Kanan Makiya

Samir Al-Khalil

Samir Khalil

Explores the connection between art and totalitarianism, using Saddam Hussein's "Victory Arch" in Baghdad as a starting point for a discussion on how dictators use art to legitimize their regimes

Art, Vulgarity, and Responsibility in Iraq

The Monument

Describes what he calls "the most ruthless regime in the world," that of Saddam Hussein & his Ba'th Party in Iraq. Shows the importance of the obsessive fabrication of "enemies," & the tortuous logic that compels Hussein to maintain a state of perpetual alert against the enemies of Arabism both inside & outside the country. Explains how such a state could be created in the late 20th century. Chapters: a chronology from 1918; the Ba'thist polity: institutions of violence; a world of fear; Ba'thism & the masses, & authority; the legitimation of Ba'thism: Pan-Arabism & Iraq, formation of the Ba'th, & the legitimation of Iraqi Ba'thism. Purges of high-ranking, 1968-1989.

The Inside Story of Saddam's Iraq

Republic of Fear

Judith Miller

Laurie Mylroie

Examines the rise of Saddam Hussein, his reasons for invading Kuwait, and the threat he poses for the Middle East

Samir Al-Khalil

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