Saddam Hussein
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[1] to December 14, 2003[2].
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 [3]. 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.
Evidence presented to the United Nations by the Bush administation brought about the 2003 AD US led coalition to invaded Iraq and put a stop to Saddam Hussein's WMD program[4]. A further aim was to break the ties between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein which the Bush administartion had known about months before [5].
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]
