When I was working in the Middle East I got to visit Iraq in 1980…..I found it a different country than had been described…..the people were happy, well as happy as they could be under a dictator, they has health care, education and a clean environment….Baghdad was so clean you could have eaten off the streets……and gas was cheap…..the people were friendly and would talk about anything but politics, that could be expected, not once was I assailed for not being a Muslim…a alas a dictator is still a dictator…….during the war and after things went from good to worse……..

I found this piece from a person that lived in Iraq and his opinion of what life was like……

Here’s What Life In Iraq Was Like Under Saddam Hussein – Business Insider.