Word: saddamism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Inside a military base on the outskirts of Baghdad, fresh volunteers for one of Saddam Hussein's fanatic commando units charged across the training field. As instructors, clad in ninja black, fired automatic rifles into the sand, the recruits psyched themselves into a frenzy. Suddenly a dog was dragged among them. Its bark turned into an anguished squeal as they slit its throat and disemboweled the beast. Amid the gory scene, the excited volunteers screamed, "Our God, our nation, our leader!" After they finished off the dog, they pulled live rabbits apart, limb from limb. The recruits ripped...
Years of repression have all but silenced opposition to Saddam Hussein, who can command mass demonstrations of devotion at any time. As the specter of a U.S. attack rose, obedient Iraqis streamed into the presidential palace to act as human shields. They chanted and moved on cues from government officials. Most appeared enthusiastic, waved posters of the Iraqi leader and vowed absolute loyalty. Some mothers with young children seemed exhausted and indifferent. Others were confused: "How long must we stay?" "What should we do?" They received no answers...
...should kill him," says former White House aide George Stephanopoulos. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman calls for a "head shot" against Saddam...
...While murder is always morally suspect, especially if it's ordered up in a conference room, Saddam just might be the exception to the rule. His power flows not from the consent of his people but from firing squads and torture chambers. He has ordered the death of tens of thousands and used cyanide, nerve gas and mustard gas against Iranians and Iraqi Kurds. Trained as an assassin--while a young man he took part in a 1959 attempt on the Iraqi Prime Minister--he once ordered a hit on George Bush. He has tried to build atom bombs...
...rooted problems. But a James Bond-style directive is not the only way a President can grant a license to kill. In 1986 Reagan bombed Libyan "terrorist-related targets" that happened to be places where Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was often present. During the Gulf War, coalition forces attacked Saddam's palaces and bunkers. Now the Pentagon is ready with a new list of his hangouts. And if Clinton wanted to send a sniper instead of a cruise missile, he could amend Executive Order...