Synopsis "Saddam Hussein and the United States: The Hidden Truth (in English)"
It is 2003 and the United States has won - Mission Accomplished! The 'devil' has been hunted down, captured and exhibited before the world! Paul Bremer, the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, exclaimed with profound glee: "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!" The United States had overcome Saddam Hussein, the 'tyrant' was overthrown and both the Iraqi people and the world at large celebrated being freed from evil. That is the legend! But it was not always like this. 40 years of relations between Saddam Hussein and the United States tell a completely different story. They were strange bedfellows, and for a long time it was a marriage of convenience, being brought together by events outside their countries that shaped their common hatred for external forces. It is the story of one man and a superpower who effectively used each other. It is a story of intertwining ambitions, shared cynicism and mutual mistrust. Saddam Hussein was a man who was dependable and a reliable Arab tyrant with whom the United States could rely on and do business with when it suited them. Sure, they would have preferred someone who was not a sadist, a crazy demonic monster, but he was the only one who could do what they wanted. The United States was keen to maintain their domination of the Middle East and protect their vital interests irrespective of what the costs were. From his first steps to power to his ultimate fall, Saddam Hussein saw nine American Presidents come and go. The United States wanted to be the uncontested guardian of the Middle East. Saddam Hussein saw himself as the master of the Arabs, one who wanted to create an empire with himself as the top. But Saddam Hussein and the United States had more in power than a mere hunger for power. As far back as this story goes, they were a necessary evil for each other. This is a story of a tragic misalliance; from indifference to allies, from allies to betrayal, from betrayal to foes, from foes to revenge. But as with all these stories, who was betraying who, and who had the final revenge? In the following chapters we will go through this incredible story that shaped many of the events of the Middle East.
