Our puppet, Saddam
National Catholic Reporter, April 27, 2007 by Thomas B. Knoedler
Your excellent editorial "Those ungrateful Iraqis" (NCR, April 6) missed one salient point: We gave Saddam Hussein to Iraq. In the 1950s, Iraqi citizens had elected a progressive leader who proposed to nationalize the oil wells in the country and to keep the oil wealth within the country instead of letting the oil companies siphon the wealth away from the country. Naturally, the oil barons were horrified at such a prospect and they told their pals in Washington and in London that Iraq was about to go "communist." We and our British cousins removed the progressive leader and installed the Baathist Party to keep the oil barons happy and to serve as our political puppets in the Mideast. We did not care if our puppets might turn into dangerous lunatics with dreams of world power. As long as they proclaimed themselves to be anticommunist, we were happy.
THOMAS B. KNOEDLER
Springfield, Ill.
Most Recent Reference Articles
- ARAB EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Dec 22 - Russia Denies Selling Missile System To Iran
- EGYPT - Dec 29 - Opposition Says Mubarak Blessed Israeli Attacks
- ARAB AFFAIRS - Dec 22 - Syria Will Eventually Move To Direct Talks With Israel
- ARAB AFFAIRS - Dec 30 - GCC Denounces Massacre
- ARAB ISRAELI RELATIONS - Israel Issues An Appeal To Palestinians In Gaza
Most Recent Reference Publications
Most Popular Reference Articles
- Credit card debt on college campuses: causes, consequences, and solutions
- 9 questions to ask your new lover: what you were afraid to ask, but always wanted to know
- How Tyler Perry rose from homelessness to a $5 million mansion
- Rejoice anyway - Zephaniah 3:14-20, Philippians 4:4-7 - Living by the Word - Column
- Living by the word
Most Popular Reference Publications
Content provided in partnership with
Presented by American Express