Why Could Sadaam husein control Iraq and yet the Americans and British can't?

Show all answers

Post your answer

mark j	The law of the land there is different than the law of the land here. saddam placed himself right in between Sunnis and Shiites and used brutality to get what he wanted. just like when a couple of shiites tried to assinate him, he ordered the slaughtering of over 160 men women and children just to scare them straight and keep them in line. he also oreder public hangings in town square for every one to see so they would know the consequences of breaking his rules. a government based on Democracy is far different than the people there are used to and isn't something that gets better over night. It will take several generations of Iraqis for this to happen. When kids grow up in a democracy, they will be accustomed to that. Right now, Iraqis aren't accustomed to it. this is just the start of a long struggle, but I would like it to succeed. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

*New Mummy*	If we knew that it would be over by now.......i dont even know what the fighting is about anymore. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Dane	Saddam was ruthless and kept the entire nation in a constant state of fear. Kept the body count high, there were horrendous punishments for any "crime" which was videotaped and shown to the populace on nightly TV all the gory details. The US and British are the good guys we only torture and kill them in private. The only way for the US and British to obtain that type of control would be to get a million troops in there and return the country to desert. Incidentally, Iraq was a fiction drawn by the British without regard to ethic or ancestral boundries. They were warned when they did it that it was doomed to failure. It simply took 100 years. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Pfo	I'm sure if US forces started going to random towns and committing genocide, then the Iraqi people would submit to our full control. Saddam did that, and he got hanged for it. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Sami	The people in Iraq were scared of Saddam because he was a dictator! If someone told you to obey them or they would kill your wife and your kids... would you disobey him/her? Simple as that really. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Krytox1a	Brutal terror pure and simple. We on the other hand are actually been nice over there compare to how Saddam used to run the country...really! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Well, said Alberto	Well, he used torture & public execution. That tends to make people keep their heads down. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Viking	You state that Saddam was hated and tortured people. You forgot to mention that he killed anyone who didn't like him. In case you haven't noticed, the US and UK are whats called "civilized". Even though we have prisoners in Cuba, Ted Kennedy has still killed more people than have died in Guantanamo Bay. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

cherry45uk	i think you answered the question yourself the word is control no democracy that was the difference Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

chio	My friend is in the marines and was in Iraq. His assessment was that Iraqis just don't "get" democracy. They understand terror. Sadaam was willing to rule by terror, but we are not (rightly so too). We can't change the culture overnight, but a change in culture is the only way to rule Iraq without resorting to brutality. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

monty	Because they were scared s***t less of him, and we have no right to be in their country nevermind tell them what to do. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

The Oak	Having broken international law and staged a military coup in Iraq, the so-called Allies are trying to fight a politically correct war. Stable doors and bolting horses. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Tony S	Maybe not let outside news agencies in, like now, to monitor what was really happening day to day Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

I Seek	Here's what's REALLY going on with Iraq!... http://www.strayreality.com/Lanis_Strayreality/iraq.htm Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

o'yam	ask yourself this question --- would you accept foreign invaders or puppet leaders as your new master ? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Fast Eddie B	Well, he did execute Iraqi citizens by the hundreds of thousands. That had the wonderful effect of concentrating the citizenry's mind on how to behave itself. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jew	i hate to admit it but Saddam was a good leader.. even though he was guilty of just about genocide proporitions... he did keep that country in line... Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

colera667	I'm gonna go with everything that you could possibly fear from someone in power to make you do exactly what he says. when America starts mass murdering for fun and testing weapons on the insubordinate i will start to worry. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

mike c	Because we have fallen into the fatal trap of trying to convert a fundamentalist government into a western republic/democracy. This has been truly successful a bare handful of times, but we keep trying. Our modern examples came out of total destruction, Germany,Japan, and South Korea. The simple fact is we don't listen to people and haven't since Truman. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

florrie f	Well yeah I mean if you didn't agree with something Sadam ruled then the boys came around and shot you, If you don't do something Bush/Blair says then they'll just slam a couple of planes into your house and blame someone else....yeah see your point. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Cassina R	Well since it was his country and he spent most of his life there he knew the people and the problems. He knew how to rule the various peoples who hate each other, he climbed the political ladder and became president ruling with Iron fist. OK so he was a ruthless bastardo, but he knew that is what it takes to rule ruthless people. If they were not ruthless people who need ruling ruthlessly the American and British forces wouldn't have a problem. But since George Bush threw Saddam to the lynch mob who hated him I guess thats that. The US and GB have two choices, Get tough like Saddam or get out. and until you decide I predict more casualties. In hindsight, Sadam would have been the best man for the job under US supervision. But I guess thats a burned bridge. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

iqstrike	They were his own people, so he knew how to handle them and keep the country united. Abraham Lincoln killed 600,000 Americans in four years to keep us united; Saddam only killed about that many in 30 years. Saddam was no worse than the typical Middle Eastern leader over the past 3,000 years. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

dothan_mike	Simple: Fear. Under Saddam, resistance was met with Death. Iraq is filled with mass graves, filled with the bodies of people who opposed him (and their families). In fact, it is filled with bodies of those he THOUGHT opposed, or who MIGHT oppose him. We simply do not work that way. The current Iraq Government refuses to stoop to his level, and I support them in that. However, sadly there are people who do agree with that way od "doing business", so the killing continues. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

gambit_zero_tolerance	he took over a country by force of will. the americans and the bristish care too much to about what the people think. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

smoothie	He was willing to use force, intimidation, and torture to control the dissident portion of the population. Don't you pay attention to why we knocked him out of power? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

gam3fr3aks	Because Saddam understood the Iraqis and the Iraqis understood him. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Trevor	I guess because Sadaam killed everyone he didn't like or disagreed with him whereas we only kill innocent bystanders and children. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Evil Genius	It's a combination of unquestioned rule, fear of reprisal, and the important fact that he understood the culture and region much better than the U.K. and U.S.A. gov'ts do. I assure you that senior members of the Bush administration did not know the difference between Sunni and Shi'ite before the war started. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jon C	Iron Fist Dictatorship, he was the only one to control them, other than the persian empire. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jason Bourne	he controlled by fear, no one wanted to be gassed, tortured etc Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Andy T	Most of the world turned a blind eye to the atrocities that Saddam carried out, so the stability you talk about was brought about by fear, like most dictatorships the people are kept under tight control with an iron fist, any talk of dissension was put down immediately and with extreme brutal force, Saddam like all dictators was very streetwise and cunning, but also obsessively paranoid and would go to any measure to to bring down any one who he thought was against him innocent or not, and at the end of the day he was one of their own and moreover a Muslim. The Americans and British on the other hand are there to bring about a change in the system, to introduce democracy, there are many elements opposed to this, the Sunni's after being under Saddam's partial protection for so many years, and the Shiites wanting revenge for the years of Sunni domination, and also you have the outsiders from extremist groups who just want to cause the allied forces as much trouble as possible, any change in a country's system of government after so many years nearly always brings about violence from the different factions, look what happened in the Balkans after the fall of communisam. The Americans and British intentions for the people of Iraq are good, and are trying to desperately bring about stability, Saddam on the other-hand could do this very easily, you either shut up and be quiet or you would die (painfully) it was as simple as that, and it is that controlling factor that the Americans and British do not and most certainly can not have. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No