The execution of Saddam Hussein

Washington succeeded in eliminating its longstanding adversary, but the weapons of mass destruction cited as justification for the Iraq War were never found.

Roh Jeong-tae

The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

On Dec. 30, 2006, the day of reckoning arrived. At Camp Justice, a U.S. military base on the northern outskirts of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein stood on the gallows. Captured by U.S. special forces on Dec. 13, 2003, he had been sentenced to death by the Iraqi Special Tribunal on charges related to the massacre of civilians. Hussein had requested execution by firing squad as commander in chief of the Iraqi armed forces, but he was instead put to death by hanging.

The ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein faces a judge in a Baghdad courtroom for the first time since his detainment, July 1, 2004. Downcast but defiant, Iraq's deposed dictator Saddam Hussein appeared before an Iraqi tribunal on Thursday, refusing to recognize its authority and saying the ″real criminal″ was President Bush. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

It was a grim end for a man who had ruled Iraq for 35 years after seizing power in a 1968 coup. Saddam Hussein was a dictator. He rose to power through military intrigue and, as vice president, oversaw a period of modernization and economic development. His rule was brutal, yet some acknowledged that living standards improved during those years. The turning point came after he formally assumed the presidency in 1979.

With Iran in turmoil following the collapse of the Pahlavi monarchy and the establishment of an Islamic government, Hussein launched a surprise attack. The Iran-Iraq War dragged on for eight years, leaving hundreds of thousands dead or wounded on both sides. When the conflict ended inconclusively in 1988, Hussein turned his attention elsewhere. Two years later, he invaded neighboring Kuwait.

The United States and the international community intervened. In 1991, Operation Desert Storm was launched, and Kuwait was swiftly liberated. The overwhelming display of U.S. military power was broadcast live on CNN, signaling the arrival of a new post-Cold War international order. A decade later, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States, gripped by anger, labeled Iraq part of an “axis of evil” and went to war again, ultimately toppling Hussein from power. That war may be seen as an extension of the same trajectory.

Washington succeeded in eliminating its longstanding adversary, but the weapons of mass destruction cited as justification for the Iraq War were never found. Even after U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011, peace in the Middle East remained elusive. What once seemed like unchallenged American hegemony has increasingly become a subject of doubt. The execution of Saddam Hussein closed one chapter, but it did not deliver the stability many had expected.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.