1990: Saddam Hussein

Who Is Saddam Hussein?

Saddam Hussein, the past President of Iraq,  used any means necessary to hold onto power for more than two decades. His reign continued even in the face of U.S. plans to overthrow him.

Such defiance comes from a determination for power from an early age. Hussein was born in 1937 in Al-jawa, a village in north-central Iraq. He was raised by his widowed mother and other relatives. After moving to Baghdad in 1955, he joined the Baath Party, which opposed Iraq's government. In 1968, the party came to power through a coup, or an overthrow of the government.

Hussein took over as President in 1979. He already had considerable influence, which grew as he eliminated his rivals. He trusted very few people. His inner circle consisted of family members or extended relatives. Others were paid for their loyalty with cash and cars.

Hussein  used violence against his people as well as against his rivals. He used chemical weapons on the Kurds, an ethnic group in northern Iraq. He has defeated rebellions by Shiites (Shee-ITES), a Muslim sect in the south, by attacking their towns and draining their marshlands.

The 6-foot 2-inch-tall Hussein surrounds himself with tight security. He slept only four to five hours a night, and he never slept in one of his 20 palaces. He constantly moved about, staying in secret houses and tents. U.S. intelligence sources believe Hussein had at least a dozen doubles who stand in for him at public events.

Because he was believed to be developing chemical, biological, and possibly nuclear weapons, UN weapons inspectors were combing his country looking for proof.

"He was a dangerous man possessing the world's most dangerous weapons," says President Bush, who  threatened to attack Iraq at the first sign that Iraq did not complying with a UN resolution banning weapons of mass destruction.

Credit: http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews

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