Hussein, Saddam (1937–)

Personal History

Hussein was born on April 28, 1937, in the village of Al Auja, near the town of Tikrit, in northern Iraq. His father appears to have died before his birth, and he was raised by his mother, Subha, and stepfather, Ibrahim Hassan. The family was poor, and relations between Hussein and his stepfather seem to have been strained; Hussein did not attend school until he left home at age 10, when he went to live with his maternal uncle, Khayrallah Tulfah, in Baghdad. Khayrallah, a schoolteacher and former Army officer, became a significant influence in his life.

A mediocre student, Hussein failed the entrance exam for the Baghdad military academy in the mid-1950s. He then worked at a series of odd jobs and became involved in the Ba'th Party. The Ba'th was a socialist, pan-Arab group that dreamed of deposing the Western-supported monarchs who then ruled most Arab nations and uniting all Arab people in a single modern state. Hussein became a recruiter for the Ba'th youth wing in Iraq, leading street protests and organizing gangs.

In 1958, a coup led by Gen. Abdul Karim Kassam overthrew the Iraqi monarchy. The Ba'th rapidly became dissatisfied with Kassam's leadership, however, and in 1959 Hussein was involved in attempting to assassinate Kassam. When the attempt failed, Hussein fled to Syria, where he joined other Ba'th exiles.

While Iraq was roiled with political turmoil, Hussein studied law in Cairo and rose within party ranks. His cousin, Gen. Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, was an important Ba'th leader, and his patronage brought Hussein a number of important positions. In 1968, al-Bakr led another coup, becoming president of Iraq, while Hussein became head of Iraq's security services.

Hussein then began his quest for power in earnest. He used his control of the Iraqi intelligence agencies to attach agents loyal to him to Army units at every level, thus neutralizing the only segment of Iraqi society that could contend against the Ba'th Party. Eventually, all non-Ba'th leaders involved in the 1968 coup were forced to step down; most were executed. At the same time, Hussein vastly increased membership in the Ba'th Party, and made such membership a prerequisite for certain forms of employment.

Hussein began accumulating ministerial positions. At first he took on less glamorous jobs that other party leaders did not want (the intelligence position being one such), but eventually he added the ministries of health and education to his portfolio, becoming al-Bakr's second-in-command. Hussein used his position to provide patronage to his family and to old acquaintances from Tikrit, thus creating a pool of loyalists. Hussein remained deferential to al-Bakr, who enjoyed all the privileges of office while being taxed with none of the work, and al-Bakr's faith in and reliance on Hussein increased. [Page 177]By the mid-1970s, al-Bakr was largely a figurehead; Hussein truly ran the country. In 1979, after al-Bakr made a belated attempt to regain power, Hussein forced him to step down and made himself president of Iraq.

Connections to Terrorism

Hussein has been likened to Joseph Stalin, and Iraq under his rule to Stalinist Russia; the comparison is apt and useful in expressing the quality of terror employed by his regime to control the people of Iraq.

Hussein has apportioned power in Iraq to members of his family, their loyalty guaranteed by his patronage and their fear. Almost every agency or department within the government reports directly to him or to a member of his family. He has created many intelligence agencies; their agents are expected to spy not only on the Iraqi people but also on other agencies, and then report directly to Hussein. The slightest dissent or protest against his rule is considered treason and often carries a sentence of death. Iraqi security forces routinely use physical and psychological torture to extort confessions or information from prisoners, and Hussein has ordered extra-judicial executions. This overarching state terror is designed to impress upon the Iraqi people that there is no alternative to Hussein's rule.

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