Saddam Hussein was a strongman... :: Reader comments at Daniel Pipes

Submitted by H Luce (United States), Apr 30, 2003 at 03:27

Saddam Hussein was a strongman installed by the US. Oddly enough there was no transition to a democratic state, and when Saddam took off and defied the will of the US Government which put him in power, plans were put in motion to remove him from power. This of course is the same case for every strongman installed by the US. They all get a bit too greedy, and eventually they get replaced. None of their subject populations ever enjoy the fruits of a democratic non-authoritarian government, just a long chain of US-sponsored dictators. Is it any surprise that people across the world are so against the US government (while constantly aspiring to live in the US where there is at least a bit of political liberty left)?

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Reader comments (80) on this item

	Title	Commenter	Date	Thread
	Seven years later, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat agrees with this strategy [13 words]	PezDispenser	Aug 7, 2010 17:27	176465
	A Strongman for Iraq... [369 words]	Eleanor Goldstein	Nov 12, 2006 11:04	65916
	Get real [165 words]	David	May 26, 2004 15:14	15371
	Is it possible? [42 words]	Pamela	May 10, 2003 18:24	8993
	Freedom [23 words]	Stephen	May 6, 2003 04:19	8875
	Why did we bother? [253 words]	Glenn Klotz	May 5, 2003 13:42	8870
	Faux strongman only [57 words]	Erik Rosaen	May 4, 2003 14:43	8862
	Did the US inch to democracy in steps? [66 words]	Derek	May 2, 2003 05:44	8837
	Re: Pipes Is right [89 words]	Khaldoun Khelil	May 2, 2003 03:35	8835
	and who will pay? [139 words]	roy	May 1, 2003 20:53	8830
	The real motives [138 words]	Jose L Acevedo	May 1, 2003 19:15	8826
	I agree with Jose L Acevedo [7 words]	S Z K	Feb 12, 2006 06:14	8826
	Ignorance is bliss [90 words]	Peter	May 1, 2003 11:11	8814
	Nonsense [503 words]	Abu Fitnah	May 1, 2003 02:56	8812
	Once Again, False Advertising [762 words]	Mark	May 1, 2003 00:14	8811
	Re-Install Saddam Hussein? [276 words]	Oliver Boyd-Barrett	Apr 30, 2003 18:19	8807
	I Don't see it working [124 words]	Tom Bewick	Apr 30, 2003 16:10	8805
	Moderate Muslims [45 words]	Ayesha A.	Apr 30, 2003 15:14	8802
	Maybe it won't take that long [102 words]	R Barger	Apr 30, 2003 13:15	8797
	Bravo - I think? [25 words]	Bruce L. Murray	Apr 30, 2003 11:56	8796
	Lack of history sense [166 words]	Neil Abramson	Apr 30, 2003 11:45	8794
	Please listen [22 words]	John W. McGnley	Apr 30, 2003 11:34	8793
	Back to square one? [122 words]	Ahmad Kamal Abdollah	Apr 30, 2003 10:25	8791
	Who knows what Iraqi are capable of? [74 words]	Sally	Apr 30, 2003 09:42	8789
	Start a ccc program [96 words]	Ted Green	Apr 30, 2003 09:03	8788
	Impossible [69 words]	Philip Snyder	Apr 30, 2003 07:53	8785
	Your disperect [634 words]	Abdul Razak Harun	Apr 30, 2003 06:15	8784
	Ataturk [112 words]	John	May 21, 2008 16:06	8784
	To John [277 words]	Abdul Razak	May 22, 2008 03:33	8784
	Saddam Hussein was a strongman... [128 words]	H Luce	Apr 30, 2003 03:27	8782
	Ditch The Onion, Try Scrappleface.com [142 words]	John Hadjisky	Apr 29, 2003 21:11	8775
	Not in our national interest [185 words]	Sean Olson	Apr 29, 2003 19:12	8774
	Problems with Fundamentalism in Government [59 words]	Jaime Eisen	Apr 29, 2003 17:12	8773
	Keep doing what you are doing... [134 words]	John W. McGinley	Apr 29, 2003 16:52	8769
	Re: comment, "Arab Democracy" [54 words]	Khaldoun Khelil	Apr 29, 2003 16:39	8768
	Praiseworthy as always [15 words]	Alexander Barretto	Apr 29, 2003 15:54	8767
1	Deja vu? [37 words]	Jim Vinsel	Apr 29, 2003 13:56	8762
	Auditions for Strongman [77 words]	Philip R. Johnson	Apr 29, 2003 13:24	8761
	WANTED: Dead or Alive, WMD [56 words]	sottomon	Apr 29, 2003 11:48	8759
	Bravo for common sense! [38 words]	Reuben Landau	Apr 29, 2003 11:40	8758
	Iraqis demand "Yes to Islam" [82 words]	A. A.	Apr 29, 2003 09:31	8757
	Arab democracy [71 words]	Henry E Wellington	Apr 29, 2003 03:24	8755
	It might be good improvisation, but [163 words]	Alain Jean-Mairet	Apr 29, 2003 02:18	8754
	Are you sure? [47 words] w/response from Daniel Pipes	Wallace Edward Brand	Apr 28, 2003 23:40	8752
	Pipes is right. [182 words]	Allen Davies	Apr 28, 2003 22:35	8751
	A Strongman for Iraq? Where can we find him? [179 words]	Doris Fitzgerald	Apr 28, 2003 21:53	8750
	Who's behind these mullahs? [43 words]	D Weiss	Apr 28, 2003 21:48	8749
	Homegrown strongman wanted... apply inside [304 words]	Khaldoun Khelil	Apr 28, 2003 19:48	8745
	Militant Islam vs. Moderate Islam [84 words]	Bruce Gilboord	Apr 28, 2003 18:46	8742
	I respectfully disagree [385 words] w/response from Daniel Pipes	Bill Brent	Apr 28, 2003 17:53	8739
	Appreciation [135 words]	Gary Jones	Apr 28, 2003 17:36	8738
	Civil Rights Before Elections [226 words]	David Jacob	Apr 28, 2003 17:29	8737
	The Evolution of a perceptual consciousness to a Conceptual one. [288 words]	David Smith	Apr 28, 2003 17:09	8736
3	There is no Difference between Islam and Radical Islam [548 words]	Yael Medved	Apr 28, 2003 16:53	8735
	Basics in Iraq [225 words]	Ron Burgo PhD	Apr 28, 2003 16:48	8734
	Good ideas overall. [77 words]	Gary Ford	Apr 28, 2003 16:29	8733
	Guiding Iraq toward Democracy [234 words]	John F. Bradley	Apr 28, 2003 15:35	8730
	Brilliant analysis! [77 words]	Gorge Solomos	Apr 28, 2003 15:02	8729
	Can I Use This in Indonesia? [439 words]	William McAuley	Apr 28, 2003 14:57	8728
	Democracy: a red herring [368 words] w/response from Daniel Pipes	Alan Nitikman	Apr 28, 2003 14:54	8727
	Wishful Thinking [271 words]	E.A. Remler	Apr 28, 2003 14:50	8726
	Strongman for Iraq? [74 words]	Sheldon Rabinowitz	Apr 28, 2003 14:31	8725
	Lasting Peace in Iraq? Divide Iraq along Ethnic and Religious Lines [329 words]	William Bryan	Apr 28, 2003 14:23	8724
	Strongman for Iraq? [111 words]	Kyle Gosnell	Apr 28, 2003 14:13	8721
	Correct Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription [256 words]	Todd Wintering	Apr 28, 2003 13:53	8719
	Another Alternative - Far-Fetched? [618 words]	Ilona Melstrads	Apr 28, 2003 13:37	8718
	In total agreement with your views [102 words]	Carmen Waggoner, Ph.D.	Apr 28, 2003 13:31	8717
	I don't agree [136 words]	Toufic	Apr 28, 2003 13:20	8716
	on "a strongman for Iraq" [79 words]	Daniel Tauber	Apr 28, 2003 13:11	8715
	These two can't be together [175 words]	George El Masri	Apr 28, 2003 12:45	8713
	Comments to Iraqi Strongman [157 words]	Mark Smith	Apr 28, 2003 12:27	8712
	Strongman for Iraq [131 words]	Toni Hupp	Apr 28, 2003 11:56	8711
	Strongman for Iraq [123 words]	Jim Saxon	Apr 28, 2003 11:01	8708
	The New Iraq [115 words]	Hikmat Faraj	Apr 28, 2003 10:11	8707
	This is exactly what many feared. [94 words]	Bill	Apr 28, 2003 10:09	8706
	We already have a strong man. [174 words]	William Hart	Apr 28, 2003 10:09	8705
	U.S. Role in Iraq [157 words]	A.J. Karloff	Apr 28, 2003 09:54	8703
	On target! [62 words]	Gloria	Apr 28, 2003 09:50	8702
	Pervez Musharraf, for example? [51 words]	Mel Fechter	Apr 28, 2003 09:46	8700
	Pretty interesting [19 words]	Nedra	Apr 28, 2003 06:47	8697