Profile Of Saddam Hussein
(eVideo)

eVideo

English

Originally released by Reuters News & Media Inc., 2006.

Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on June 29, 2020.

Access requires authentication through Classroom Video On Demand.

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein Was Born Near Tikrit In Northwest Iraq In 1937 Into A Poor But Influential Family. In 1945 He Moved To Baghdad To Live With His Uncle, Where He Became Involved In The Arab Nationalist Movement, Joining The Baath Party In 1957. In 1959 He Fled To Egypt And Syria After Being Involved In An Attempt To Kill Iraq'S First Prime Minister Abdel Karim Kassem, Returning To Baghdad When The Baath Party Seized Power In A Military Coup In 1963. Later That Year He Married His Cousin Sajida Tolfah. He Rose Through Iraq'S Plots, Coups And Assassinations To Become Vice-President Under The Leadership Of President Hassan Al-Bakr, Who Resigned In His Favour In 1979 After Years Of Illness. The New President Swiftly Eliminated Dissent After Taking Power By Ordering The Execution Of 21 Baath Party Members For Their Alleged Involvement In A Plot To Overthrow Him. The Following Year Saddam Called Elections, The First For 22 Years. The Move Towards Democratic Rule Followed A Period Of Relative Stability And Saddam'S Leadership Emerged Unchallenged In The Poll. In September 1980 Saddam Invaded Iran And War With His Neighbour Erupted. King Hussein Of Jordan Was One Of Iraq'S Strongest Allies, Confining His Support To Non-Military Requirements Until Saddam Was Forced To Withdraw His Army From Positions Deep Inside Iran In 1982. The War Dragged On For Another Six Years And Both Sides Resorted To The Use Of Chemical Weapons. In The North, Saddam Launched A Campaign Against Kurd Dissidents And Thousands Were Killed When Villages Were Attacked With Poison Gas. In 1988, On The 30Th Anniversary Of The Revolution Which Toppled The Iraqi Monarchy, Saddam Proposed Peace. Iraq Had Recently Scored A String Of Military Victories Against Iran And The Ailing Iranian President Ayatollah Khomeini, Yielding To Pressure From Iranian Moderates, Accepted The Offer. Saddam'S Philosophical Mentor, Michel Aflaq, Who Founded The Baath Party, Died In June 1989 And Saddam Led The Country In Paying Tributes To The Arab Nationalist Who Had Inspired Him With His Dream Of Arab Unity. War Debt And The Need To Push Up Oil Prices, As Well As Saddam'S Belief That Wealthy Kuwait - Long Claimed By Iraq As Part Of Its Territory - Would Be An Easy Prey, Led Iraq To Invade In August 1990. On 16Th January 1991, After Saddam Ignored A Un Security Council Demand For Iraq'S Unconditional Withdrawal, A Coalition Of 33 Countries, Led By The United States, Attacked. At The End Of The Six Week Gulf War The Iraqis Were Forced Out Of Kuwait, Setting Alight 1,160 Oil Wells As They Fled The Country. Saddam Survived, Despite Attempts To Unseat Him, And Was Able To Celebrate The Defeat Of U.S. President George Bush In The 1992 Presidential Elections. Earlier In 1992 Iraqi Tv Broadcast Pictures Of Saddam Swimming Across The Tigris River In A Re-Enactment Of His 1959 Escape From Baghdad Following His Failed Attempt To Kill Abdel Karim Kassem. Under The Gulf War Cease-Fire Agreement The United Nations Began A Process Of Monitoring Iraq'S Weapons Programmes. Strict Trade Sanctions Were Also Imposed And In An Attempt To Counter High Rates Of Child And Infant Mortality The U.N. Set Up The Oil-For-Food Programme Allowing Baghdad To Sell Oil Over Six Month Periods To Buy Food, Medicine And Other Humanitarian Supplies. In December 1996 Saddam'S Elder Son Uday Was Badly Injured In An Assassination Attempt. Uday Was Widely Regarded As Saddam'S Heir Apparent But Since The Attack His Younger Brother Qusay Has Been Seen As His Father'S Most Likely Successor. A Visit By U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan To Baghdad In February 1998 Resulted In An Agreement Allowing U.N. Weapons Inspectors Unrestricted Access To Suspect Sites. However, In December Saddam Refused Further Co-Operation With The U.N. And The Inspectors Were Withdrawn From Iraq Hours Before The U.S. And Britain Began Four Months Of Airstrikes. Apparently Undaunted, In December 2000 Saddam Was Able To Preside Over The Biggest Military Parade In Baghdad Since The 1991 Gulf War. Saddam Fired A Rifle In The Air As Sophisticated Missiles, Artillery And Over 1,000 Tanks And Infantry Units Took Part In The Parade. U.S. President George W. Bush, Son Of Saddam'S Arch Foe, Entered The White House In January 2001 And By April 2002, When Saddam Celebrated His 65Th Birthday, His Administration Was Pushing For A "Regime Change" In Iraq. In October 2002 Iraqis Voted In A Referendum On Saddam'S Leadership. He Reportedly Won 100% Of The Vote And Secured Another Seven-Year Term As President. Having Secured Congressional Authorisation For The Use Of Force Against Saddam, President Bush Succeeded In Obtaining A Unanimous U.N. Security Council Vote For Resolution 1441 Which Gave Iraq A Final Opportunity To Disarm Or Face Military Consequences. Saddam Accepted The Resolution Conditions Unconditionally And In November 2002 U.N. Weapons Inspectors Returned To Iraq. But Saddam Was Soon Being Accused Of Failing To Obey The Letter And Spirit Of Resolution 1441 And Failing To Give A Credible Account Of Iraqi Weapons Programmes. After Four Months Of Tense International Negotiations The United States, Britain And Spain Abandoned Efforts To Gain International Endorsement For War Against The Iraqi Regime And On March 20, 2003 President Bush Announced The Campaign To Oust Saddam Hussein Had Commenced. Having Maintained His Grip On Power For Over Two Decades Saddam'S Rule Over Iraq Crumbled As U.S. Forces Swept Into The Heart Of Baghdad On April 9Th And By The Beginning Of May Major Combat Operations Were Declared At An End. Saddam, Uday, Qusay And Senior Regime Loyalists Disappeared After The Fall Of Baghdad And U.S. Central Command Issued A Deck Of Cards To Its Troops To Help Them Identify Fugitive Iraqis. Saddam Was Portrayed As The Ace Of Spades And A Reward Of {20}25 Million Was Offered For Information Leading To His Capture Or Death. Uday And Qusay Were Killed In July 2003 During A Fierce Gun Battle In The Northern Iraqi City Of Mosul And To Convince Fearful Iraqis That They Were Dead U.S. Officials Displayed Their Bodies To International Journalists. On December 13, 2003, After Eight Months On The Run, The Elusive Former Iraqi President Was Finally Captured By U.S. Troops After He Was Discovered Hiding In A Hole In The Ground Near His Home Town Of Tikrit. Six Months Later, During A Preliminary Charges Hearing, He Remained Defiant. Wagging His Finger At The Judge He Angrily Denounced Kuwait And Declared That U.S. Occupying Forces Could Not Strip Him Of His Title Of President. U.S.-Backed Iraqi Television Station Al Hurra Said Saddam Hussein Had Been Executed By Hanging Shortly Before 6 A.M. (0300 Gmt) On Saturday (December 30). The Former Iraqi President Ousted In April 2003 By A U.S.- Led Invasion Was Convicted In November Of Crimes Against Humanity Over The Killings Of 148 Shi'Ite Villagers From Dujail After A Failed Assassination Bid In 1982. An Appeals Court Upheld The Death Penalty On Tuesday. Iraq'S Government Has Kept Details Of Its Plans To Conduct The Execution Completely Secret Amid Concerns It Could Spark A Violent Backlash From His Former Supporters.

Streaming video file.

System requirements: Classroom Video On Demand playback platform.