Editing Saddam Hussein (section)

=== Economy and infrastructure ===
Although initially committed to centralized planning and nationalization—particularly in the oil sector—Saddam experimented with [[privatization]], partial [[deregulation]], and limited [[Free market|market liberalization]] in the late 1980s.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2003-06-03 |title=Iraq's economy: Past, present, future - Iraq {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/iraqs-economy-past-present-future |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref> The [[Iran–Iraq War]] devastated Iraq's economy, causing an estimated US$120 billion in damages and leaving the country with around $90 billion in debt, including approximately $40 billion owed to [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Kuwait]] alone.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Ismael |first=Tareq Y. |last2=Ismael |first2=Jacqueline S. |date=2005 |title=Whither Iraq? Beyond Saddam, Sanctions and Occupation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3993711?seq=5 |journal=Third World Quarterly |volume=26 |issue=4/5 |pages=609–629 |issn=0143-6597}}</ref> Following the [[Gulf War]] and the [[International sanctions against Iraq|imposition of UN sanctions]] in the 1990s, the Iraqi economy had sharply declined, and the system increasingly shifted toward [[crony capitalism]].<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":10" />

Overall, Saddam's government invested heavily in infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, and public buildings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq – Dictatorship, Invasion, Sanctions |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq/Iraq-under-Saddam-Hussein |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> Saddam implemented a national infrastructure campaign that made progress in building roads, promoting mining, and developing other industries.<ref name=":62">{{Cite web |title=Role in the Middle East |url=https://ripsaddamhussein.weebly.com/role-in-the-middle-east.html |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Saddam Hussein}}</ref> Electricity was also brought to nearly every city in Iraq, and many outlying areas.<ref name=":62" /> Iraq created one of the most modernized public-health systems in the Middle East, earning Saddam an award from the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]] (UNESCO).<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news2/indepth/words/saddam_hussein.html Saddam Hussein], CBC News, 29 December 2006</ref><ref>Jessica Moore, [https://web.archive.org/web/20030625145156/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/war/player1.html The Iraq War player profile: Saddam Hussein's Rise to Power], PBS Online Newshour {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115205745/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/war/player1.html|date=15 November 2013}}</ref> He established one hospital, specially for treatment of children with [[Cerebral palsy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=الطبيب كمبراس الكوبي: أنقذت صدام من الشلل بعد السقوط |url=https://alqabas.com/article/520353-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%83%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D8%A3%D9%86%D9%82%D8%B0%D8%AA-%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4/ |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=جريدة القبس}}</ref> Saddam's government also underwent a large campaign to beautify Baghdad by erecting statues and monuments.<ref>Brown, B.A. and Feldman, M.H. (eds), ''Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art'', Walter de Gruyter, 2014 p.19</ref> The government also supported families of soldiers, granted [[Universal health care|free hospitalization]] to everyone, and gave [[Agricultural subsidy|subsidies to farmers]].<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news2/indepth/words/saddam_hussein.html Saddam Hussein], CBC News, 29 December 2006</ref><ref>Jessica Moore, [https://web.archive.org/web/20030625145156/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/war/player1.html The Iraq War player profile: Saddam Hussein's Rise to Power], PBS Online Newshour {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115205745/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/war/player1.html|date=15 November 2013}}</ref>

The government invested in building schools, and literacy rates in Iraq increased significantly during his rule.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 September 2010 |title=From 0% to 20% illiteracy — an Iraqi feat |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/355341 |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2016 |title=Empty classrooms and black market textbooks – Iraq |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/empty-classrooms-and-black-market-textbooks |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=ReliefWeb |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2022 |title=The Iraq Report: Baghdad struggles to rise again |url=https://www.newarab.com/analysis/iraq-report-baghdad-struggles-rise-again |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=The New Arab |language=en}}</ref> Saddam established and controlled the "National Campaign for the Eradication of Illiteracy" and the campaign for "Compulsory Free Education in Iraq," and largely under his auspices, the government established universal free schooling up to the highest education levels and hundreds of thousands learned to read in the years following the initiation of the program.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news2/indepth/words/saddam_hussein.html Saddam Hussein], CBC News, 29 December 2006</ref><ref>Jessica Moore, [https://web.archive.org/web/20030625145156/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/war/player1.html The Iraq War player profile: Saddam Hussein's Rise to Power], PBS Online Newshour {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115205745/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/war/player1.html|date=15 November 2013}}</ref>