You bastard. I'm so tired of your patronizing crap. I know all about failed assassination attempts on Saddam. Everyone that ever watched the news during our invasion had it pounded into our heads. I just know that eventually, if a person is incredibly and universally despised by his people, those attempts always succeed. No amount of security blocks the guy can put up around him can completely protect him for as long as he ruled if the surrounding population truly wants him gone.

Here's the history you're neglecting. The Shiites, an isolated but large block primarily in the center of the nation were the major target of Hussein's evil efforts. He had issues with the Kurds but was realistic enough to not engage them often because of the strength and the economic need he had for their oil holdings. His heavy-handedness with them subsided long before our invasion. They lived in relative autonomy. The Sunnis and Baathists lived extremely normal lives in his world compared with other Arab countries. They were essentially free from the bizarre heavy-handed Shiite fundamentalism that it's clear you have such strong feelings against. In the Sunni areas, women ran around without head scarves. Schools operated. Hospitals worked. Gas and utilities were cheap.

That Sunni block that controlled the major population areas of Iraq and the majority of the businesses may not have respected Saddam as a human but they knew their lives were safer with him in power. It was them surrounding his palaces that kept the man alive, not just his band of hired thugs.

Read my lips. Saddam Hussein was evil and needed to be deposed. Nobody disputes that but somehow you cannot admit that along with whatever good came to the people of Iraq by his downfall, a greater amount of really bad things happened to many of the citizens. Until you understand that dynamic, all we get out of you is this distorted history you've bought into and a clear indication that you have absolutely no understanding of the culture we pushed ourselves into the middle of.

Apartheid in South Africa needed to end but the South Africans made it go away themselves, not because our grand army invaded and forced it on them. When you use an example to support your weak views you might want to ensure it applies.

Art