Shame and Honor, Terribly Twisted

SADDAM HUSSEIN and his Ba’ath party loyalists are fighting for their lives. The conventions of war mean nothing to these masters of brutality and ruse. They employ death squads to massacre their own people in order to prevent them from accepting food and water from coalition forces. Dressed as civilians, they hide behind women and children, and open fire in the certain knowledge that any return of fire must claim innocent victims. They place anti-aircraft weapons in or near schools and hospitals and markets, and use ambulances to convey arms. Then they blame coalition forces for casualties that they have made sure will occur. Young Iragis, presumed to be defectors, have been found shot dead with a bullet in the back of the head. As Saddam himself said in a perfect summary of the perverted logic of mass intimidation and terror, “We will see how many Iraqis the Americans are prepared to kill.”

Ruling a population of some 22 million, he himself is already responsible for the death of between 1 and 2 million of them, almost literally decimation, with another 4 million driven into exile. Among other refinements of torture, his Ba’ath party loyalists have stuffed living victims feet first into shredders. Accusing one unfortunate man of wishing to flee the country a few days ago, Ba’athists tied him to a lamppost, cut his tongue out, and obliged the local residents to watch him die slowly. Saddam and his henchmen will commit every conceivable crime in order to survive in power. Should he see advantage in using weapons of mass destruction, he will. Superior power alone is able to constrain him.

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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SADDAM HUSSEIN and his Ba’ath party loyalists are fighting for their lives. The conventions of war mean nothing to these masters of brutality and ruse. They employ death squads to massacre their own people in order to prevent them from accepting food and water from coalition forces. Dressed as civilians, they hide behind women and children, and open fire in the certain knowledge that any return of fire must claim innocent victims. They place anti-aircraft weapons in or near schools and hospitals and markets, and use ambulances to convey arms. Then they blame coalition forces for casualties that they have made sure will occur. Young Iragis, presumed to be defectors, have been found shot dead with a bullet in the back of the head. As Saddam himself said in a perfect summary of the perverted logic of mass intimidation and terror, “We will see how many Iraqis the Americans are prepared to kill.”

Ruling a population of some 22 million, he himself is already responsible for the death of between 1 and 2 million of them, almost literally decimation, with another 4 million driven into exile. Among other refinements of torture, his Ba’ath party loyalists have stuffed living victims feet first into shredders. Accusing one unfortunate man of wishing to flee the country a few days ago, Ba’athists tied him to a lamppost, cut his tongue out, and obliged the local residents to watch him die slowly. Saddam and his henchmen will commit every conceivable crime in order to survive in power. Should he see advantage in using weapons of mass destruction, he will. Superior power alone is able to constrain him.