The Devil We Came to Know: Rise of Saddam Hussein, Iran-Iraq War, and the Persian Gulf War

A lone figure fled across the Syrian desert in a bid to escape his potential fate. Days earlier, he attempted to assassinate the President of Iraq, the man who stood in the way of the Ba'athist Movement from taking power for themselves. Despite inflicting some damage on him, they failed to kill him. Now, the would-be assassin was en route to the safety of Egypt. The harsh environment burned him during the day, and blew harsh cold at night.

While his current situation seemed hopeless, this man is the future dictator of Iraq. Saddam Hussein would become a household name worldwide. To some, he would become the face of Arab unity and anti-imperialism. To others, he was a tyrant and murdered. Despite improving Iraq's infrastructure and welfare, he wasn't afraid to order the use of military force and even chemical weapons against any domestic dissent.

His notoriety would place him directly in the sights of the United States. Their excuse to intervene against him came in August 1990, when Saddam ordered the invasion of the small country of Kuwait to the south. The storm brewing over the desert for decades finally reached its peak.

Music:

Desert Combat Loading Theme

Clips:

H. W. Bush on Policing the World: Opposing Iraqi Aggression by The American Experience

"This Aggression will not stand, man!" The Big Lebowski

Margaret Thatcher on the Gulf War, Aspen, 1990