History UsefulNotes / SaddamHussein

Over the next three decades, Saddam would proceed to modernize the Iraqi economy, build one of the most robust welfare and education systems in the entire Middle East, and grant more rights to women, but also order brutal persecution against ethnic minorities, particularly against the Kurds, who were murdered by the hundreds of thousands with chemical weapons during events such as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Anfal_Campaign Al-Anfal campaign]] (making him the first dictator after UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler to have committed genocide using poison gas), as well as locking Iraq under a horrific era of immense repression, extrajudicial killings and persistent human rights violations. Also famous for launching the UsefulNotes/IranIraqWar, which resulted in over a million deaths due to Hussein's ambitions to take over Iran, and the 1991 UsefulNotes/GulfWar, where Iraq basically fought half the world. He was executed in 2006 by the new Iraqi government following a [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US]] and [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships British]] invasion of Iraq.

It is common for [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem conservative U.S. politicians]], both when he was alive and long after his execution, to mis-pronounce "Saddam" as if it was a homophone of "Sodom" (it is not).

Perhaps most interesting when it comes this very wiki, Hussein was also a writer of literature. His novels, of which the first two are ostensibly ''romance'' novels, are believed to have been written with at least some help from ghostwriters, and were published in the latter part of his time as dictator of Iraq under the pseudonym "He Who Wrote It", a traditional way in Arabic writing to preserve anonymity. The novels are noted to bear all the hallmarks of an amateur writer [[ProtectionFromEditors operating without an editor]], especially having a tendency to frequently halt the plot to have the characters or the narrator deliver rambling and sometimes aimless {{Author Filibuster}}s about Hussein's views on world society, history, politics, and proper governance, and of course, the occasional conspiracy theory about his enemies, both real and imagined. The following four novels are widely believed by, amongst others, the CIA to be written by Hussein. Should you ever manage to get hold of a copy, make sure to add tropes:

A notable detail to add to this is that Saddam was also a fan of literature to the point that he was infamous for writing a religious scripture with his blood in his belief of devotion. In fact, this was the foundation of one of his very few policies as a dictator that be argued to actually have been successful by most standards. During his time as Ba'ath Party vice-chairman from 1968 to 1979, Saddam was appalled to discover that illiteracy was a widespread problem amongst the Iraqi people, and so he instituted a country-wide draconian literacy program, where failure to attend mandatory reading classes became punishable by three years in jail. As a result, Iraq became the country with the highest percentage of literacy in the region, and this number has actually first started to decline with the recent instability in the country.

* He is the BigBad of Jeffrey Archer's 1993 novel ''Honour Among Thieves'', where he enacts a plan to steal and publicly destroy the American Declaration of Independence. He has some intimidating presence and doesn't speak often, but he doesn't appear that much.

* An over-the-top caricature of Saddam is the main villain in ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux'', [[UnexplainedRecovery despite being killed by an air strike]] at the end of [[Film/HotShots the previous movie]].

** Bart and Lisa beat him up in "Treehouse Of Horror X".
** Krusty's girlfriend had to kill him in Iraq during ''Desert Storm'' in the episode "Insane Clown Poppy", but Krusty prevented this from happening, because "he's half of my stand-up comedy act".
** In "The Ziff Who Came To Dinner" while investigating a noise in the attic, Homer Simpson finds an old copy of ''Newsweek'' with a cover story titled ''"Why America Loves Saddam Hussein"''.
* He's a supporting character in ''Film/TheDevilsDouble'', which centers around his AxCrazy oldest son Uday's body double.
* Appears in the ''VideoGame/Action52'' game titled ''Storm Over the Desert'' in which his name is changed to "Satan Hosain", dies in one hit, and gives extra lives when being driven over.

Perhaps most interesting when it comes this very wiki, Hussein was also a writer of literature. His novels, of which the first two are ostensibly ''romance'' novels, are believed to have been written with at least some help from ghostwriters, and were published in the latter part of his time as dictator of Iraq under the pseudonym "He Who Wrote It", a traditional way in Arabic writing to preserve anonymity. The novels are noted to bear all the hallmarks of an amateur writer operating without an editor, especially having a tendency to frequently halt the plot to have the characters or the narrator deliver rambling and sometimes aimless {{Author Filibuster}}s about Hussein's views on world society, history, politics, and proper governance, and of course, the occasional conspiracy theory about his enemies, both real and imagined. The following four novels are widely believed by, amongst others, the CIA to be written by Hussein. Should you ever manage to get hold of a copy, make sure to add tropes:

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth president of Iraq, from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. Leading member of the Ba'ath Party, a revolutionary group that espouses a mix of Arab socialism and Arab nationalism. Long before Saddam, Iraq had been split along social, ethnic, religious, and economic fault lines: Sunni versus Shi'ite, Arab versus Kurd, tribal chief versus urban merchant, and nomad versus peasant. When Saddam came to power, he worked on fixing it and modernizing Iraq. Unfortunately, he was a believer in the UsefulNotes/JosefStalin School of Fixing and Modernizing Backward Countries: being as brutal as possible.

A notable detail to add to this, is that Saddam was also a fan of literature, to the point that he was infamous for writing a religious scripture with his blood in his belief of devotion. In fact, this was the foundation of one of his very few policies as a dictator that be argued to actually have been successful by most standards. During his time as Ba'ath Party vice-chairman from 1968 to 1979, Saddam was appalled to discover that illiteracy was a widespread problem amongst the Iraqi people, and so he instituted a country-wide draconian literacy program, where failure to attend mandatory reading classes became punishable by three years in jail. As a result, Iraq became the country with the highest percentage of literacy in the region, and this number has actually first started to decline with the recent instability in the country.

* French {{puppet show|s}} ''Series/LesGuignolsDeLInfo'' portrayed him as a resolute, jaded and {{belaguered|boss}} president/warchief who couldn't do anything to modernize his forces or stop the Americans during the 2003 invasion and was friends with terrorist UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden and Mullah Omar.

A notable detail to add to this, is that Saddam was also a fan of literature. In fact, this was the foundation of one of his very few policies as a dictator that be argued to actually have been successful by most standards. During his time as Ba'ath Party vice-chairman from 1968 to 1979, Saddam was appalled to discover that illiteracy was a widespread problem amongst the Iraqi people, and so he instituted a country-wide draconian literacy program, where failure to attend mandatory reading classes became punishable by three years in jail. As a result, Iraq became the country with the highest percentage of literacy in the region, and this number has actually first started to decline with the recent instability in the country.

[[caption-width-right:220: I do believe your mustache is not as fantastic as mine.]]

[[caption-width-right:220: I do believe your mustache [[BadassMoustache is not as fantastic as mine.]]]]

A notable detail to add to this, is that Saddam was also a fan of literature. In fact, this was the foundation of one of his very few policies as a dictator that be argued to actually have been successful by most standards. During his time as Ba'ath Party vice-chairman from 1968 to 1979, Saddam was appalled to discovery that illiteracy was a widespread problem amongst the Iraqi people, and so he instituted a country-wide draconian literacy program, where failure to attend mandatory reading classes became punishable by three years in jail. As a result, Iraq became the country with the highest percentage of literacy in the region, and this number has actually first started to decline with the recent instability in the country.

Perhaps most interesting when it comes this very wiki, Hussein was also a writer of literature. His novels, of which the first two are ostensibly ''romance'' novels, are believed to have been written with at least some help from ghostwriters, and were published in the latter part of his time as dictator of Iraq under the pseudonym "He Who Wrote It", a traditional way in Arabic writing to preserve anonymity. The novels are noted to bear all the hallmarks of an amateur writer operating without an editor, especially having a tendency to frequently halt the plot to have the characters or the narrator deliver rambling and sometimes aimless {{Author Filibuster}}s about Hussein's views on world society, history, politics, and proper governance, and of course, the occasional conspiracy theory about his enemies, both real and imagined. The following four novels are widely believed by, amongst others, the CIA to be written by Hussein:

->''"Three whom God should not have created: [[ArsonMurderandJaywalking Persians, Jews, and flies.]]"''

->''"Three whom God should not have created: Persians, Jews, and flies."''

It is common for [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem conservative U.S. politicians]], both when he was alive and long after his execution, to mis-pronounce "Saddam" as if it was a homophone of "Sodom" (It is not).

* A recurring villain in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' who usually tries to take over Canada. He is also Satan's abusive gay boyfriend.

Perhaps most interesting when it comes this very wiki, Hussein was also a writer of literature. His novels, of which the first two are ostentatiously ''romance'' novels, are believed to have been written with at least some help from ghostwriters, and were published in the latter part of his time as dictator of Iraq under the pseudonym "He Who Wrote It", a traditional way in Arabic writing to preserve anonymity. The novels are noted to bear all the hallmarks of an amateur writer operating without an editor, especially having a tendency to frequently halt the plot to have the characters or the narrator deliver rambling and sometimes aimless {{Author Filibuster}}s about Hussein's views on world society, history, politics, and proper governance, and of course, the occasional conspiracy theory about his enemies, both real and imagined. The following four novels are widely believed by, amongst others, the CIA to be written by Hussein:

->''"Three whom God should not have created: Persians, Jews, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and flies]]."''

->''"Three whom God should not have created: Persians, Jews, and flies."''

Perhaps most interesting when it comes this very wiki, Hussein was also a writer of literature. His novels, of which the first two are ostentatiously ''romance'' novels, are believed to have been written with at least some help from ghostwriters, and were published in the latter part of his time as dictator of Iraq under the pseudonym "He Who Wrote It", a traditional way in Arabic writing to preserve anonymity. The novels are noted to bear all the hallmarks of an amateur writer operating without an editor, especially having a tendency to frequently halt the plot to deliver rambling and sometimes aimless {{Author Filibuster}}s about Hussein's views on world society, history, politics, and proper governance, and of course, the occasional conspiracy theory about his enemies, both real and imagined. The following four novels are widely believed by, amongst others, the CIA to be written by Hussein:

Perhaps most interesting when it comes this very wiki, Hussein was also a writer of literature. His novels, of which the first two are ostentatiously ''romance'' novels, are believed to been written with at least some help from ghostwriters, and where published in the latter part of his time as dictator of Iraq under the pseudonym "He Who Wrote It", a traditional way in Arabic writing to preserve anonymity. The novels are noted to bear all the hallmarks of an amateur writer operating without an editor, especially having a tendency to frequently halt the plot to deliver rambling and sometimes aimless {{Author Filibuster}}s about Hussein's views on world society, history, politics, and proper governance, and of course, the occasional conspiracy theory about his enemies, both real and imagined. The following four novels are widely believed by, amongst others, the CIA to be written by Hussein:

Over the next three decades, Saddam would proceed to modernize the Iraqi economy and grant more rights to women, but also order brutal persecution against ethnic minorities, particularly against the Kurds, who were murdered by the hundreds of thousands with chemical weapons during events such as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Anfal_Campaign Al-Anfal campaign]] (making him the first dictator after UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler to have committed genocide using poison gas), as well as locking Iraq under a horrific era of immense repression, extrajudicial killings and persistent human rights violations. Also famous for launching the UsefulNotes/IranIraqWar, which resulted in over a million deaths due to Hussein's ambitions to take over Iran, and the 1991 UsefulNotes/GulfWar, where Iraq basically fought half the world. He was executed in 2006 by the new Iraqi government following a [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US]] and [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships British]] invasion of Iraq.

* He is the BigBad of Jeffrey Archer's 1993 novel ''Literature/HonourAmongThieves'', where he enacts a plan to steal and publicly destroy the American Declaration of Independence. He has some intimidating presence and doesn't speak often, but he doesn't appear that much.

* An episode of the third season of ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'' pits him against Pol Pot.

Holding the unique distinction of being the one politician to most heavily resemble Music/ScatmanJohn, Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth president of Iraq, from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. Leading member of the Ba'ath Party, a revolutionary group that espouses a mix of Arab socialism and Arab nationalism. Long before Saddam, Iraq had been split along social, ethnic, religious, and economic fault lines: Sunni versus Shi'ite, Arab versus Kurd, tribal chief versus urban merchant, and nomad versus peasant. When Saddam came to power, he worked on fixing it and modernizing Iraq. Unfortunately, he was a believer in the UsefulNotes/JosefStalin School of Fixing and Modernizing Backward Countries: being as brutal as possible.