Editing Saddam Hussein (section)

== Reception and legacy ==
{{See also|De-Ba'athification|Leadership analysis#Saddam Hussein}}
[[File:Saddam_Hussein_1980.jpg|left|thumb|Saddam Hussein in 1980]]
Throughout the [[Arab world]], many Arabs praise Saddam as a resolute leader who stood up to [[Western world|Western]] [[imperialism]], [[Israeli-occupied territories|Israeli occupation of Palestine]], and foreign intervention in the region, while many Iraqis, especially Shias and Kurds, view him negatively as a dictator responsible for brutal authoritarianism, repression and injustices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ibrahim |first=Arwa |title=The US-led war in Iraq and Saddam's Arab legacy |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/22/hldthe-us-led-invasion-of-iraq-and-saddams-arab-legacy |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

Supporters noted that under Saddam, the government invested heavily in infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, and public buildings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 September 1999 |title=Saddam Hussein's Iraq|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/saddam-husseins-iraq |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=ReliefWeb |language=en}}</ref><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> The government invested in building schools and hospitals, 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> Women were encouraged to participate in education and the workforce, and many held high-ranking positions in government and public institutions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Casualties of War: Iraqi Women's Rights and Reality Then and Now |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/events/casualties-war-iraqi-womens-rights-and-reality-then-and-now |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=www.opensocietyfoundations.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2006 |title=Women were more respected under Saddam, say women's groups |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/26289/iraq-women-were-more-respected-under-saddam-say-women%E2%80%99s-groups |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=The New Humanitarian |language=en}}</ref><ref name="aljazeera.com">{{Cite web |title=Baghdad Jews: Exodus or extinction? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/10/19/baghdad-jews-exodus-or-extinction |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> Saddam's regime was secular in character. Religion did not play a dominant role in the government's policies.<ref name="aljazeera.com" /> Saddam's regime later placed greater emphasis on Islam in all sectors of Iraqi life from 1993 through the [[Faith Campaign]].<ref name="aljazeera.com" /> In 1977, Saddam stated "[[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|our Party]] does not take a neutral stance between faith and atheism; it is always on the side of faith."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Legacy Of Saddam's Islam |url=https://www.hoover.org/research/legacy-saddams-islam |access-date=24 March 2024 |website=Hoover Institution |language=en}}</ref>

By contrast, critics described Saddam as a repressive totalitarian leader.<ref name="Sassoon 2017" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Blaydes |first=Lisa |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1104855351 |title=State of Repression: Iraq under Saddam Hussein |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4008-9032-3 |oclc=1104855351}}</ref><ref>*{{cite book |last=Makiya |first=Kanan |author-link=Kanan Makiya |title=Cruelty and Silence: War, Tyranny, Uprising, and the Arab World |date=1993 |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |isbn=978-0-393-31141-9 |page=19}}
*{{cite book |last=Bengio |first=Ofra |title=Saddam's Word: The Political Discourse in Iraq |date=1998 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-511439-3}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Woods |first1=Kevin M. |last2=Stout |first2=Mark E. |date=16 December 2010 |title=New Sources for the Study of Iraqi Intelligence during the Saddam Era |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02684527.2010.537033 |journal=[[Intelligence and National Security]] |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=547–587 |doi=10.1080/02684527.2010.537033 |s2cid=153605621 |access-date=11 March 2022}}
*{{cite book |last=Faust |first=Aaron M. |title=The Ba'thification of Iraq: Saddam Hussein's Totalitarianism |date=15 November 2015 |publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |isbn=978-1-4773-0557-7}}</ref> His regime was notorious for its repressive tactics. These included [[Surveillance|widespread surveillance]], [[torture]], and [[extrajudicial killings]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Complex Legacy of Saddam Hussein |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-complex-legacy-of-saddam-hussein |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Imperial War Museums |language=en}}</ref><ref name="politicalscience.stanford.edu">{{Cite web |title=State of Repression: Iraq under Saddam Hussein  |url=https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/publications/state-repression-iraq-under-saddam-hussein |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Political Science  |language=en}}</ref> Numerous cases of human rights abuses committed by his government were documented by human rights organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Alfadhel Ahmad |author2=Hayder Al-Shakeri |title=The long shadow of Saddam's dictatorship in Iraq |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/4/16/the-long-shadow-of-saddams-dictatorship-in-iraq |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> Saddam's regime suppressed political opposition through a combination of violence, intimidation, and censorship.<ref name="politicalscience.stanford.edu" /> Freedom of speech and freedom of the press were severely curtailed, and political opponents were often executed or imprisoned.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Waterbury |first=John |date=16 October 2018 |title=State of Repression: Iraq Under Saddam Hussein |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2018-10-16/state-repression-iraq-under-saddam-hussein |access-date=16 March 2024 |work=Foreign Affairs |language=en-US |volume=97 |issue=6 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref> He initiated three military conflicts, including the [[Iran–Iraq War]], the [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait]], and the [[Gulf War]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 May 2020 |title=The Gulf War |url=https://millercenter.org/statecraftmovie/gulf-war |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Miller Center |language=en}}</ref> These actions led to heavy casualties and widespread regional instability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kelidar |first=Abbas |date=1 October 1992 |title=The wars of Saddam Hussein |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00263209208700928 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=778–798 |doi=10.1080/00263209208700928 |issn=0026-3206}}</ref> While there were economic development initiatives, Saddam's regime was also marked by mismanagement and widespread corruption, particularly during the final years of his regime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corruption is the forgotten legacy of the Iraq invasion |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/corruption-is-the-forgotten-legacy-of-the-iraq-invasion/ |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[International sanctions against Iraq|economic sanctions imposed on Iraq]] during his rule further exacerbated hardships for the country's population.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 January 2023 |title=Why sanctions fell short of their objectives in the First Gulf War |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/economichistory/2023/01/05/why-sanctions-fell-short-of-their-objectives-in-the-first-gulf-war/ |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=Economic History}}</ref> [[Saddamism]] has been described by critics as a mix of "[[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Arab nationalism]], confused [[Stalinism]], and [[Arab fascism|fascist]] zeal for the fatherland and its leader".<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xf-EBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA213 |title=Overreach: Delusions of Regime Change in Iraq |date=2014 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-72910-0 |pages=212–215 |language=en}}</ref>

In July 2016, then US presidential candidate [[Donald Trump]] praised Saddam for militant suppression and stability during his presidency in [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Diamond |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Diamond |date=6 July 2016 |title=Trump praises Saddam Hussein's efficient killing of 'terrorists,' calls today's Iraq 'Harvard for terrorism' |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/05/politics/donald-trump-saddam-hussein-iraq-terrorism/index.html |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Libyan politician and commander of the [[Libyan National Army|Libyan National Arab Army]], [[Khalifa Haftar]], named his son [[Saddam Haftar]] after Saddam Hussein.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Matthew |date=16 September 2023 |title=Gaddafi's 'spiritual son': the general blamed over flood catastrophe |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/libya-flood-gaddafi-civil-war-khalifa-haftar-q8500qkgx |access-date= |work=[[The Times]] |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 September 2023 |title=Khalifa Haftar will use Libya's floods to deepen his control |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/09/21/khalifa-haftar-will-use-libyas-floods-to-deepen-his-control |access-date= |newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Uddin |first=Rayhan |date=19 September 2023 |title=Libya floods: Elseddik and Saddam Haftar, the brothers vying for power after disaster |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/libya-floods-elseddik-saddam-haftar-brothers-vying-power |access-date= |work=[[Middle East Eye]]}}</ref>

Cultural depictions of Saddam can be found in various movies, including three documentary movies made about Saddam. Saddam's Tribe, released in 2007, explores the complex relationship between Saddam Hussein and the [[Al-Bu Nasir (Iraqi tribe)|Al-Bu Nasir]], a powerful Arab tribe in Iraq to which Saddam belongs. In 2008, a TV series based on his life — [[House of Saddam]] — was released. Irish actor [[Barry Keoghan]] will appear in a new movie about Saddam which was announced in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roxborough |first=Scott |date=15 February 2024 |title=Barry Keoghan to Star in Film From 'Chernobyl' Director Johan Renck About Saddam Hussein's Final Days (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/barry-keoghan-johan-renck-film-saddam-hussein-final-days-1235825751/ |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>