" whether he has clothes on or not. The innocent are persecuted and killed as readily as the guilty in such a nightmare scenario. When 2 + 2 = 5, there is no calculus for survival.
@amjadami - agreed...though I am not sure that his neck is worth the rope. Maybe dropping him off in the middle of Antarctica with no provisions and only his birthday suit might be just considering what terrors he inflicted on others. Maybe throwing him in a maximum security prison with "child molester" tatooed to his forehead would be another.
@ErikTheBigKMan very true my sympathies extend to the rope aswell having to be wrapped around a piece of garbage like him. the rope would have served a better purpose towing a broke down car. Antarticas a good idea but i disagree with the birthday suit as that might bring him some warmth
how about just his underwear.just to save the embarassment to the dropoff team. :)
@CaseRed0605 - Nope, and compared to Stalin, Hitler was a rookie. I am morbidly curious who the next Saddam/Pol Pot/Stalin is out there either now or in the near future.
@nerdydesi - Who would you trust to be the dictator who would do this "purging" of our Congress? Our politicians are as crooked as we elect them to be. If we are dumb enough to be duped by fallacious reasoning and emotional appeals in campaigns rather than demanding that our candidates for office actually talk informedly and rationally about real issues, then things will be crooked. Our politicians are a direct reflection of what we hold as valuable. Look in the mirror.
@TheLighterrrr - not a very insightful observation and also a bit inaccurate. He is dead, after all, so he cannot be an "is" anymore. If you wish to keep your comment, then it would need to be in the past tense "was" rather than the present tense "is".
@bjl34565 - I'm not sure that one needs to be a National Socialist nor one of the crazed, unbalanced, sociopathic followers of Hitler's creed to expect that people use language well rather than poorly. I think that it is also not too much to expect that a comment be something more significant than a simple vulgarity that relies on treating one's rump with hyperbole or conjuring up the image of satisfying Oedipal desires upon the woman who bore one.
@ErikTheBigKMan i conject to your premise that the legitamacy of a personal perspective be judged on its gammatical expression, rather than the theory of the argument.
@bjl34565 - What? Did you mean to say "I reject your premise" rather than the grammatically impossible structure "I conject to your"? Language is useful when it is used usefully.
@bjl34565 - I'll throw down degrees and experience with you any day. Enjoy your grammatical and spelling problems (pseudo not psudo, though Twain would prefer it sudo).
@ErikTheBigKMan Self-masturbatory quibbling aside, the obvious implication of the term 'Grammar Nazi' is not that one is a National Socialist, but that one exhibits fanatical, anal-retentive attention to minor detail, which is a typical trait of the romanticized character of a Nazi. Also, the original comment is more than 'simple vulgarity' in that it communicates a perspective the commentor holds, and as this is a public forum, expressed for others to share in.
@jagovRUS - Well, autoerectile needling aside, the clear connotation of the phrase "You go girl" is not that one is necessarily female, but that one displays the high-powered, sphincter-tightening desire to shout out, which is characteristic of the overindulged type that is the "go-get-'em" personality. Also, the referenced comment is little more than a vacuous high-five to an essentially pointless defense of free speech by one blogger to another, expressed regardless of others. Fun!
@yorkshire13579 - I think we would need to clarify that a bit and recognize that he elevated himself into power, and then the Ford, Carter, and Reagan Administrations with the CIA legitimated his regime with formal recognition and military/financial assistance to wage war against Iran following the revolution there.
@ErikTheBigKMan I agree with you to an extent. Yes various US Administrations helped him consolidate his power, but the bit you are overlooking is the 1963 coup, in which Abel Karim Kassem was overthrown by the CIA because, you guessed it, he had too much leftism and leftist influence, and they deemed him to be a communist, when really all he did was overthrow the UK puppet monarchy, nationalise Iraqi oil and wealth and begin a welfare system. The United Snakes are the biggest cowards on Earth.
@yorkshire13579 - Except that is not Saddam taking power, so beyond the scope of what you were asserting in your original post. I would not consider this an example of me 'overlooking"/"missing" something, rather, it is an example of you conflating albeit related though distinct events and historical personages. Not sure who the "United Snakes" are, seems a bit of a disservice to that particular part of the animal kingdom, and I am confident that no particular group is devoid of cowards.
@ErikTheBigKMan Yes, very witty, trying to undermine my point about the United Snakes; I'm certain you understood what it was getting at, unless of course you are of the type who bizarrely believe that the West and the US can do no wrong and would never lie to us? For your information, the US ensured the Ba'ath Party overthrew Kassem. Saddam was involved, Saddam grew in strength and eventually led Iraq. The US stood by and watched, funded and armed him, and remained silent over Halabja.
@yorkshire13579 - Yes, I affirmed the collusion of a minimum of three American administrations in the rise of Saddam with the assistance of the CIA. I don't see that I am undermining your point, merely your choice of diction which is less than objective. If you choose to read more into it than this, that is of course up to you, but it does not necessarily mean that I am seeking to undermine you. There is discourse, then there is recourse. I prefer to connect dots rather than conflate them.
@ErikTheBigKMan How am I 'conflating'? Everything is linked and you seem unwilling to accept that Western meddling in others' affairs has led to the disgraceful world we live in. Look at Egypt. Who ensured Hosni Mubarak remained there? The US? What was their prime reason? Israel (as illegitimate as the state's existence is). They demanded he step down and when he eventually did, Hitlery Clinton went over to meddle and ensure Western policies were not at risk. Hence why Egypt is revolting again.
@yorkshire13579 - I do not contend that the events are not linked, but the linkage is not necessarily of a kind. Sometimes there is opportunity rather than deliberate planning. I would assert that the events are related, but that does not mean that they are the result of a preconceived plan being flawlessly executed with nefarious intentions underlying it. So-called "Western meddling" has brought about a profound transformation around the globe over the past four centuries.
@yorkshire13579 - Social, economic, and political evolutions in the West since the Renaissance, largely triggered and perpetuated by a certain baccillis, have led to the rise of mass democracy at the expense of authoritarian forms of government throughout the so-called "developed world." The lingering of authoritarian regimes and authoritarian mindsets among the populace in the developing areas of the globe are finally coming under similar evolutionary pressures faciliated by Western technology
@yorkshire13579 - and Western democratic traditions and misperceptions. I do not see this as a "disgraceful" state of affairs for the world, rather an dramatic improvement as there are demonstrably far fewer humans living in abject poverty as proportion of the total human population than ever before in the history of human civilization - not human history, just the history of human civilization (the past 8,000 years roughly). Are there still many problems and injustices? Certainly.
@yorkshire13579 - Are the solutions and the possibilities for the implementation of those solutions far more likely to be successful now than they were even 100 years ago? I think the answer to that is clearly Yes, too. I think that your logic is faulty as your case of Egypt clearly demonstrates. Following the rise of Nasser in a context of decolonializtion and superpower rivalry between the USA and USSR, American interests in the Middle East became far more complex and unruly.
@yorkshire13579 - the assassination of Sadat only exacerbated the situation, and so it became a general policy of several American administrations to support the authoritarianism of Mubarak, which was expected and did translate into a general stability in the region, but at the expense of many deeply felt American values like democracy and human rights. Is there a profound political relationship between America and Israel? Clearly, and for some it needs to be re-evaluated. Bush 2 tried this.
@yorkshire13579 - The initial retreat from the Israeli-Palestinian quagmire of American politics by the Bush 2 administration was quickly reversed with the September 11, 2001 attacks, which, of course, led to a massive American and coalition military, political, and financial involvement in the heart of the Middle East, i.e., Iraq. The transformative historical currents of this ongoing engagement will be long felt throughout the region as well as around the world, and Egypt is consequential.
@yorkshire13579 - The fall of Mubarak was hotly contested by the Israelis and the Israeli lobby in America because of the obvious uncertainty it would produce...and, of course, very soon there were popular calls in Egypt to denounce the political gains that had been achieved between Egypt and Israel since Sadat. Thus, it was clearly, by your argument, in America's interests to retain Mubarak rather than see him removed. But America sided with popular democracy and the costs are not yet clear.
@yorkshire13579 - Associating the Secretary of State with Adolf Hitler is an attempt at wit, but finally witless in an historical context. Of course, America will strive to protect its interests, just as Nasser played the USA and the USSR against each other in his time to ensure Egyptian interests. Nothing new about that. That Egypt is still unsettled, it is impolite to call Egypt or Egyptians "revolting", is not surprising since there has never been an untroubled evolution of any society.
@yorkshire13579 - In as much as it is tempting to blame others for all the troubles one is facing, it is not CIA agents disguised as Egyptians filling Tahrir Square, nor is it American officials impersonating Egyptian military leaders and officers who are generating strife. Does America have a role in the situation? Certainly. Is it all America's "fault"? Only to those with a superficial understanding or politically loaded agenda at hand with which to construe the larger forces of history.
@yorkshire13579 - Would it have been far simpler for America to keep Mubarak and his family in power in Egypt as a means of maintaining the security that has been so hard-fought over the past few decades? Yes, undoubtedly. Would it have been the smart thing to do with regard to America's larger global interests? No, not really. Can we blame it on the inexperience of the current American President and his administration? Sure, why not blame someone else? Was the ouster of Mubarak right?
@yorkshire13579 - Time will tell...and if the past four centuries is any indication, the answer is most likely to be Yes, the democratization of Egypt and Iraq, as well as of Libya and Tunisia, will profoundly alter the traditional authoritarian assumptions of the leaders and the popultions of the Middle East. I do not think that this is a disgrace, but you are entitled to your opinion. I merely ask that you bolster your opinions with more facts and less rhetoric, especially name-calling.
In 1959 Saddam Hussein and five others were authorised by the CIA to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim who the year before overthrew the monarchy in a bloodbath.
It is not clear the CIA was behind the 1963 coup, but Saddam Hussein was helpful to the CIA in the slaughter of Communists.
Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr led a bloodless coup and named Saddam his deputy in 1968.
Saddam smoking the cigar reminds me of how Stalin was smoking his pipe while he watched the 1937 show trial, letting defendants know they better do as instructed if they want their families to live.
@SansChannelingus - It is remarkable to me the lengths to which he went to model himself physically and tyrannically after Stalin. I wonder if the Middle East is transitioning out of the role of such men, as Europe and East Asia have done, or if there is another such monster waiting in the wings to assert his view of the world on an entire nation in the region.
I suppose one should ask why the population in nearly every Arab country is living under a dictatorship. It makes me wonder if it isn't cultural. Most of those nations are less than 100 years old and they have a strong tribal component in their culture and tribalism is hierarchical, one man has absolute authority over his family as one man has absolute control over the government. Patronage is widely practiced, favors exchanged, bribes accepted as a way of getting things done. This is tribal
@ErikTheBigKMan And if it's due to an aspect of their culture then it's unfortunate because culture runs even deeper psychologically than religion and is resistant to change. But then again, the Japanese never put emphasis on individual rights and they threw off militarism and absolute rule and worked wonders.
@SansChannelingus - The Japanese evolution was the result of American occupation and "democracy at gunpoint" which has been so impugned in the past few years within the context of the Afghan-Iraq conflicts (which are conflicts and not wars because Congress continues to hide behind resolutions rather than declarations so that it can lay the blame at the foot of a president rather than at their own doorstep). Germany too was "democratized" by American occupation.
@SansChannelingus - In as much as tyranny and tribalism can be seen as cultural, it is also very much universal over the course of history with some cultures developing the institutions and traditions to overcome the tendency to revert to what is most likely a biologically successful strategy to survive in a pre-civilized environment, which, in the complexity of civilization, can become far more potent and destructive. Jared Diamond's thesis may have more to do with the Arab world than anything
Iraqi Body Count is the most flawed of them all. No one believes that.
In fact Lancet Survey said before ORB that the count is over 1 million people.
But lets say it isn't, lets say it's the "100.000" people that you people want others to think. It's still a huge number and sickening. "Intelligence failure" was the problem I gather ... sick fucking Americans.
@Reqrezentin - I am not sure why you feel it is important to mislabel my Youtube identification with such an obvious attempt at an insult, I guess you just need to do that to be taken seriously. Please note that I am not deleting your "comment" despite your intended disrespect toward me personally, and this despite the fact that I do not know you nor do you know me. Perhaps my response here will engender some sense of decency on your part, but I doubt it. Is it so hard to be civil?
@syedmauqib - who would be the "et al" that you are hoping will fry for eternity? This does not strike me as the sentiment of someone with their head on right.
@syedmauqib - You have not clarified your original statement that the US killed all of these people. Who in the US did this? Was it the military itself? Was it non-military security forces? Was it staff and volunteers of the many non-governmental agencies still there? Was it a combination of all of these? Were any of these "people" killed by fellow Iraqis? If so, how many? Were all of these "people" innocent civilians or not? You need to clarify what you are talking about.
the 2005 census reported 4,050,597 households. From this ORB calculated 1,220,580 deaths since the 2003 invasion. From the poll margin of error of 2.5% ORB came up with a range of 733,158 to 1,446,063 deaths.
Opinion Research Business published an update to the survey on 28 January 2008, based on additional work carried out in rural areas of Iraq. Some 600 additional interviews were undertaken and as a result of this the death estimate was revised to 1,033,000 with a given range of 946,000 to 1,120,000.
@syedmauqib - you might want to read ALL of the wikipedia article that you are referencing: The ORB Survey Estimate "has been strongly criticized as exaggerated and ill-founded in peer reviewed literature" by Michael Spagat and Josh Dougherty in their article, "Conflict Deaths in Iraq: A Methodological Critique of the ORB Survey Estimate.
@syedmauqib - I don't recall having deleted any of your posts from this discussion. As a matter of fact, I don't recall deleting ANYONE's posts from this discussion. Sounds like you may have an inferiority complex going on there. How about citing your sources rather than just spouting dubious "facts." This might land you some credibility and help assuage your fear of being "deleted." Just a thought.
@syedmauqib - if you are going to state something like this, please supply some viable and reliable link to your source information, otherwise it is just rhetoric, which, if your statement is true, is a PROFOUND disservice to the memories of the people of whom you are making this claim in remembrance of. I am completely unaware of any documented evidence that US military/non-military security forces/non-governmental aid organizations from the United States systematically killed so many people.
@syedmauqib - I think it is important for you to clarify your statement as well as provide your source information. Are you claiming that the US (that is, military forces, non-military security forces, and/or non-governmental aid organizations) intentionally killed 1 million "people" in Iraq from 2003-2011? Were these "people" civilians or military or ex-military or simply militants or domestic terrorists or some combination of the aforementioned? Were the killings systematic? Clarify please
@ErikTheBigKMan :US Invasion of Iraq led to the death of a million human beings mostly children. This is a fact. and the count is still rising. Now if you are going to make us believe that that US killed 1 million terrorists in Iraq, that would be similar to the statement of US having found WMD's in Iraq.
@syedmauqib - this comment was flagged as SPAM by YouTube and not me...see my comment above about not having deleted anyone from this discussion. About your "claim" in this posting, again, CITE YOUR SOURCE(S) to clarify the questions I posed previously. Until you provide where you are getting this number from, it really does not mean anything, which is a disservice to those who have died and those who have tried to end the violence and killing. Be responsible, CITE your sources.
@syedmauqib - if you take the time to read what I wrote in response to your postings, you might come to realize that I am not suggesting anything like what you are attributing to me. The US has not killed 1 million terrorists in Iraq...I did not say that anywhere, nor can that be implied from what I said, unless, of course, you only see what you want to see when you read something. If I had said that, you would certainly be correct in your analogy to finding WMDs in Iraq as equivalent.
@syedmauqib - I will try this again: What is your source? Is this 100% civilians or just "people" which could include militants and terrorists and ex-military engaged in the insurgency which was directed against Iraqis as well as American military, American non-military security, and American & foreign non-governmental workers, volunteers, and staff. Otherwise it is just opinion, and not a very useful one at that.
@gamerohan - I am not sure if it was televised as it happened or whether he kept this as a kind of "home movie" for his personal entertainment or to bring out and use to terrify people now and then. I do know that his favority Hollywood films were The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2.
@MamaMario13 - July 22, 1979; 68 were convicted of treason and 22 sentenced to execution. Loyalists members of the Ba'ath Party formed the firing squad that fulfilled the executions. This would all be disputed and conspiracy-theorist-nuttiness were it not for the fact that Saddam videotaped the purge.
A true psychopath and a chilling but fascinating film. I say fascinating only because, as far as I know, this is the only on-film capture of a dictator seizing power in so consumate a way, much as Hitler and Stalin did when they purged their own enemies in government.
@Mekonsprain - I believe you are right about the video documentation of a power grab. I am sure that it was rather much like this in Stalin's purges, also Mao's, Kim Il Sung, and others. What strikes me in this is what struck you, that he is so calm and collected, as if he is merely ordering take out or something else banal. Frightening, truly frightening.
I suppose the nearest equivalent I can think of to this would be Robespierre reading out his list of traitors to the national convention in France during 'the terror'! Possibly Stalin too? This is an amazing and frightening video!
@Ukka68 - I concur in your final remark and in your equivalence to the Reign of Terror. Regardless of the machinations to get the U.S. military back into Iraq, the world and Iraq are far better off. The situation may seem worse right now, but it is not by a long shot. Thanks for your comments.
@napalm5 - welcome to Orwell's 1984...with a little Godfather thrown in to boot (the Godfather films were Saddam's personal favorites, he watched them over and over again much like Nixon kept watching Patton over and over again).
I would've just called in sick that day.
TurboFuss1 9 hours ago
motherfucker got what he deserved when he was hung. i noticed his knees buckle when he saw the noose......fucking coward killed others with ease yet shit his pants when he saw the noose...burn in hell you fucking tyrant along with the rest of them...hahahaha
amjadami 14 hours ago
@amjadami - Would it have served the interests of the larger population of Iraq had he been executed in a more public and less partisan way? He had earned his death through his deeds, but was the method employed the most sensible given the aftermath or would it have mattered? Can we also speak with words rather than expletives?
ErikTheBigKMan 12 hours ago
@amjadami George W Bush killed more people than Saddam.
TurboFuss1 9 hours ago
They supported him
sietevicio 1 week ago
Perhaps this is why so few of his generals, soldiers, officials, etc. felt like dying for him during the second gulf war.
NuJoiseyMAN 1 month ago
To be fair, If those people had simply supported Saddam 100%, they would be alive today
britishlaw 1 month ago
@britishlaw - And that is what so many people thought about Stalin, too. Once you have a totalitarian autocrat, whether you are a vocal supporter or a silent dissident, your status is equally precarious because you are not significant in the final analysis, only the whim of the "emperor" whether he has clothes on or not. The innocent are persecuted and killed as readily as the guilty in such a nightmare scenario. When 2 + 2 = 5, there is no calculus for survival.
ErikTheBigKMan 1 month ago 5
motherfucker got hung himself & shit his pants when he saw the noose
amjadami 1 month ago
@amjadami - might want to work on building your vocabulary.
ErikTheBigKMan 1 month ago
@ErikTheBigKMan i would rather have prefered building the noose for beasts like saddam as i think that would serve a better purpose :)
amjadami 1 month ago
@amjadami - agreed...though I am not sure that his neck is worth the rope. Maybe dropping him off in the middle of Antarctica with no provisions and only his birthday suit might be just considering what terrors he inflicted on others. Maybe throwing him in a maximum security prison with "child molester" tatooed to his forehead would be another.
ErikTheBigKMan 1 month ago
@ErikTheBigKMan very true my sympathies extend to the rope aswell having to be wrapped around a piece of garbage like him. the rope would have served a better purpose towing a broke down car. Antarticas a good idea but i disagree with the birthday suit as that might bring him some warmth
how about just his underwear.just to save the embarassment to the dropoff team. :)
amjadami 1 month ago
Nasty man
husambusam 2 months ago
Christ even Hitler didn't think of this shit.
CaseRed0605 2 months ago
@CaseRed0605 - Nope, and compared to Stalin, Hitler was a rookie. I am morbidly curious who the next Saddam/Pol Pot/Stalin is out there either now or in the near future.
ErikTheBigKMan 2 months ago
@CaseRed0605 i just finished that chapter.
ILikesTheMusic 1 month ago
I'm so sick of psychopaths fucking things up for the rest of us.
draoi99 2 months ago
@draoi99 - You shouldn't speak this way about Talk Radio!
ErikTheBigKMan 2 months ago
We should do this for many in our governments! Our politicians are just as crooked.
nerdydesi 2 months ago
@nerdydesi - Who would you trust to be the dictator who would do this "purging" of our Congress? Our politicians are as crooked as we elect them to be. If we are dumb enough to be duped by fallacious reasoning and emotional appeals in campaigns rather than demanding that our candidates for office actually talk informedly and rationally about real issues, then things will be crooked. Our politicians are a direct reflection of what we hold as valuable. Look in the mirror.
ErikTheBigKMan 2 months ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
This guy was no different than Hitler.
ashburnhouse 3 months ago
saddam is a badass muthafuka!
TheLighterrrr 3 months ago
@TheLighterrrr - not a very insightful observation and also a bit inaccurate. He is dead, after all, so he cannot be an "is" anymore. If you wish to keep your comment, then it would need to be in the past tense "was" rather than the present tense "is".
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan GRAMMAR NAZI!!!!
bjl34565 3 months ago
@bjl34565 - I'm not sure that one needs to be a National Socialist nor one of the crazed, unbalanced, sociopathic followers of Hitler's creed to expect that people use language well rather than poorly. I think that it is also not too much to expect that a comment be something more significant than a simple vulgarity that relies on treating one's rump with hyperbole or conjuring up the image of satisfying Oedipal desires upon the woman who bore one.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan i conject to your premise that the legitamacy of a personal perspective be judged on its gammatical expression, rather than the theory of the argument.
bjl34565 2 months ago
@bjl34565 - What? Did you mean to say "I reject your premise" rather than the grammatically impossible structure "I conject to your"? Language is useful when it is used usefully.
ErikTheBigKMan 2 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan tut tut i shall not conspire with psudo-intellectual like yourself.
bjl34565 2 months ago
@bjl34565 - I'll throw down degrees and experience with you any day. Enjoy your grammatical and spelling problems (pseudo not psudo, though Twain would prefer it sudo).
ErikTheBigKMan 2 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan Self-masturbatory quibbling aside, the obvious implication of the term 'Grammar Nazi' is not that one is a National Socialist, but that one exhibits fanatical, anal-retentive attention to minor detail, which is a typical trait of the romanticized character of a Nazi. Also, the original comment is more than 'simple vulgarity' in that it communicates a perspective the commentor holds, and as this is a public forum, expressed for others to share in.
jagovRUS 2 months ago
@jagovRUS - You go girl!
ErikTheBigKMan 2 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan I'm not a girl though, bro-dawg.
jagovRUS 2 months ago
@jagovRUS - Well, autoerectile needling aside, the clear connotation of the phrase "You go girl" is not that one is necessarily female, but that one displays the high-powered, sphincter-tightening desire to shout out, which is characteristic of the overindulged type that is the "go-get-'em" personality. Also, the referenced comment is little more than a vacuous high-five to an essentially pointless defense of free speech by one blogger to another, expressed regardless of others. Fun!
ErikTheBigKMan 2 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan In actuality, it was none of those things. It was indeed sarcastic parody in your own vein. But I'm sure you knew that.
jagovRUS 2 months ago
@TheLighterrrr my god you are stupid......he was the anti christ
MrTommypops 2 months ago
Let's not forget who put him and his party in power: the US via the CIA.
yorkshire13579 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - I think we would need to clarify that a bit and recognize that he elevated himself into power, and then the Ford, Carter, and Reagan Administrations with the CIA legitimated his regime with formal recognition and military/financial assistance to wage war against Iran following the revolution there.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan I agree with you to an extent. Yes various US Administrations helped him consolidate his power, but the bit you are overlooking is the 1963 coup, in which Abel Karim Kassem was overthrown by the CIA because, you guessed it, he had too much leftism and leftist influence, and they deemed him to be a communist, when really all he did was overthrow the UK puppet monarchy, nationalise Iraqi oil and wealth and begin a welfare system. The United Snakes are the biggest cowards on Earth.
yorkshire13579 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - Except that is not Saddam taking power, so beyond the scope of what you were asserting in your original post. I would not consider this an example of me 'overlooking"/"missing" something, rather, it is an example of you conflating albeit related though distinct events and historical personages. Not sure who the "United Snakes" are, seems a bit of a disservice to that particular part of the animal kingdom, and I am confident that no particular group is devoid of cowards.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan Yes, very witty, trying to undermine my point about the United Snakes; I'm certain you understood what it was getting at, unless of course you are of the type who bizarrely believe that the West and the US can do no wrong and would never lie to us? For your information, the US ensured the Ba'ath Party overthrew Kassem. Saddam was involved, Saddam grew in strength and eventually led Iraq. The US stood by and watched, funded and armed him, and remained silent over Halabja.
yorkshire13579 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - Yes, I affirmed the collusion of a minimum of three American administrations in the rise of Saddam with the assistance of the CIA. I don't see that I am undermining your point, merely your choice of diction which is less than objective. If you choose to read more into it than this, that is of course up to you, but it does not necessarily mean that I am seeking to undermine you. There is discourse, then there is recourse. I prefer to connect dots rather than conflate them.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan How am I 'conflating'? Everything is linked and you seem unwilling to accept that Western meddling in others' affairs has led to the disgraceful world we live in. Look at Egypt. Who ensured Hosni Mubarak remained there? The US? What was their prime reason? Israel (as illegitimate as the state's existence is). They demanded he step down and when he eventually did, Hitlery Clinton went over to meddle and ensure Western policies were not at risk. Hence why Egypt is revolting again.
yorkshire13579 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - I do not contend that the events are not linked, but the linkage is not necessarily of a kind. Sometimes there is opportunity rather than deliberate planning. I would assert that the events are related, but that does not mean that they are the result of a preconceived plan being flawlessly executed with nefarious intentions underlying it. So-called "Western meddling" has brought about a profound transformation around the globe over the past four centuries.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - Social, economic, and political evolutions in the West since the Renaissance, largely triggered and perpetuated by a certain baccillis, have led to the rise of mass democracy at the expense of authoritarian forms of government throughout the so-called "developed world." The lingering of authoritarian regimes and authoritarian mindsets among the populace in the developing areas of the globe are finally coming under similar evolutionary pressures faciliated by Western technology
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - and Western democratic traditions and misperceptions. I do not see this as a "disgraceful" state of affairs for the world, rather an dramatic improvement as there are demonstrably far fewer humans living in abject poverty as proportion of the total human population than ever before in the history of human civilization - not human history, just the history of human civilization (the past 8,000 years roughly). Are there still many problems and injustices? Certainly.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - Are the solutions and the possibilities for the implementation of those solutions far more likely to be successful now than they were even 100 years ago? I think the answer to that is clearly Yes, too. I think that your logic is faulty as your case of Egypt clearly demonstrates. Following the rise of Nasser in a context of decolonializtion and superpower rivalry between the USA and USSR, American interests in the Middle East became far more complex and unruly.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - the assassination of Sadat only exacerbated the situation, and so it became a general policy of several American administrations to support the authoritarianism of Mubarak, which was expected and did translate into a general stability in the region, but at the expense of many deeply felt American values like democracy and human rights. Is there a profound political relationship between America and Israel? Clearly, and for some it needs to be re-evaluated. Bush 2 tried this.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - The initial retreat from the Israeli-Palestinian quagmire of American politics by the Bush 2 administration was quickly reversed with the September 11, 2001 attacks, which, of course, led to a massive American and coalition military, political, and financial involvement in the heart of the Middle East, i.e., Iraq. The transformative historical currents of this ongoing engagement will be long felt throughout the region as well as around the world, and Egypt is consequential.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - The fall of Mubarak was hotly contested by the Israelis and the Israeli lobby in America because of the obvious uncertainty it would produce...and, of course, very soon there were popular calls in Egypt to denounce the political gains that had been achieved between Egypt and Israel since Sadat. Thus, it was clearly, by your argument, in America's interests to retain Mubarak rather than see him removed. But America sided with popular democracy and the costs are not yet clear.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - Associating the Secretary of State with Adolf Hitler is an attempt at wit, but finally witless in an historical context. Of course, America will strive to protect its interests, just as Nasser played the USA and the USSR against each other in his time to ensure Egyptian interests. Nothing new about that. That Egypt is still unsettled, it is impolite to call Egypt or Egyptians "revolting", is not surprising since there has never been an untroubled evolution of any society.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - In as much as it is tempting to blame others for all the troubles one is facing, it is not CIA agents disguised as Egyptians filling Tahrir Square, nor is it American officials impersonating Egyptian military leaders and officers who are generating strife. Does America have a role in the situation? Certainly. Is it all America's "fault"? Only to those with a superficial understanding or politically loaded agenda at hand with which to construe the larger forces of history.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - Would it have been far simpler for America to keep Mubarak and his family in power in Egypt as a means of maintaining the security that has been so hard-fought over the past few decades? Yes, undoubtedly. Would it have been the smart thing to do with regard to America's larger global interests? No, not really. Can we blame it on the inexperience of the current American President and his administration? Sure, why not blame someone else? Was the ouster of Mubarak right?
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 - Time will tell...and if the past four centuries is any indication, the answer is most likely to be Yes, the democratization of Egypt and Iraq, as well as of Libya and Tunisia, will profoundly alter the traditional authoritarian assumptions of the leaders and the popultions of the Middle East. I do not think that this is a disgrace, but you are entitled to your opinion. I merely ask that you bolster your opinions with more facts and less rhetoric, especially name-calling.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan yorkshire13579 prefers conspiracy theories to facts.
CloeBuckingham 3 months ago
@yorkshire13579 That is an oversimplification.
In 1959 Saddam Hussein and five others were authorised by the CIA to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim who the year before overthrew the monarchy in a bloodbath.
It is not clear the CIA was behind the 1963 coup, but Saddam Hussein was helpful to the CIA in the slaughter of Communists.
Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr led a bloodless coup and named Saddam his deputy in 1968.
CloeBuckingham 3 months ago
Saddam smoking the cigar reminds me of how Stalin was smoking his pipe while he watched the 1937 show trial, letting defendants know they better do as instructed if they want their families to live.
SansChannelingus 3 months ago
@SansChannelingus - It is remarkable to me the lengths to which he went to model himself physically and tyrannically after Stalin. I wonder if the Middle East is transitioning out of the role of such men, as Europe and East Asia have done, or if there is another such monster waiting in the wings to assert his view of the world on an entire nation in the region.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
I suppose one should ask why the population in nearly every Arab country is living under a dictatorship. It makes me wonder if it isn't cultural. Most of those nations are less than 100 years old and they have a strong tribal component in their culture and tribalism is hierarchical, one man has absolute authority over his family as one man has absolute control over the government. Patronage is widely practiced, favors exchanged, bribes accepted as a way of getting things done. This is tribal
SansChannelingus 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan And if it's due to an aspect of their culture then it's unfortunate because culture runs even deeper psychologically than religion and is resistant to change. But then again, the Japanese never put emphasis on individual rights and they threw off militarism and absolute rule and worked wonders.
SansChannelingus 3 months ago
@SansChannelingus - The Japanese evolution was the result of American occupation and "democracy at gunpoint" which has been so impugned in the past few years within the context of the Afghan-Iraq conflicts (which are conflicts and not wars because Congress continues to hide behind resolutions rather than declarations so that it can lay the blame at the foot of a president rather than at their own doorstep). Germany too was "democratized" by American occupation.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@SansChannelingus - In as much as tyranny and tribalism can be seen as cultural, it is also very much universal over the course of history with some cultures developing the institutions and traditions to overcome the tendency to revert to what is most likely a biologically successful strategy to survive in a pre-civilized environment, which, in the complexity of civilization, can become far more potent and destructive. Jared Diamond's thesis may have more to do with the Arab world than anything
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan Jared Diamond, i have his books. Btw, I'm uploading ''House of Saddam" if you are interested.
SansChannelingus 3 months ago
@SansChannelingus - THANKS! Good to have a decent conversation with an articulate person in this forum.
ErikTheBigKMan 3 months ago
Saddam was a ruthless man, but what a man. Who the hell has the spine to do that... wtf
@ErikTheBigKunt
Iraqi Body Count is the most flawed of them all. No one believes that.
In fact Lancet Survey said before ORB that the count is over 1 million people.
But lets say it isn't, lets say it's the "100.000" people that you people want others to think. It's still a huge number and sickening. "Intelligence failure" was the problem I gather ... sick fucking Americans.
/watch?v=wwySzkpyMfI < watch
Reqrezentin 5 months ago
@Reqrezentin - I am not sure why you feel it is important to mislabel my Youtube identification with such an obvious attempt at an insult, I guess you just need to do that to be taken seriously. Please note that I am not deleting your "comment" despite your intended disrespect toward me personally, and this despite the fact that I do not know you nor do you know me. Perhaps my response here will engender some sense of decency on your part, but I doubt it. Is it so hard to be civil?
ErikTheBigKMan 5 months ago
Arab North Korea, Hail the Dear leader
Mishkafofer 6 months ago
Lord be my witness...Bush et al will burn in hell... amen..
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - who would be the "et al" that you are hoping will fry for eternity? This does not strike me as the sentiment of someone with their head on right.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
US "intelligence failure" in Iraq cost 1.2 million lives...
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - You have not clarified your original statement that the US killed all of these people. Who in the US did this? Was it the military itself? Was it non-military security forces? Was it staff and volunteers of the many non-governmental agencies still there? Was it a combination of all of these? Were any of these "people" killed by fellow Iraqis? If so, how many? Were all of these "people" innocent civilians or not? You need to clarify what you are talking about.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
Greenspan admited that Iraq was about oil, and put death count at 1.2 million
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - When was this? What is your source? Was Greenspan in a position to know? Please cite your sources.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
the 2005 census reported 4,050,597 households. From this ORB calculated 1,220,580 deaths since the 2003 invasion. From the poll margin of error of 2.5% ORB came up with a range of 733,158 to 1,446,063 deaths.
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - derived from wikipedia article using "Opinion Research Business" as a search term in Google.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
Opinion Research Business published an update to the survey on 28 January 2008, based on additional work carried out in rural areas of Iraq. Some 600 additional interviews were undertaken and as a result of this the death estimate was revised to 1,033,000 with a given range of 946,000 to 1,120,000.
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - you might want to read ALL of the wikipedia article that you are referencing: The ORB Survey Estimate "has been strongly criticized as exaggerated and ill-founded in peer reviewed literature" by Michael Spagat and Josh Dougherty in their article, "Conflict Deaths in Iraq: A Methodological Critique of the ORB Survey Estimate.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
1,220,580 people died in iraq since 2003 to 2007.
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - see comment above about the ORB report being "strongly criticized as exaggerated and ill-founded".
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
and yes, you can go on deleting my comments... talks volumes about your adherence to values of "free speech".
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - I don't recall having deleted any of your posts from this discussion. As a matter of fact, I don't recall deleting ANYONE's posts from this discussion. Sounds like you may have an inferiority complex going on there. How about citing your sources rather than just spouting dubious "facts." This might land you some credibility and help assuage your fear of being "deleted." Just a thought.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
US killed 1,000,000 (1 million) innocent people in Iraq since 2003.
syedmauqib 7 months ago
@syedmauqib - if you are going to state something like this, please supply some viable and reliable link to your source information, otherwise it is just rhetoric, which, if your statement is true, is a PROFOUND disservice to the memories of the people of whom you are making this claim in remembrance of. I am completely unaware of any documented evidence that US military/non-military security forces/non-governmental aid organizations from the United States systematically killed so many people.
ErikTheBigKMan 7 months ago
@syedmauqib - I think it is important for you to clarify your statement as well as provide your source information. Are you claiming that the US (that is, military forces, non-military security forces, and/or non-governmental aid organizations) intentionally killed 1 million "people" in Iraq from 2003-2011? Were these "people" civilians or military or ex-military or simply militants or domestic terrorists or some combination of the aforementioned? Were the killings systematic? Clarify please
ErikTheBigKMan 7 months ago
Comment removed
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@ErikTheBigKMan :US Invasion of Iraq led to the death of a million human beings mostly children. This is a fact. and the count is still rising. Now if you are going to make us believe that that US killed 1 million terrorists in Iraq, that would be similar to the statement of US having found WMD's in Iraq.
syedmauqib 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - this comment was flagged as SPAM by YouTube and not me...see my comment above about not having deleted anyone from this discussion. About your "claim" in this posting, again, CITE YOUR SOURCE(S) to clarify the questions I posed previously. Until you provide where you are getting this number from, it really does not mean anything, which is a disservice to those who have died and those who have tried to end the violence and killing. Be responsible, CITE your sources.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - if you take the time to read what I wrote in response to your postings, you might come to realize that I am not suggesting anything like what you are attributing to me. The US has not killed 1 million terrorists in Iraq...I did not say that anywhere, nor can that be implied from what I said, unless, of course, you only see what you want to see when you read something. If I had said that, you would certainly be correct in your analogy to finding WMDs in Iraq as equivalent.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
@syedmauqib - I will try this again: What is your source? Is this 100% civilians or just "people" which could include militants and terrorists and ex-military engaged in the insurgency which was directed against Iraqis as well as American military, American non-military security, and American & foreign non-governmental workers, volunteers, and staff. Otherwise it is just opinion, and not a very useful one at that.
ErikTheBigKMan 6 months ago
@gamerohan - Sorry, meant to type "favorite" and not "favority"
ErikTheBigKMan 7 months ago
Was this broadcasted publicly?
gamerohan 7 months ago
@gamerohan - I am not sure if it was televised as it happened or whether he kept this as a kind of "home movie" for his personal entertainment or to bring out and use to terrify people now and then. I do know that his favority Hollywood films were The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2.
ErikTheBigKMan 7 months ago
when was this?
MamaMario13 7 months ago
@MamaMario13 - July 22, 1979; 68 were convicted of treason and 22 sentenced to execution. Loyalists members of the Ba'ath Party formed the firing squad that fulfilled the executions. This would all be disputed and conspiracy-theorist-nuttiness were it not for the fact that Saddam videotaped the purge.
ErikTheBigKMan 7 months ago
A true psychopath and a chilling but fascinating film. I say fascinating only because, as far as I know, this is the only on-film capture of a dictator seizing power in so consumate a way, much as Hitler and Stalin did when they purged their own enemies in government.
Mekonsprain 10 months ago
@Mekonsprain - I believe you are right about the video documentation of a power grab. I am sure that it was rather much like this in Stalin's purges, also Mao's, Kim Il Sung, and others. What strikes me in this is what struck you, that he is so calm and collected, as if he is merely ordering take out or something else banal. Frightening, truly frightening.
ErikTheBigKMan 10 months ago
I suppose the nearest equivalent I can think of to this would be Robespierre reading out his list of traitors to the national convention in France during 'the terror'! Possibly Stalin too? This is an amazing and frightening video!
Ukka68 1 year ago
@Ukka68 - I concur in your final remark and in your equivalence to the Reign of Terror. Regardless of the machinations to get the U.S. military back into Iraq, the world and Iraq are far better off. The situation may seem worse right now, but it is not by a long shot. Thanks for your comments.
ErikTheBigKMan 1 year ago
scary. the crowd "praises" saddam only to show bravado and be spared
napalm5 1 year ago
@napalm5 - welcome to Orwell's 1984...with a little Godfather thrown in to boot (the Godfather films were Saddam's personal favorites, he watched them over and over again much like Nixon kept watching Patton over and over again).
ErikTheBigKMan 1 year ago
Pity for Iraq and the world that this monster came to power.
God bless Iraq and the world for getting rid of this monster too though.
Christian121y 1 year ago