Current Event: Emerging History

As the rope tightened around his neck, the world watched Saddam Hussein’s last breath exhale from his body. On December 30, 2006, Hussein’s death was broadcasted and viewed by millions worldwide. It was a moment that many had been waiting for from the beginning of the Persian-Gulf war. Most of the world viewed him as a tyrant controlling Iraq in the worst of ways.
In 1991, he instigated a war with the U.S. Although most of Hussein's atrocities took place during the 1980s and early 1990s, his tenure was also characterized by day-to-day atrocities that attracted less notice. Hussein's death by torture, rape rooms, decisions to slaughter the children of political enemies, and the casual machine-gunning of protesters reflected the day-to-day policies of Saddam Hussein's regime. Hussein was a brutal tyrant, a genocidal racist and much more. However, what this rhetoric does not reflect is that, until 1991, Saddam Hussein was allowed to commit his atrocities with the full support of the U.S. government. The decision was made to support the genocidal Iraqi government over the pro-Soviet theocracy of Iran, even to the point of making ourselves complicit in crimes against humanity.
Death and power in politics are what connect Saddam Hussein to Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in Serbia. Saddam Hussein was the leader of Iraq. Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of his country. Born, December 18, 1963 in Graz, Austria   Ferdinand was next-in-line to the Austria-Hungarian empire. His assassination on June 28, 1914 sparked the First World War. He was unpopular with his people, just as Iraq was unfavorable of Hussein. His programs would have added a third monarch to the Austria-Hungarian politics, giving the Slavs just as much power as the Germans and Magyars in the government. Also, he was contemplating a change into Federalism, consisting of sixteen states, with an aim to keep the Austria-Hungarian government from becoming demolished. Saddam Hussein was hated by his country. Born April 28, 1937, he caused the deaths of countless soldiers in what seemed to be a quest for world domination. He was the cause of many wars and tensions between Iraq and a countless number of countries.
While both are controversial leaders, whose lives ended prematurely, they are complete and total polar opposites. Saddam was a tyrannical murder of his people, and only wanted power. Franz was only looking for ways to prevent his country from collapsing.  The biggest difference is in the way they died. One, Saddam, was tried and convicted of crimes.  The other, Franz, was assassinated by an extremist whom didn’t agree with his policies.