Quote:
Originally Posted by 12thMan
They should be. We screw up their country, and now they basically have a civil war brewing. Then we execute the one guy that held these two opposing groups at bay.
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In all fairness, Saddam didn't so much "hold [the Shi'a and Sunni] at bay" as he made the minority Sunni the ruling elite and tortured and killed the Shi'a while occasionally using them as practice targets for biological weapons.
So yes - He did maintain civil peace.
There is a civil war in Iraq mainly b/c of: 1) the decades of Sunni repression of the Shi'a; 2) the Shi'a's desire for revenge and power; 3) the US administration's incredibly misjudgment as to the depth and breadth of the divisions and hatred hidden by Saddam's vigorous repression.
Oh, and don't forget the Kurds (another group "held at bay" by Saddam).