By Darren Weeks
They say that truth is the first casualty of war.
As bad as the Hussein regime has been described by the controlled media, the fact remains that Saddam has done many good things, during his tenure, for the people of Iraq. Since the American anti-free press won't tell you about them, I guess it's up to me to clue you in.
When Saddam Hussein came to power, most Iraqis were completely illiterate. He was responsible for implementing a rather elaborate education system that required both boys and girls, men and women, to learn how to read and write.
Since the tradition in the Arab world had always been that women should be nurturers and should stay at home, Hussein's plan met with no small amount of opposition.
Knowing that education of the population was an important step in his goal to build a powerful Iraqi enconomy, Saddam instituted a law: In order for anyone to obtain a loan, or any kind of assistance, they must know how to read and write. Also, men who refused to allow their daughters to go to school, would be jailed, or have their electricity turned off. Additionally, fines were instituted for missed classes.
The result was the in a short period of time, illiteracy in Iraq was nearly completely stamped out.
So impressive was his achievement, that Saddam Hussein — that "diabolical dictator," that "mad butcher of Baghdad" — received an award from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culteral Organization (UNESCO) for Iraq's literacy program. Does this sound like the monster that the media describes?
If Hussein was really the hellhound that he has been portrayed as, then why would he take the time and effort to educate the Iraqi populace?
History is repleat with examples of tyrannical governments. One of the first steps in establishing a tyrannical form of government is to dumb down the population. A dumbed down population is much easier to manipulate and control.
Hence, it should come as no surprise, that as the United States moves closer into the clutches of a socialists' tyranny, our school systems are failing to teach the basics of academics.
Education is vital in maintaining freedom.
In fact, Samuel Adams understood this when he said, "If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security."
Perhaps, Dr. Benjamin Rush in 1776, put it best: "Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge. Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights."
Now, lest you get the wrong idea, I'm not trying to paint the now former dictator as a perfect man. I do not believe that there are any such men — especially in power.
I do believe that, based upon what I've read of the history of Iraq and of Hussein himself, that Saddam might very well have been the best leader the Iraqi people have ever known.
Not only did he see to it that they were educated, but he had little tolerance for corruption within his own cabinet. He's been known to assassinate members of his government for taking bribes.
Extreme, yes. But very effective!
I sometimes wonder what our country would be like, if we dealt with traitors in America as severely. I suspect most of the present government leaders wouldn't be around today. I guarantee we wouldn't have a $6.4 trillion national debt, either.
Often Hussein, a master of disguise from his days working underground for the Baathis party, would appear in public as an ordinary person. Sometimes, he would be a beggar. He did this, so that he could get honest feedback from the average citizen. He would listen to what the people were saying and attempt to implement policies, based upon the regular folks' views.
Saddam Hussein also gave other rights to women in Iraq. Under his leadership, for the first time in the country's history, sufferage was extended to women.
This is information that is lost in todays headlines.
Some would argue with me about Hussein, citing the invasion of Kuwait as an example of a madman's desire to take over his neighbors, and perhaps, the world. The facts, as I understand them, are much different.
It seems, in fact, that Saddam had little choice but to invade Kuwait. For they were apparently destroying the Iraqi economy.
After the Iran-Iraq war, Iraq's economy was in shambles. It was understood by the Arab nations, that Iraq had fought the war on behalf of all the Arab states. It was also understood that the other Arab states would share in the cost of the war.
Kuwait kept demanding payment on the war debt that Iraq had incurred during their war with Iran. Saddam is said to have repeatedly attempted to negotiate with the Kuwaiti leaders, but they kept demanding payment.
Adding to the tension, was the age-old border dispute that Iraq had with the country of Kuwait.
For reasons that are far too complicated to go into right now, the borders between Iraq and Kuwait were never really clearly defined when the countries were established. The land that had become Kuwait, had been promised to Iraq at the time that Iraq was established by the British government.
For whatever reason, the promise wasn't kept. But to the Iraqis, thoughout the history of both countries, the promise was never forgotten.
In 1991, as Iraq was attempting to recover from the war which devasted their economy, Kuwait kept inching their border further and further north toward Iraq's valuable oil fields. It is said that they even began taking over them and pumping the oil from them.
Again, negotiations were attempted by Saddam, but were refused by the Kuwaitis.
Finally, came the straw which broke the desert camel's back.
Kuwait began greatly exceeding the designated amount of oil set by OPEC, to control the price of oil. This cut largely into Iraq's already bleak economy. In fact, it took about one-third of the money out of their economy.
Saddam interpreted the act of Kuwait as an act of aggression, that was encouraged by the United States and Israel. Therefore, after all other efforts at diplomacy had failed, he finally ordered his troops in.
King Hussein of Jordon acted as a negotiator between the Iraqis and the Kuwaitis and was confident that a peaceful resolution could be worked out between the two countries.
That is, until George Bush, the 41st president of the United States, condemned the action of Saddam, making it impossible for him to pull out of Kuwait, without the appearance of being bullied.
Why am I telling you all of this?
It is because I believe that knowing a little bit of the history of the man that has been so villified might help to open your mind to the fact that there are always two sides to every story.
We, in the U.S.A., only hear the side that the controlled media tells. And they — just like our government — heavily support Israel. They do not tell the full truth. Often, they don't tell any of the truth.
If you would like to read another side of the Iraq story, Nita Renfrew has written an excellent biography (pdf format) of Saddam Hussein. She lived in Iraq and has done extensive research into the history of the country, and the life of its now former leader.
Yes, the first casualty of war is the truth. And the truth is, there has been a war on for global conquest for ages — long before September 11th and the war on terror.
And it's not just the Iraqi people whose freedoms are being lost. Your freedoms hang in the balance, too.
As Jesus said, in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
It's time to start caring about the truth. And then, to help spread the word.
