| Nominee: | Saddam Hussein |
| Born: | April 28, 1937, in Tiqrit, Iraq |
| Education: | Cairo University; Mustanseriya University, Baghdad |
| Occupation: | Former Dictator of Iraq, part-time novelist, currently unemployed. |
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Here two Golden Jackboot Award Nominees wish each other luck. Though in many respects the two men are hard to tell apart, Saddam Hussein (right) is somewhat taller than Donald Rumsfeld (left). |
Mr. Hussein was born the son of poor farmers. He looked up to his uncle,
Khayrallah Tulfah, who was an army officer and an outspoken proponent of
pan-Arab nationalism. He joined the Baath Party at the age of 19, and
three years later (in 1959) gained some notoriety for his participation
in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate then Iraqi Prime Minister
Abudul Karim Kassim. Mr Hussein was wounded in the leg during this
incident, and subsequently fled Iraq for Syria and later Egypt.
By 1968 Hussein was back in Iraq and participated in the Baath Party's
seizure of power which put General Ahmed Hassan Bakr in place as Iraq's
new president. For eleven years Hussein used his post as vice-president
to build up his infamous "security aparatus", which he put into action
in 1979 to depose Bakr and install himself as president.
Saddam's first major act as president (other than killing all of his
opponents) was to launch, with US encouragement, a bloody war against
the neighboring Islamic Republic of Iran. The war lasted for 8 years and
ended in a stalemate. During this eight year conflict Hussein would use
poison gas, including nerve gas, against both Iranian troops and Kurdish
civilians.
Then in 1990 Saddam ordered the invasion of neighboring Kuwait. This
time, however, he did not enjoy the blessing of the United States. The
US demanded that its former ally withdraw from Kuwait, and to back up
this demand sent over half a million troops to the region. Eventually
Iraqi forces withdrew from Kuwait in the face of a massive air and land
assault led by US forces.
Hussein continued on as Dictator of Iraq until recently. His current
whereabouts are unkown.
The Golden Jackboot™ Award is a Goering-Goebells Production, a
subsidiary of Reichstag Enterprises (otherwise known as the DC Anti-War
network). |
THE NOMINEES
Learn more about the nominees by
following the links to their bios.
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VOTE NOW
Voting ends Tuesday, July 8, 2003.
The winner shall be announced Tuesday
at Bossa Bistro and Lounge,
2463 18th St NW, 7 to 10 PM!
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