Ten years on, Iraqis still divided over Saddam’s legacy
Ten years after the deposed Iraqi president's capture, Iraqi citizens are left with conflicting lessons from the Saddam Hussein era.
![MIDEAST SADDAM The U.S. military has apparently captured former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a raid in his home town of Tikrit, a defense official said on December 14, 2003. This December 31, 2001 file photo shows Iraqi President Saddam Hussein waving to a crowd in Baghdad. REUTERS/Faleh Kheiber SJS/CMC - RTR8RO2](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/12/RTR8RO2.jpg/RTR8RO2.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=mha2M1cd)
Dec. 13 marked the 10th anniversary of the apprehension of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein at a farm near the town of Tikrit, during the “Red Dawn” operation by US troops.
Innumerable facts could be listed about the implications of this event and its aftermath. We could also discuss, ad infinitum, the fate that Hussein carved for himself and the whole country when he embroiled it in a series of frivolous and destructive wars that lay waste to its capabilities and caused great psychological and sociological damage to its population. We could also review the brutal past of Hussein’s regime and the horrific circumstances of its rule, reminding ourselves of the painful and bloody legacy that we inherited from the millions of innocent Iraqi victims.