Saddam Hussein

/ sæˈdæm /

noun

1. See Hussein

Hussein, Saddam

1. Dictator of Iraq who seized power in 1979. With the intent of making Iraq the dominant power in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, Hussein invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. The latter invasion provoked a military response from the United Nations, led by the United States, which drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991. (See Persian Gulf War.)

Although widely loathed outside the Arab world and feared by most Arab governments, Hussein retains some of his appeal to the Arab masses because of his resolute defiance of the United States and western Europe.

Hussein's cruelty and deviousness have become legendary. He has ruthlessly suppressed both Shi'ite Muslims and Kurds within Iraq; in 1987 and 1988 he authorized poison gas attacks on Kurdish villages.

Example Sentences

It limply dangles between his legs as he slides into the sheets next to a very turned-off Satan, who dumped Saddam Hussein only to fall for someone who sounds and acts exactly like him.

From Salon

Parker and Stone had used a similar storyline to mock former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

From Salon

Everywhere we went, I saw pictures and statues of Saddam Hussein.

From Los Angeles Times

"In 1980, when Saddam Hussein attacked Iran his aim was the collapse of the Islamic Republic," he says.

From BBC

After the revolution, the MEK went to Iraq and joined Saddam Hussein in the early 1980s during his war against Iran, which made them unpopular among many Iranians.

From BBC