Between those who described him as an idol and a tyrant and those who described him as a hero and an Arab, the two guests of the episode of "The Opposite Direction" did not agree in their assessment of the personality of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and in their reading of the reasons for his continued popularity 20 years after the US invasion of Iraq.
The episode (2023/4/11) of the program "The Opposite Direction" with its guests wondered about the reasons that made the late Iraqi president so popular among the Arab peoples, despite the criticism that some directed at his regime when he was ruling Iraq.
In this regard, the professor at the Sorbonne University, Mohammed Hened, held the late President Saddam responsible for all the problems of Iraq, past and present, and said that he "brought nothing but ruin like the rest of the Arab tyrants", and called him many descriptions, he is "a murderer, criminal, thug" and "stupid", and that he did not build Iraq diversity and competencies, but destroyed it and destroyed Arab civilization, and he considered himself the leader and hero who does not see people except him.
He accused Saddam of handing over Iraq to Iran, and of invading Kuwait, and said that he was not hostile to America with evidence that it was the one who was handing him weapons in his war with Iran and provided him with anthrax, and that it slaughtered him on Eid al-Adha in a message insulting the Arab nation and that the idol remains remembered in the holiest sanctuaries of the Arabs.
According to Henaid, the Arab peoples glorify the image of Saddam because they live in a state of civilizational defeat, and these peoples must be liberated from what he called idols and mythical situations, calling for the need to create a generation that does not love tyrants and believes in institutions.
An Arab hero who defended the nation
On the other hand, the Iraqi media, Sarmad Abdul Karim, strongly rejected the judgments launched by the professor at the Sorbonne University on the late Iraqi president, and said that he was not an idol, but he was an Arab hero and was a nation in a man, and did not destroy Iraq, but he who built a very advanced scientific base and established free and compulsory education and allowed only Arab teachers to enter Iraq.
The guest of the episode of the program "The Opposite Direction" saw that the corner of the flag set by Saddam is the one that caused inconvenience to America and the siege of Iraq, denying in the same context what went to Heneid of Saddam's complicity with the Americans, and if that were the case, it would not have executed him, and also said that America is the one who brought Iran to Iraq.
Abdul Karim added that the war with Iran was imposed on Saddam, and it was in fact a war between America and its enemies.
According to the same spokesman, the Arab peoples continue to appreciate Saddam, because he stood with the Arab countries and defended them, and because he does not accept humiliation, injustice and domination, and he rejected the offers made to him to leave Iraq during the invasion and preferred to die with his people, and he was tall until the last moment, denying what he called the American charade that said that they took him out of the basement.
It is noteworthy that at dawn on December 13, 2003, the US Marines carried out a surprise military operation, which led to the arrest of the late Iraqi president, after a search for him that lasted about 8 months. He was executed on the morning of December 30, 2006, the first day of Eid al-Adha.