Last week in the news the media was all choked up on something that Mr. Trump said.  The MSM got lots of speculation in over his words.  Did he really say something nice about Saddam?

Trump’s stupid comments reveal a larger problem with how we talk about Iraq.

It’s possible that playing a game of gotcha with Donald Trump for the sin of saying that Saddam Hussein was good at killing terrorists is the most boring thing ever. Over 250 Iraqis were killed in Baghdad on Sunday when a lorry exploded in a busy shopping area of the city. The area is mostly Shiite and the Sunni extremist group Islamic State took responsibility. Believe it or not, this was the single worst loss of life since the invasion in 2003. Here’s how Jermey Bowen of the BBC put it:

Saddam Hussein’s regime was harsh, and it could be murderous. He led the country into a series of disastrous wars and brought crippling international sanctions down on their heads.

But with the benefit of 13 years of hindsight, the world that existed before 9 April 2003 seems to be a calmer, more secure place. They have not had a proper day of peace since the old regime fell.

As for democracy, many I have spoken to believe the hopelessly sectarian political system is broken. At least, they say, law and order existed under Saddam.

We need to reckon with this reality. It does no good to keep going back to the old rhetoric about what a tyrant Saddam Hussein was to his own people. What Trump is trying to say in his own awkward way is that Hussein kept the lid on and what we’ve gotten in his place is far worse. And, if he stuck to making that limited point, he’d be on solid footing, which means that it’s just a perpetuation of our national stupidity and infinite capacity to avoid self-reflection to go out and say, “Ooh, ooh, Trump said something halfway complimentary about Saddam Hussein!”

Source: Washington Monthly | Did Trump Say Something Nice About Saddam Hussein?

I may not agree with Mr. Trump on too much but I too believe that Iraq was a safer more secure nation when Saddam was its ruler…..

What is amazing is that all this debate, the back and forth, and not once has anyone in the media asked the Iraqi people what they think…..especially about Saddam….why is that?

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi man who was filmed attacking Saddam Hussein’s statue with a sledgehammer when US troops stormed into Baghdad in 2003 said Iraq was in a better shape under his rule and George W. Bush and Tony Blair should be put on trial “for ruining” it.Kadhim Hassan Al-Jabouri was speaking on Wednesday as British former civil servant John Chilcot released a long-awaited report criticizing Britain’s role in the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Source: Iraqi who hammered Saddam statue: ‘I wish he would return’ | Arab News

I still have a couple of friends in Iraq and they confirm that this is a popular talking point that is when people can actually go out and schmooze with their neighbors…..