Saddam Hussein was hanged today for his infamous crimes, the end of a notorious dictator.
During his reigning era from 1979-2003, he stunned the world by initiating Iran-Iraq War in Sep 1980 that last for 8 years, genocide in the killings of Kurds during the Anfal campaign against Kurdish rebels, and invading Kuwait in 1990 for accusing the latter illegally slant-drilling petroleum across Iraq’s border.
Today is the beginning of religious holidays for Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest dates of the Muslim year. It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence but a deliberate choice, maybe they’re hoping that the festival would divert the concentration of the Arab world and minimize the backlash from Sunni insurgents. On the contrary, the jubilant Shi’a, oppressed under Saddam, was celebrating the news (the image below – from Wikipedia - shows the distribution of both Muslim sects).
During his reigning era from 1979-2003, he stunned the world by initiating Iran-Iraq War in Sep 1980 that last for 8 years, genocide in the killings of Kurds during the Anfal campaign against Kurdish rebels, and invading Kuwait in 1990 for accusing the latter illegally slant-drilling petroleum across Iraq’s border.
Today is the beginning of religious holidays for Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest dates of the Muslim year. It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence but a deliberate choice, maybe they’re hoping that the festival would divert the concentration of the Arab world and minimize the backlash from Sunni insurgents. On the contrary, the jubilant Shi’a, oppressed under Saddam, was celebrating the news (the image below – from Wikipedia - shows the distribution of both Muslim sects).
