of course he did, because he knew you couldn’t mess around with these savages, and that nothing short of terror and fear for the lives of the families would old them in check.
YES - trust me - I no fan of any of them over there...
His family did bad things to foreigners and Shia alike...well beyond anything that US interrogators were accused of...
Saddam understood one thing - the one thing that got him in power - and that is violence.
Yes - he prescribed to National Arabism (socialism) much like the Nazis - but everyone was kept in check. Doesn’t mean that ISIS would not have risen and he would have faced them - but the Sunni Republican Guard I don’t think would have deserted their posts - and Saddam would have gassed the entire lot!
But - that’s all speculation at this point...the issue now is - How does the US elect qualified leaders that will do the right thing - even if it means hunting down actual humans that are responsible for the recent violence.
If IS is not stopped - others will spring forth and emerge in Africa - Asia - etc...like a virus of ideology that is beyond poisonous!