The Middle East is an extremely volatile region of the world, and much of the current instability may be due to one man, Saddam Hussein. During the last few years, under Hussein's direction, Iraq has gone from being an oil rich country to a country that is suffering major embargoes and is low on supplies.
Iraqi leaders are trying to leave as they realize how power can corrupt a man. If Hussein stays in power, the future looks bleak for the Gulf region. Iraq used to be a prosperous country. Oil was the main source of income for the area. During the Iran-Iraq War (Gulf War 1), which was from September 1980 to August 1988, Iraq went from being a wealthy country to a very poor country, nearly over night. Hussein had used all energy available in that war, and he came out of it losing over 1/3 of the entire male population of Iraq (Allman 61). Saddam feels that is actions were justified because he believes the Iran-Iraq war was a conspiracy by the US, Britain, and Israel to undermine Iraq (Kondrache 11). This leads people of the world to believe that this is a.
man who will stop at nothing to achieve what he wants. He was willing to risk his whole nation for a more money. High financial priorities? Survey says "yes".
The basis on which Hussein is in power is controversial. He was not elected to his position, he took it. There was a military coup in 1968 that led him and his Ba'ath party to power. He was not elected, as until last year, there had not been an election since the coup (Cooperman 49). This says that Hussein has been a tyrant from the start, and his need for power is incredible. He wants complete domination of the Middle East, if not the world.
Iraq is now a country struggling to survive. It is in the midst of an embargo, and the people are suffering. Death rates are up, and the amount of food available is declining. Saddam is displaced from his people, though. He is not feeling the same effects as they are.