This is the first serious attempt to understand modern Iraq through a close examination of the political discourse used by the Ba'th regime and its leader, Saddam Hussein. By analyzing political terms, concepts, and idioms as disseminated through the official Iraqi mouthpieces, author Ofra Bengio illuminates Iraq's political culture and the events that these expressions have both reflected and shaped. Not only does this study add to our understanding of the "Saddam enigma;" it also offers a more universal truth: that under any regime, political culture is built on public discourse. Saddam's Word will be of much interest to students of the contemporary Middle East, as well as to all other observers of Saddam Hussein and his regime.

By analyzing political terms, concepts, and idioms as used by Saddam Hussein and the Ba'th regime, author Ofra Bengio illuminates Iraq's political culture and the events that these expressions have both reflected and shaped.

Drawing from such resources as newspaper articles, official publications and Hussein's public statements, speeches and writing, 'Saddam's World' uses language to examine the Ba'th regime and its leader, Saddam Hussein. This is a study of how speech and language influenced and shaped what became the political culture of modern Iraq.

From a Western perspective, the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 largely fulfilled the first President Bush's objective: "In, out, do it, do it right, get gone. That's the message." But in the Arab world, the causes and consequences of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and his subsequent defeat by a U.S.-led coalition were never so clear-cut. The potent blend of Islam and Arab nationalism that Saddam forged to justify the unjustifiable—his invasion of a Muslim state—gained remarkable support among both Muslims and Arabs and continued to resonate in the Middle East long after the fighting ended. Indeed, as this study argues in passing, it became a significant strand in the tangled web of ideologies and actions that led to the attacks of 9/11. This landmark book offers the first in-depth investigation of how Saddam Hussein used Islam and Arab nationalism to legitimate his invasion of Kuwait in the eyes of fellow Muslims and Arabs, while delegitimating the actions of the U.S.-led coalition and its Arab members. Jerry M. Long addresses three fundamental issues: how extensively and in what specific ways Iraq appealed to Islam during the Kuwait crisis; how elites, Islamists, and the elusive Arab "street," both in and out of the coalition, responded to that appeal and why they responded as they did; and the longer-term effects that resulted from Saddam's strategy.

“Probably the best biography of Saddam Hussein...[it] presents a coherent view of a man who has generated a good deal of mythology” (Roger Hardy, BBC World Service). Authors Efraim Karsh and Inari Rautsi, experts on Middle East history and politics, have combined their expertise to write what is largely considered the definitive work on Iraq’s fifth president. Drawing on a wealth of Iraqi, Arab, Western, and Israeli sources, including interviews with people who have had close contact with Saddam Hussein throughout his career, the authors trace the meteoric transformation of an ardent nationalist and obscure Ba’ath party member into a dictator and geopolitical player. From Saddam’s key role in the violent coup that brought the Ba’ath party to power, to the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and beyond, Karsh and Rautsi present a detailed biography that skillfully interweaves analysis of Gulf politics and history. Now with a new introduction and epilogue, this authoritative biography is essential for understanding the life and influence of this modern tyrant.

It has been said that Saddam Hussein held an almost hypnotic force over the Iraqi people when he spoke. Without a doubt, this volume reveals that Saddam is an amazing orator who uses his special talent to obilize a nation to do his bidding. This book is a window into the present where we can witness the power Saddam Hussein's words had over the masses. The consequences of a nation of a world rested upon this unique blend of propaganda and emotion. No one should forget the devastation brought about by President Saddam Hussein and this collection of 27 Speeches by the dictator is a unique opportunity to experience how words can be used to incite a nation.A work of this sort will give the reading public direct access to Saddam Hussein's Dictatorship, which the reader in turn can closely study, by making use of the bibliographic material that is listed. This is a vitally important avenue to provide the reading public.

From a Western perspective, the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 largely fulfilled the first President Bush's objective: "In, out, do it, do it right, get gone. That's the message." But in the Arab world, the causes and consequences of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and his subsequent defeat by a U.S.-led coalition were never so clear-cut. The potent blend of Islam and Arab nationalism that Saddam forged to justify the unjustifiable—his invasion of a Muslim state—gained remarkable support among both Muslims and Arabs and continued to resonate in the Middle East long after the fighting ended. Indeed, as this study argues in passing, it became a significant strand in the tangled web of ideologies and actions that led to the attacks of 9/11. This landmark book offers the first in-depth investigation of how Saddam Hussein used Islam and Arab nationalism to legitimate his invasion of Kuwait in the eyes of fellow Muslims and Arabs, while delegitimating the actions of the U.S.-led coalition and its Arab members. Jerry M. Long addresses three fundamental issues: how extensively and in what specific ways Iraq appealed to Islam during the Kuwait crisis; how elites, Islamists, and the elusive Arab "street," both in and out of the coalition, responded to that appeal and why they responded as they did; and the longer-term effects that resulted from Saddam's strategy.

Patriotic Ayatollahs explores the contributions of senior clerics in state and nation-building after the 2003 Iraq war. Caroleen Sayej suggests that the four so-called Grand Ayatollahs, the highest-ranking clerics of Iraqi Shiism, took on a new and unexpected political role after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Drawing on previously unexamined Arabic-language fatwas, speeches, and communiqués of Iraq’s four grand ayatollahs, this book analyzes how their new pronouncements and narratives shaped public debates after 2003. Sayej argues that, contrary to standard narratives about religious actors, the Grand Ayatollahs were among the most progressive voices in the new Iraqi nation. She traces the transformative position of Ayatollah Sistani as the "guardian of democracy" after 2003. Sistani was, in particular, instrumental in derailing American plans that would have excluded Iraqis from the state-building process—a remarkable story in which an octogenarian cleric takes on the United States over the meaning of democracy. Patriotic Ayatollahs’ counter-conventional argument about the ayatollahs’ vision of a nonsectarian nation is neatly realized. Through her deep knowledge and long-term engagement with Iraqi politics, Sayej advances our understanding of how the post-Saddam Iraqi nation was built.

First published in 1979, prior to the Iran-Iraq war, this important collection of speeches explains some of the strategic foundations of Iraq’s foreign and internal policies under the Ba’th Arab Socialist Party. This work concerns itself with aspects varying from advice on youth – ‘Let us win the young to safeguard the future’ –,to speeches on Iraq’s diplomatic relations. This fundamental work, concerning a historical and contemporary range of social and foreign affairs in Iraq, will be of considerable value to both political and diplomatic departments, and universities and research organisations involved with the Middle East. It is also of major significance to anyone with an interest in the rise to power of one of the twentieth century’s most infamous dictators.