Driving through Baghdad in the days before the Gulf War in January 1991, I was struck by the giant pictures of Saddam Hussein that lined the streets. Iraqi troops were on every corner. We couldn’t go anywhere without an escort. Phone calls were bugged.
Saddam’s presence was everywhere. It was a disconcerting feeling. I was staying with the foreign media contingent in the Sheraton, but that was the only familiar thing. The freedoms of America seemed a world away.
The disinformation didn’t stop when the bombs started falling and the murals of Saddam were hit. There was no independent media, and there were plenty more pictures of Saddam.
Fast forward to Washington in 2025, and that sense of unease is back. Troops loiter outside Union Station and along the National Mall. The White House is being ripped apart and refurbished in the president’s image. The 47th presidency, and, no doubt, the 45th, will be celebrated with a giant arch for the city. You wouldn’t bet against an enormous marble face. It will likely be inlaid with gold. Donald Trump’s presence is everywhere.
But this week, perhaps more than ever, the Oval Office ambiance is laced with malice.
Trump has made no secret of the fact that he thinks he has been victimized. Former FBI Director James Comey is facing criminal charges for allegedly lying to Congress over the Russiagate “hoax” and New York Attorney General Letitia James faces a trumped-up mortgage fraud case because she dared to prosecute him for fraudulently inflating the value of his assets.
When one career prosecutor refused to press charges against Comey and James, Trump’s former personal attorney, a one-time Miss Colorado finalist, was drafted in to replace him.
Days after Trump’s vaunted intervention in the Middle East to force the return of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, he could have been more magnanimous. Instead, he was more menacing.
At a White House press conference flanked by Attorney General Pam Bondi, her deputy Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel, Trump publicly named some more foes on his hit list.
They included Democrat Senator Adam Schiff, who helped lead the first impeachment against Trump, former government attorney Andrew Weissmann, lead counsel for the Mueller Russiagate investigation, Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought two criminal indictments against Trump, and Biden deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco who led the probe into Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election, as well as his handling of classified documents, and the January 6th insurrection.
“Deranged Jack Smith, in my opinion, is a criminal,” sneered Trump.
The president also named his 2016 presidential election opponent Hillary Clinton as another enemy who he believes has wronged him.
The message was abundantly clear to Patel and Bondi. He expects indictments pretty damned fast.
There was a time—in fact, it was always the case—that government departments like the DOJ operated with a good degree of independence. That’s no longer the case. Bondi and Patel are about as independent as Fox News.
It took Patel a hot minute to tell the right-wing Real America’s Voice that the Comey and James indictments were only the tip of the iceberg.
“These indictments that you’ve seen and the ones that you’re going to see coming up in the near future are just the beginning,” he said. “Look at the work the men and women of the FBI have done so far in these seven, eight months—and just imagine what we’re going to do come the year end.”
Even J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s founder with a Trumpian thirst for self publicity, made a point to keep the agency independent from the White House.
There was no need for Trump to send another blunt DM to Bondi—accidentally put out on social media—telling her to pull her finger out and get some prosecutions going. She almost ran out to order her minions to concoct some cases.
“This is what tyranny looks like,” said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog.”
Trump’s decision to ratchet up his retribution to settle old scores appears timed to capitalize on his success in the Middle East, whether or not it is short lived. Hillary Clinton was among those forced to swallow their pride and praise his efforts.
Success has not softened him. It has emboldened him.
The Oval Office performance also triggered another memory of a story from Saddam’s iron grip on Iraq.
It was 1979 and the autocrat had only been in power for days when he called a meeting of senior party members to a meeting at a Baghdad theater hall.
Before the new leader arrived, an aide stood up and said a plot had been uncovered targeting Saddam and Iraq. And he said the plotters were in the room.
Saddam came in moments later, appearing unhurried and shuffling his papers. He knew exactly what was coming next.
A member of the Revolutionary Guard walked to the stage. He had opposed Saddam at a recent meeting. As a result, he had signed his own death warrant.
He began confessing to a long list of crimes he did not do, saying he was the leader of the plot against the president. Meanwhile, Saddam sat down and lit a Cuban cigar.
The truth was that he was tortured and threatened that if he didn’t confess his wife and children would be raped and killed. He had no choice.
Saddam asked the audience what they would do with the “traitors” and then answered his own question. “There is no other way but the sword.”
He then read out the names of 68 men and ordered them to leave the room. When he finished, those remaining burst into relieved applause.
The following day, there were 68 trials and 22 men were sentenced to death. The executioners were party members, none of them with any training. Some were so nervous they missed and had to shoot their victims several times.
But Saddam had set his store. His power was absolute. There would be no opposition.
I never thought such a thing could ever happen here.
But now I’m not so sure.
The post Opinion: Trump’s Purge of Enemies Triggers Menacing Memories of Saddam Hussein appeared first on The Daily Beast.
