Saddam Hussein

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Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي) (April 28, 1937 – December 30, 2006) was the Sunni president of Iraq from July 16, 1979 to December 14, 2003. Hussein's leadership tactics were questionable, to say the least. Saddam saw himself as a social revolutionary and a modernizer, following the Nasser model. To the consternation of Islamic conservatives, his government gave women freedoms and offered them high-level government and industry jobs. Saddam also created a Western-style legal system, making Iraq the only country in the Persian Gulf region not ruled according to traditional Islamic law (Sharia). Saddam abolished the Sharia law courts, except for personal injury claims.

Iran Iraq War

As is often the case, national alignments can change rapidly. During the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, the United States considered Saddam Hussein to be a friend and assisted him with loans . During the 1990s, however, after Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait Hussein was considered one of America's greatest enemies.

He was one of the few modern leaders who used WMDs, specifically chemical weapons, in war; and was the instigator of at least two wars: the Iran-Iraq War during the 1980s and Iraq's August, 1990, invasion of Kuwait.

War on Terror

In 2003 a "coalition of the willing" invaded Iraq to force a change of regime from Saddam's Ba'athist party to a constitutional liberal democracy. A further aim was to break the alliance between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, though this link has never been proven. .

Captured by U.S. forces on December 13, 2003, Saddam was brought to trial under the Iraqi interim government set up by U.S.-led forces. On November 5 2006, he was convicted of charges related to the executions of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites suspected of planning an assassination attempt against him, and was sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam was executed on December 30, 2006. Interestingly, the name "Saddam" means "one who confronts".^{[Citation Needed]}