Commentary

8th November 1998

Saddam: the defiant one

By Mervyn de Silva

The Great Survivor.... that title widely used by reporters, columnists and leader-writers of the western press reduces President Saddam Hussein of Iraq to a super-star in a carnival trapeze act.

He is more, much more than that, in the eyes of the Arab masses. Many an Arab intellectual, like Hassanein Heikal, the eminent Egyptian journalist-cum-historian regards him as a popular Arab hero, straight out of the history books and legend, while Tariq Aziz, editor of Al Thawra, the Baath Party newspaper, told me, 'Saddam Hussein is the true symbol of Arab nationalist pride, and defiance.' Tariq Aziz is now Iraq's voice at the UN with prime ministerial rank. And it is the United Nations that is directly involved in the western world's confrontation and undeclared war against Iraq, a major oil producer.

Last Sunday, Baghdad rejected a UN resolution that condemned Iraq's decision to stop co-operating with the UN's weapons inspectors until UN sanctions were withdrawn. "We will not reverse our decision but we will maintain it until the embargo is lifted," said Iraq's Vice-President Taha Yassin. The day before, the Iraqi authorities had decided not to co-operate with the UN inspectors. There was another demand which would have claimed the attention of all students not only of the Iraqi issue but also of American foreign policy, and the US-UN relationship in the post-Cold War world.

The collapse of the Soviet Union has changed the relationship between the United States, the sole superpower, and the United Nations. When the Soviet Union was also a superpower, it had the strength and will to say "NYET" (NO).

The non-aligned countries, a large group, could rely on the Soviet Union, and to some extent, Communist China, to protect the interests of "NAM members, who had the votes in the Assembly but no control or effective voice in the decision-making Security Council.

Though not all NAM members openly endorse the actions of Iraq, in the current crisis, many non-aligned countries approve, and perhaps admire President Saddam Hussein's bold stance. "He is doing our job.... challenging American hegemony in a unipolar world". That could sum up the widely shared reaction of the overwhelming majority of the Third World/NAM community.

As an American observer would probably say, this knee-jerk collective response, is a great source of comfort and strength for Saddam Hussein, the Arab/NAM maverick. It is an American word which fits him perfectly. (An unbranded calf or yearling, unorthodox or independent-minded person, a Texan contribution).

American spokesmen (UN and elsewhere) find support in a report submitted by an 18-member team of scientists which examined "the results of tests of Iraqi war material," says Michael Littlejohns, a veteran British correspondent at the UN. The report says there were 'traces of nerve gas'. Swiss tests however found no weapons-related chemicals. The French report mentioned a nerve agent product in one test but both reports uncovered evidence of what could be a decontaminant used in destroying biological warfare agents.

Non-co-operation

A study of President Saddam's behaviour pattern shows that it is when he appears to have been cornered, he takes the offensive, thus causing confusion in the enemy camp. In this instance he seems to have spotted a window of opportunity, as the Americans would have described the situation. President Saddam Hussein appeared ready on some matters to co-operate with the French but not the Americans. The Iraqi leader is also aware of Uncle Sam's weakest flank in any complex Middle-East dispute.... Uncle Sam's very special relationship with Israel, the Jewish state. The Israeli arsenal has all the weapons and Israeli scientists are always working on new weaponry. He made one serious mistake.... opening a front more than a decade ago against Iran, revolutionary Iran, which introduced a new weapon, an ideological weapon that is transforming the politics of the region.... the Islamic revival.

Saudi Arabia is not just the largest oil producer. It is Mecca, the holiest of holy cities, so holy it has been accepted by the English language, the Oxford dictionary.

Saddam Hussein, the defiant one, has not introduced Islam to his armoury.

Last year, Iran's conservative mullahs were stunned by their failure to sweep the polls. The hardliners may now find they have expended valuable firepower they should have kept for municipal, likely early next year, and parliamentary elections in 2000, wrote David Gardner, a British correspondent.

But President Saddam Hussein, next door, knows that the anti-western Arab nationalism-radicalism which he stands for may also be vulnerable to revolutionary Islam. Oil and militant Islam could be an explosive mix. The UN meantime has asked President Saddam Hussein to co-operate with the UN inspectors.

Hulftsdorp Hill

Editorial/Opinion Contents