Emphasis on SADDAM Hussein?
David LEVINE
Saddam Hussein or just SADDAM? Saddam sounds a lot like "sodom" and
"sadist". This fits in with the press calling him a "madman" and a
"crazy Arab". The media has been doing a good job of depersonalizing him,
just like it did with Khomeni, Khadafi and Noriega (and Tojo, Mussolini,
Hitler, Ho Chi Min, etc...). This is very useful for fighting wars but
it is always inexcusable. Emphasising his first name (like in bold
capitals on the cover of weekly news rags) might help sell the news
but does not help this country keep a level head.
This is not to say that I support Iraq's current activities, just that
I find such distortion and veiled racism distasteful and unnecessary.
HOT OFF THE PRESS (on NPR, 1:01PM, Aug. 10:
A majority of the Arab League (12 nations) has agreed to send troops
to Saudi Arabia to protect it from Iraq and support the UN's economic
sanctions.
Back to my discussion...President Hussein has declared that he is
satisfying a long-term claim of Iraq by annexing Kuwait.
Kuwait was settled in the first part of the eighteenth century by a group of
Nejd (roughly Saudis). In 1899, its ruler signed an agreement with
Great Britain in which Britain assumed responsibility for its defense and
foriegn affairs (at this time, Kuwait was claimed by the Ottoman Empire.
This was a time when there were no real borders on the penisula. Roughly
modern borders were not created until 1923.
After WWI, the UK was given a mandate in Kuwait and in 1961 it was
declared independent. This is all based on "The Middle East in World
Affairs" by George Lenczowski (4th ed.), 1980.
The following excerpt (pps. 298-9) might sound familiar:
By an agreement with Britain on June 19, 1961, Kuwait was proclaimed an
independent state. Barely six days later, Kassem [leader of Iraq] laid claim
to Kuwait's territory on behalf of Iraq. His argument was that Kuwait had
constitued in the past, under the Ottoman administration, an integral part
of the province of Basrah [which included Iraq]. He promptly backed his
demand by despatching troops toword the border of Kuwait. The newly con-
stituted Kuwaiti authorities immediately appealed to Great Britain as
a guarantor power in virtue of the independence treaty. Within a
few days, on July 1, a contingent of 600 British Marines with supporting
artillery and naval protection landed in Kuwait. These were prompty followed
by a small expeditionary force from Saudi Arabia sent also at Kuwait's
request. When on July 20, Kuwait was formally admitted to the Arab League,
it secured a pledge form the Council that an Arab force would be sent to
protect Kuwait and thus to replace the British troops...
...The fact that a joint Arab expedition acting on behalf of the
Arab League appeared in Kuwait to thwart Iraq's expansionist designs
let to a virtual break between Kassem and the League. By October 1962,
the Iraqi government instituted a formal boycott of the Arab League,
declared that Iraq would cease contributing to its budget, and
stopped sending delegations to its meetings.
By alienating himself from the community of Arab nations Kassam
found himself in virtually complete isolation. Almost every organized
political group in Iraq, whether on the left or the right, was hostile to
him, the Kurds were in a state of rebellion, and the Arab League
considered him an agressor against whom a collective Arab force had to
be deployed. Moreover, Kassem's behavior and pronouncements appeared
to many observers to be increasingly erratic and irrational. He
oscillated between enigmatic statements and brutal denunciations of his
enemies. Despite these features he was not devoid of a charismatic
quality which, however, seemed to affect primarily the destitue sarifa (slum)
dwellers of the poorest districts in Baghdad. By the beginning of 1963, most
of the politically conscious and articulate elements in Iraw were definately
hostile towards the dictator.
On February 8, 1963, the Baath party, long suppressed by Kassam,
executed a coup d'etat. The dictator was killed...
[end of excerpt]
History repeats itself, eh?
David Levine
=====================================================
=== The opinions expressed above are entirely mine ==
=====================================================
Dan Gordon
>Has anybody else notices that President Hussein of Iraq is always called
>Saddam Hussein or just SADDAM? Saddam sounds a lot like "sodom" and
This is probably to distinguish him from King Hussein of Jordan, who
is usually referred to simply as "Hussein."
However, the truth is that Saddam has brutally saddamized Kuwait...
dwight lee
shares the name Hussein with another Arab leader, King Hussein. It's hard to
determine the intent of the emphasis, but I'd agree that emphasizing it
only because of its phonetics may well be improper.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dwight A Lee / l...@chsun1.uchicago.edu / 815-758-1389 / tCS/BB / Font
I speak only for myself. / "I am not the only dust my mother raised" - TMBG
Edward Suranyi
>Saddam Hussein or just SADDAM?
> Emphasising his first name (like in bold
>capitals on the cover of weekly news rags) might help sell the news
>but does not help this country keep a level head.
I don't know if this is true, but I read recently that Saddam is, in fact,
the equivalent of our LAST name. Like many cultures, Iraqis apparently
use the family name first. This makes sense if you compare with King
Hussein of Jordan. Many people have suggested that avoiding confusion
between the two leaders is one reason why the leader of Iraq is called
Saddam for short. But notice that it's King HUSSEIN. If Arabs follow
the western practice of always calling a monarch by the first name,
then Hussein could indeed by the equivalent of our first name.
Ed Suranyi
e...@das.llnl.gov
Jack Campin
> The emphasis on the SADDAM part of S Hussein's name may be in part because he
> shares the name Hussein with another Arab leader, King Hussein. It's hard to
> determine the intent of the emphasis, but I'd agree that emphasizing it
> only because of its phonetics may well be improper.
Traditionally, Arabs didn't have surnames. What you used instead was your
personal name followed by a list of your male ancestors, father first and
optionally all the way back to Adam. The more formal the occasion, the
more ancestors you'd include. I don't know if this practice survived the
Ottoman, the British and the Iraqi national administrations, but it might
be an explanation.
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Ron Levy (Armchair)
>Saddam Hussein or just SADDAM? Saddam sounds a lot like "sodom" and
>"sadist". This fits in with the press calling him a "madman" and a
>"crazy Arab". The media has been doing a good job of depersonalizing him,
>just like it did with Khomeni, Khadafi and Noriega (and Tojo, Mussolini,
>Hitler, Ho Chi Min, etc...).
It might also be because of King Hussein of Jordan, whom we really
don't want to get Saddam Hussein confused with.
And of all the people to depersonalize, hey, he's the newest target.
It's getting harder and harder to fight a war these days without everyone
decrying you and embargoing you. Pity the poor Saddam.
--
"That's very interesting, Mr. Lovecraft, and very well put too, I
might add, but I think we're looking for something a little different
here at VANITY FAIR."
Email at le...@midway.uchicago.edu
Pekka Pessi
>Saddam Hussein or just SADDAM? Saddam sounds a lot like "sodom" and
>"sadist". This fits in with the press calling him a "madman" and a
>"crazy Arab". The media has been doing a good job of depersonalizing him,
>just like it did with Khomeni, Khadafi and Noriega (and Tojo, Mussolini,
>Hitler, Ho Chi Min, etc...). This is very useful for fighting wars but
>it is always inexcusable. Emphasising his first name (like in bold
>capitals on the cover of weekly news rags) might help sell the news
>but does not help this country keep a level head.
Saddam Hussein himself prefers to be called Saddam, like A. Hitler
preferred "der Fuehrer" or Mussolini preferred "il Duce". So
you should not worry about the media, but Saddam himself for
depersonalizing him.
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JMT 11E122; 02150 Espoo ! ja siks' m{ Mua aina aattelen
- Pekka Pessi