[PEN-L:32803] RE: Re: Chomsky

["Michael Hoover" <HooverM@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>>> jdevine@xxxxxxx 12/04/02 11:20AM >>>
Before the Kuwait war, Iraq had lots of oil bucks, so that Saddam could do a lot of good things for the people in order to build up his legitimacy without detracting from the all-important feathering of his own nest.
JD
<<<>>>

i don't know much about iraq but individual emphasis of above seems bit simplistic to me (i never cared much for great/evil man stuff anyway)...

iraqi baath (which means revitalization or resurgence, i think) party came to power via '68 coup, one of a number of governments in region in 50s/60s - including algeria/eygpt/libya/sudan/ syria - denouncing traditional arab political leadership and advocating variant of 'arab socialism'...

above shared view generally prevalent in third world at time re. european/us imperialism, espoused continuing struggle against colonialism/neo-colonialism, called for pan-arabism, iniated new policies to alleviate plight of masses...

i think iraqi gov't commitment in '70s to improving life of majority was stronger/more substantive/more successful
than others (in part, no doubt, because of oil revenue)...
this occurred when saddam hussein was deputy secretary in baath party, he didn't assume top position until '78 (if memory serves)...

saddam hussein consolidated power amidt nervousness of immediate aftermath of iranian revo...  iraqi baath party was secular to core, iraqi leadership was nominally sunni, shii make up 60%+ of iraqi population...

there were uprisings in several predominantly shii cities, khomeini called saddam hussein an atheist and urged overthrow of iraq gov't... iraqi gov't responded with arrests/executions of iraqi shii political leaders who were accused of collaborating with iran...  saddam hussein
publicly "called out" khomeini, urged arab minority in
iran to revolt, and began mobilizing iraqi army in
state of emergency/readiness...

as madison wrote in 1793, war is the true nurse of executive
aggrandizement...   michael hoover