Saddam Hussein Quotes

Quotes by and about Saddam Hussein

(Continued from his main entry on the site.)

Hussein: "[I am] just, but benevolent. [I] love my people and my nation. I am straightforward, and I don't double-cross or deceive."

Hussein: "Blood is cheap in hard times."

Hussein: "Anyone who wishes to have the right to criticize should [have a record of] distinguished performance of his everyday work. Otherwise, he would not deserve such a privilege."

[Addressing the famine in his country:]
Hussein: "I have heard it said, 'Why not concentrate on [producing] food rather than ... cities, mosques, dams, and factories?' My reply is that ... food should not be a motivation to work."

[Addressing the American public:]
Hussein: "Don't you in America wonder how this situation [between Iraq and Kuwait] is different from that in Panama and Grenada? ... On the one hand, armies are dispatched to Iraq because [of] Kuwait; and on the other hand, the U.S. intervention in Grenada and Panama is considered ... legitimate."

Hussein: "Before Bush [senior] involves the United States in [Iraq] he should ... consult with people who might be able to give him accurate and correct information on the region and the background of the issue."

Hussein: "Although my regime is bloody, people will feel happy due to the economic growth."

Hussein: "The framework [I] follow is that [when I] need a minister, I will not appoint someone I don't know. ... It is my responsibility, my minister, so I should know him."

[FBI Interrogator:] "[When I pressed him on his son Uday's record of rape and murder] he told me to stop. [He said]: 'You don't get to pick your kids. You're stuck with what you get.'"

[FBI Interrogator:] "He considered Bin Laden to be a fanatic and as such was very wary of him. He told me you can't really trust fanatics."

Efraim Karsh: "That Saddam Hussein was a man of action rather than of letters, an operator rather than an intellectual, was evident from his earliest days of political activity."

Efraim Karsh: "The Iraqi President's legend, glorified in numerous publications, television programs and even a movie, [emphasized his] patriotism, courage, manliness [and] iron discipline."

Kofi Annan: "He is ... well-informed... and decisive."

Der Spiegel: "One of his favorite books was 'The Old Man and The Sea', but his [own] style could not be mistaken for Hemingway."

Joseph Sassoon: "Printed forms were the essential method for documenting, administering, and controlling ... during the decades of [Saddam's] rule."

[His landlord as a youth:] "He was honest and clever but on the intellectual level, one cannot think of him as profound."

Donald Rumsfeld: "This is a man I can work with."

George W. Bush: "[He is] a Hitler revisited."

... Thomas Hobbes best describes Saddam's outlook on life."

Efraim Karsh: "That Saddam Hussein was a man of action rather than of letters, an operator rather than an intellectual, was evident from his earliest days of political activity."

Efraim Karsh: "The Iraqi President's legend, glorified in numerous publications, television programs and even a movie, [emphasized his] patriotism, courage, manliness [and] iron discipline."

Efraim Karsh: "Like numerous risky decisions he was to take in subsequent years, this move was anything but impetuous; rather it was made after a careful consideration of the costs and benefits involved."

Efraim Karsh: "An introvert and restrained person, Saddam lacked Nasser's charismatic appeal. Unlike the Egyptian President who was often carried away by his own rhetoric and used it to inflame his listeners with fiery speeches, Saddam addressed his audience like a radio announcer, enumerating his points quietly, almost impersonally. His flat tone of voice and somewhat inhibited manner of speaking made him appear detached from his own rhetoric, and often turned the most ardent language into a boring monologue."

Efraim Karsh: "He was realistic enough to know that holding on this position [as no. 2 in Iraq], let alone moving forward to the Presidential Palace, would be a precarious and torturous process. Yet he was also confident that he possessed the necessary qualities for this hazardous journey: great caution, endless patience, intense calculation, and utter ruthlessness."

Donald Rumsfeld: "This is a man I can work with."

[His landlord:] "Saddam Hussein was calm and didn't speak much."

[His landlord:] "He was honest and clever but on the intellectual level, one cannot think of him as profound."

George W. Bush: "[He is] a Hitler revisited."

Joseph Sassoon: "Printed forms were the essential method for documenting, administering, and controlling ... during the decades of [Saddam's] rule."

Hussein: "The framework [I] follow is that [when I] need a minister, I will not appoint someone I don't know. ... It is my responsibility, my minister, so I should know him."

Hussein: "Although my regime is bloody, people will feel happy due to the economic growth."

[Interviewer: "Who is Saddam Hussein?"]
Hussein: "A man is known by his history, so you can tell from [my public record] exactly who Saddam Hussein is."

[Addressing the American public:]
Hussein: "Don't you in America wonder how this situation [between Iraq and Kuwait] is different from that in Panama and Grenada? ... On the one hand, armies are dispatched to Iraq because [of] Kuwait; and on the other hand, the U.S. intervention in Grenada and Panama is considered ... legitimate."