BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- Sixty-seven-year old Saddam Hussein, one of the toughest and most dangerous dictators of the last century, has finally been captured by the US. Years ago he attacked Iran and waged war against it for eight years, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths on both sides. Iraq profited nothing from this war and learned no lessons from it either. Later he invaded Kuwait, hoping take control of the oil there. Iraq suffered great losses during the 1991 Gulf War. The Iraqi people suffered from poverty when they could have enjoyed a well-off life like in the Gulf countries.
It might be difficult to believe, but although he’s an extreme fascist, certain people still favor Saddam. Actually Saddam was one of Turkey’s most fanatical and mean-spirited enemies. He hated the Ottoman, Turks, Turkmen and Turkey. He changed the country’s demographics by exiling the Turkish majority from northern Iraq.
Saddam’s capture will likely lessen the attacks against US soldiers in Iraq. However, it won’t end them completely. It’s likely that Saddam supporters will react harshly. Azerbaijan lost its President Haydar Aliyev and Saddam got caught in Iraq, so the world is changing rapidly. Saddam’s capture overshadowed the weekend elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). I think Saddam will face a trial. In short, the world media got the day they were waiting for.