The Scars of Saddam Hussein!
How His Legacy Shapes Our Geopolitics.
Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti, infamously dubbed the “Ace of Spades,” was a dictator whose sadistic brutality rivaled the likes of Spain’s Francisco Franco and Uganda’s Idi Amin. The “Ace of Spades” moniker comes from the U.S. military’s 2003 deck of playing cards used to identify Iraq’s most-wanted regime figures like Uday and Qasay Hussein, as well as Chemical Ali.
His regime’s atrocities are undeniable: he orchestrated genocides, including the Anfal campaign against the Kurds—killing tens of thousands with chemical weapons—and the slaughter of the Marsh Arabs, destroying their ancient culture and wetlands. His invasion of Kuwait was marked by widespread torture and executions.
While the U.S. justification for the second Iraq War (WMD was flawed and regime change proved disastrous, these mistakes shouldn’t erase Saddam’s legacy of evil. I created this caricature to remind the world of his true nature, ensuring his crimes against humanity aren’t forgotten
With the conclusion of the 12-day war with Iran, many across the political spectrum feel déjà vu from the Second Gulf War. Despite evidence that Iran has enriched uranium beyond civilian requirements and violated the non-proliferation treaty, people are so traumatized by the War on Terror that they see the Iranian regime as just another Baathist dictatorship.
Iraq under Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction, such as the chemical weapons used in Kurdistan. He possessed SCUD missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads provided by the USSR and pursued nuclear weapons efforts that were thwarted when Israel destroyed his facilities. The Baathist regime itself was a kind of weapon of mass destruction—its purges, genocides, and campaigns of terror murdered tens of thousands, inflicting devastation on a scale comparable to chemical or nuclear weapons.
Given Saddam’s record of using WMDs, it’s understandable that people believed the claims. Saddam was undeniably evil, and evil people lie; it wasn’t unreasonable to think he might be hiding weapons despite extensive UN inspections. Moreover, his willingness to torch Kuwaiti oil wells during the Gulf War—releasing toxic fumes, contaminating the soil, and drastically lowering regional temperatures—demonstrated a reckless disregard for human life and the environment.
If he was willing to wreak such devastation on a neighbor’s land, it seemed plausible he could be unhinged enough to attack America with WMDs, potentially even in cooperation with groups like al-Qaeda.
As an Israeli citizen, I desire regime change in Iran. The Iranian regime has caused constant chaos for my family and many in the region, like the Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenis, and Lebanese. However, I recognize forced regime change is a terrible idea.
The son of the Shah has been attempting to assert himself in Iranian politics abroad, and many in Israel, as well as Iranian exiles, are enthusiastic about it. His father was an absolute monarch whose rule was forced onto the people by the British and American intelligence services.
That regime was marked by disappearances, executions, and torture. I believe asking for the Pahlavi dynasty to return is like asking the French, at the height of the Reign of Terror, to welcome back the Bourbon monarchy. While the Pahlavis were not as bloodthirsty as the current Islamic regime—just as the Bourbons were not as bloodthirsty as Maximilien Robespierre—many Iranians, like the French of that era, do not want to swing back to the opposite extreme: a corrupt and incompetent monarchy that had already sown deep resentment in the first place.
Moreover, Iran is not a homogeneous nation-state but a multi-ethnic empire stretching from the Caucasus in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south, and from Mesopotamia in the west to the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It is home to Kurds, Azeris, Armenians, Assyrians, Balochis, Jews, and others, many of whom yearn for independence and resent Persian cultural dominance.
The IRGC has trained in guerrilla warfare for decades and likely has contingencies for regime change or the assassination of the Supreme Leader. Additionally, the level of indoctrination among Iranian citizens complicates any outside intervention. While many cheered Israel’s recent successes in humiliating the regime, others still feel solidarity with Iran as their nation was attacked by foreign powers.
I pray for regime change—but I want it to come naturally, not through forced intervention. America and the West should leave Iran alone, allowing it to determine its own future as long as it isn’t spreading chaos beyond its borders. Iran deserves the chance to eventually be treated as a global power.
Iran before the Islamic Revolution shared many parallels with Japan before World War II: both nations resented foreign meddling, were proud and ancient cultures seeking respect, and eagerly adopted Western technology while adapting it to their own purposes. Yet just as Japan flourished under democracy—becoming wealthier, a leader in global technology, and a shaper of world culture—a post-regime Iran must also be given the chance to shine, rather than be reduced to a proxy or, worse, a colony.
I pray for peace. I hope Iranians can leave behind this barbaric Shiite death cult. But we must also remember the legacy of Saddam Hussein and how it shapes our foreign policy today. Hussein’s regime was pure evil, just like the current Islamic regime in Iran. Regime change could improve life for people both inside the country and across the region. And while overthrowing Saddam proved to be a mistake, we shouldn’t let hindsight blind us to the reasons many supported the invasion at the time.