EC Interview : My Uncle Saddam “3”

Dear readers here is the third part of my interview with Al-Hussain Arshad Yassin. This part will cover the pros and cons of Saddam and Iraq in general.

You can check back the first part and the second part to remember the rest of the interview.

What are the main pros and cons of Saddam?? 

He was very generous, very brave, he loved his people, he loves his country and nation, helps the poor, very frank, listens to people when talking to him, and he also helped the prisoners in Iraqi prisons, he had hope that they could practice their daily life freely outside prison when he issued a law that any prisoner if memorized certain chapters of the Quran they would be free to leave prison, this law also included prisoners that are sentenced to life imprisonment and even prisoners for political reasons. He also released all prisoners from all Iraqi prisons on the day of his 2 elections but that did not include prisoners that worked as spies of the United States, Britain and Israel, but any other spy for any other country would be released.

He was a very sensitive man, his tear could go out easily when told a tragic story, he had his own land line that he would personally answer to listen to ordinary Iraqis during the 80’s. And this number was included in the address book of public telephones too, he would pick up the telephone personally and speak to ordinary Iraqis and listen to them, he was caring sympathetic, loving, and kind-hearted. Merciful but not when it comes to deliberate murder or rape, especially child rape.

He has the ability to absorb the fear, tension and nervousness you have when meeting him. He loves to serve tea and food to his guests and he would pass by them one by one serving them salad, deserts…etc At first you would freak out or feel uncomfortable but when you sit with him and have a chat, eventually you would forget you are sitting with THE Saddam Hussein unless you remind yourself of the fact. He is very easy to talk to, he listens to you carefully and likes to give and take in a conversation, he will also ask for your opinion and why would you believe this or that, unlike what people described him.  

As for the bad aspects, when he loved someone he would not see his negative side and that’s why he was deceived by the circle around him, they took advantage of him because he loved them and trusted them and they used his name. He also was sympathetic with the Palestinians and Egyptians and other Arabs and he put them above Iraqis in everything in general. Many Palestinians and Egyptians came to the country with nothing and left as millionaires. Iraqis should have been put first in everything and all other nationalities as second, but he saw that Iraq is not only a home for Iraqis but a home for all Arabs, and he generously gave many Arabs the Iraqi nationality too.    

Does Iraq need a man like Saddam described by many as a dictator to bring a peace to it and to keep it united or democracy will find its way to the country?? 

This is Iraq it’s not the Honolulu or the Maldives. The nature of the Iraqi society calls for this type of man, a dictator in the sense of a very firm man holding the country with an iron fist not in the sense of a dictator taking his own decisions without listening to his advisors. The Iraqi society calls for such a man because the structure of the society is formed from many sects. Have Muslims in the country that are divided into sects, Sunnis and Shiites and these sects are also divided into sub-sects if you wish to call it. The Sunnis that follow Al-Qaeda that I personally identify as a criminal organization, the Sunnis that follow Saudi Arabia, the Baha’is, the Shiites that follow Iran, the Shiites that believe that Imam Ali is the son of God, the Shiites of the Sistani, the Sadr and the Hakeem and many others, we also have Christians that are Catholics, we have protestants, orthodox, kaldians, and Christians that consider themselves as Sumerians. We also have the Kurds, and the Kurds also have Muslims (both Sunni and Shiite), Christians, Yazidis (devil worshipers), Kurds that are Zoroastrians , they worship the fire. And we have the Turkmens that are from Turkish decedent, and these Turkmens also have Muslims and Christians, and we also have the Saibians. Not forgetting that many of the above sects had Persian decedent Iraqis. And many sects that have evolved and found a place after the occupation.

Surely such structure of society cannot possibly be ruled by government system like Indonesia or the Philippines or South American countries. Such society calls for a firm man because if this firm man is not available, the entire country will be segregated. You cannot possibly please every sect unless you rule them by force, identifying them as Iraqis only and nothing more than that. This type of leader will always be needed unless the Iraqis agree to live among each other without any bloodshed or religious differences.

Iraq cannot be ruled like Lebanon. Lebanon is a state that has always been having struggles because each sect has its own party. And this fact will not stabilize the country; the fact that each sect has its own party will only put the country in dilemma. The solution for Iraq, Lebanon or any other country with multiple numbers of sects in its structure is to be ruled by a single party, and that single party should include all sects among its organizational structure with the belief of the members of the party that they are Iraqis. Not Shiite, not Sunni, not Christian…but Iraqis only. 

The only thing that I very much fear is that this type of leader might be faced and forced to use the only decision that might be available to stabilize the country and that is to use ethnic cleansing. That really troubles me because I don’t want that for my country and people.          

How do you see Iraq 5 years from now?? How do you imagine the Iraqi scenario will have evolved in 5 years from now?

I believe there will be no change in Iraq In the coming 5 years, not even in the next ten years. If I were to expect a change in Iraq I personally will expect it at least 15+ years from today. but what I mostly fear is the years that Iraq will pass through after all armies have left the country, I believe it would be one of the most savage, aggressive, inhuman, barbarous civil war the earth has ever known.

Do you think that one day you will be able to return back to Iraq and live there?? 

I very much believe that one day I will be able to go back to my country but not anytime soon, not even in the next 20 years.  Because if Iraq is liberated from the occupiers, this fact is not enough for some Iraqis to go back, unless things are stabilized and there is security, these individuals including me and my family will not go back to Iraq.

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