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178———Hussein, Saddam (1937– )

imposition of “no-fly zones” over her territory and to Iraq refused to cooperate fully with U.N. weapons
allow United Nations inspection of her nuclear and inspections and agree to disarmament.
other weapons programs. At the time of this writing, great upheavals are
At the end of the Persian Gulf War, the U.N. Security taking place in the Middle East, and a second war
Council created UNSCOM, a special commission to between the United States and Iraq is a distinct
find and dismantle biological- and chemical-weapons possibility. The current uncertainty makes predicting
and ballistic-missile programs. The International the future direction of Hussein’s regime difficult.
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was charged with Analysts suggest that, if threatened with defeat,
uncovering and dismantling Iraq’s clandestine nuclear Hussein would likely not hesitate to employ weapons
program. The U.N. imposed economic sanctions on of mass destruction.
Iraq that would be enforced until the country elimi-
See also ABU NIDAL ORGANIZATION; BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM;
nated all nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.
CHEMICAL TERRORISM; 15 MAY ORGANIZATION; PALESTINE
From 1991 to 1998, UNSCOM and IAEA carried
LIBERATION ORGANIZATION; PERSIAN GULF WAR; STATE
out numerous inspections in Iraq, but with varying
TERRORISM; STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM; WAR ON
degrees of success. For the first few years, Iraqi
TERRORISM; WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
officials failed to disclose much of their special
weapons programs to the inspectors. In 1995, Saddam
Hussein’s son-in-law Kamel Hussein defected. He Further Reading
had been in charge of the bioweapons program and Aburish, Saïd K. Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge.
revealed to UNSCOM that there was a vast arsenal of London: Bloomsbury, 2000.
weapons they had failed to uncover, including biolog- Duffy, Brian, and Louise Lief. “Saddam Hussein’s
ical weapons, and described how the Iraqis were hid- Unholiest Allies.” U.S. News & World Report, January
ing them. This was a breakthrough for the inspection 28, 1991, 42.
teams, and they continued their work until 1998, when Goldberg, Jeffrey. “The Great Terror.” The New Yorker,
March 25, 2002, 52.
Iraq blocked further access and expelled UNSCOM.
Karsh, Efraim, and Inari Rautsi. Saddam Hussein: A Political
In the aftermath of September 11, President
Biography. New York: Free Press, 1991.
George W. Bush urged increased pressure on Iraq to
Melman, Yossi. The Master Terrorist: The True Story of
allow weapons inspections that would lead to dis-
Abu-Nidal. New York: Adama Books, 1986.
armament. The U.S. Department of Defense also Miller, Judith, and Laurie Mylroie. Saddam Hussein and
began investigating possible links between Iraq and the Crisis in the Gulf. New York: Random House, 1990.
Al Qaeda. In October 2002, the U.S. Congress autho- Seale, Patrick. Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire. New York:
rized President Bush to use force against Iraq if Random House, 1992.