Kadhim al-Jabbouri - Toppler of Saddam

[mongers]

The story of the man seen hacking down the statue of Saddam Hussein, worth a read:

......
Many people I have spoken to have already made up their minds about the impact of the invasion on Iraq. One of these is Kadhim al-Jabbouri, a man who became a symbol of the Iraqi peoples' rejection and hatred of Saddam Hussein.

On 9 April 2003, the American spearhead reached central Baghdad. Hours before they arrived, Kadhim, who was a champion weightlifter, decided to bring down the big bronze statue of Saddam Hussein that stood on a plinth in Firdous Square.

Kadhim owned a popular motorcycle shop and was a Harley-Davidson expert. For a while he fixed Saddam's bikes, but after the regime executed 14 members of his family he refused any more work. The regime's response to his effrontery was to put him in jail for two years on trumped-up charges.
Image copyright AFP
Image caption This moment, broadcast around the world, was a personal moment of revenge for Kadhim

Kadhim is a survivor. In prison, he started a gym and a weight-lifting club, and was eventually released in one of Saddam's periodic amnesties.

But on the morning of 9 April, Kadhim wanted his own personal moment of liberation and revenge. He took his sledgehammer and began to swing it at the plinth beneath the towering bronze dictator.

Journalists came out of the Palestine Hotel on the square and started broadcasting and taking pictures. Kadhim says their presence protected him from Saddam's secret policemen, who melted away as the sound of American guns came closer.

When the Americans arrived they looped a steel cable round the bronze Saddam's head and used a winch to help Kadhim finish the job. It all happened live on international TV. The image of furious and delighted Iraqis slapping the fallen statue with their shoes went around the world.

Kadhim said his story was told to President George W Bush in the Oval Office. But he now wishes he had left his sledgehammer at home.

Kadhim, like many Iraqis, blames the invaders for starting a chain of events that destroyed the country. He longs for the certainties and stability of Saddam's time.
Image caption Kadhim al Jabbouri

First, he says, he realised it was not going to be liberation, but occupation. Then he hated the corruption, mismanagement and violence in the new Iraq. Most of all he despises Iraq's new leaders.

"Saddam has gone, and we have one thousand Saddams now," he says. "It wasn't like this under Saddam. There was a system. There were ways. We didn't like him, but he was better than those people."

"Saddam never executed people without a reason. He was as solid as a wall. There was no corruption or looting, it was safe. You could be safe."
......

Full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36706265

[OttoVonBismarck]

The firm hand of despotism is sometimes absolutely necessary. This is why I'm broadly in favor of guys like Sisi in Egypt and Assad in Syria.

[alfred russel]

His story and perspective doesnt seem at all surprising.

[Caliga]

The firm hand of despotism is sometimes absolutely necessary. This is why I'm broadly in favor of guys like Sisi in Egypt and Assad in Syria.

Correct.  I made a chick angry recently by saying we should have supported Gadhafi and left him in power.  Same with Assad.  In fact I believe I was saying that on Languish years ago while the Timmays were all yelling at me.  Libya turned out just fine though, right?

[The Minsky Moment]

The support the dictator plan isn't foolproof either, didn't do so well with the Shah in Iran, or poor Faisal in Iraq, or for that matter Saddam himself.  Some might also say the jury is out at best re our support for the Saudis.
Basically you are damned if you do or you don't in the ME.  The mistake is to think it's feasible to exert meaningful and sustainable control over events through policy.

[Razgovory]

The firm hand of despotism is sometimes absolutely necessary. This is why I'm broadly in favor of guys like Sisi in Egypt and Assad in Syria.

Correct.  I made a chick angry recently by saying we should have supported Gadhafi and left him in power.  Same with Assad.  In fact I believe I was saying that on Languish years ago while the Timmays were all yelling at me.  Libya turned out just fine though, right?

Gadhafi owed us a debt.  We collected at the cost of one ambassador, two body guards, and a CIA guy.  Not a bad deal as a whole.

[alfred russel]

The support the dictator plan isn't foolproof either, didn't do so well with the Shah in Iran, or poor Faisal in Iraq, or for that matter Saddam himself.  Some might also say the jury is out at best re our support for the Saudis.
Basically you are damned if you do or you don't in the ME.  The mistake is to think it's feasible to exert meaningful and sustainable control over events through policy.

FWIW, I'd far much rather live in Iran or Saudi Arabia right now than Iraq, Syria, or Libya.

[viper37]

The support the dictator plan isn't foolproof either, didn't do so well with the Shah in Iran, or poor Faisal in Iraq, or for that matter Saddam himself.  Some might also say the jury is out at best re our support for the Saudis.
Basically you are damned if you do or you don't in the ME.  The mistake is to think it's feasible to exert meaningful and sustainable control over events through policy.

FWIW, I'd far much rather live in Iran or Saudi Arabia right now than Iraq, Syria, or Libya.

Iraq was allright while Saddam was there.
Syria was allright 10 years ago.
And suddenly, it wasn't allright anymore.
That's the problem Minsky is telling you about.