General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is Glenn Greenwald trying to save face? [View all]quaker bill
(8,224 posts)It was pretty easy to guess he was lying whenever his lips were moving, and I just could not even stand the sound of his voice.
Thinking on my own and simply understanding that Saddam was a very self-interested a**hole were all the tools I needed. He had no motive to obtain WMD, as all they could possibly do was end his life earlier.
There is one skill that is common to brutal dictators who stay alive and in power for decades. They have an extremely good understanding of which actions keep them alive and in power, and have an uncanny ability to avoid actions which do not serve this purpose. They have a dependable amorality, if summary executions without cause improve their chances of survival, they are done. If the oppression and/or slaughter of ethnic or political minorities serve this one goal, it is done. Such things are all part of the basic brutal dictator skill set.
As a fairly normal brutal dictator type, Saddam's actions were quite a bit more dependable and predictable that Bush's words. He did not have WMD because they were more of a threat to his survival than they were useful against his enemies. If he felt they they really would have extended his lifespan, he would have had many tons stored in many places. No brutal dictator type survives 25 years in power by being stupid about things like this. The stupid ones die young and are replaced by someone who has the basic skill set.
The only thng one had to trust about Saddam was that he was every bit the effective amoral brutal dictator he appeared to be. Bush* was a rank amature by comparison who would not have made it a whole month in that sort of job. Cheney on the other hand, would probably have done just fine.