Yes, Pollack has the right argument. About six months ago I posted here a series of things about Saddam Hussein. The strongest point I thought I made, and it appears Pollack makes it (and he has the intelligence background to back it up but actually it's public record if you want to pursue it), is that Hussein is a psychopath.
Psychopaths do not think like ordinary people. I said it at the time and Pollack says it. It is a mistake to think Saddam will behave like an ordinary leader. He does not. He cannot.
Here are some of the characteristics as I understand them from my personal encounters and reading.
Psychopaths believe they are the only important thing.
They have no conscience - they are amoral.
They have no empathy - the suffering and death of others is a tool.
Much of the time they are in a state of grandiosity - they believe they are more intelligent, more attractive, more virile, more deserving, etc, than anyone else. Obviously this leads to error.
They have no normal conception of truth - they are unembarrassed at being caught in a lie. Truth, lies, are all the same.
They are often violent.
They are often charming.
They are impulsive.
They are thrill seekers.
They are con artists and control freaks.
They are irresponsible.
None of the above means they are stupid, exactly, they often do well on IQ tests. It does mean, however, that they are not socialized humans.
They cannot be "cured". Psychopathy is not a mental illness. They just are that way and always will be.
In testimony before US congress intelligence and military folk talk about Hussein's "unpredictability" and "peculiarities of character." The above is why.
Think on this. It's documented if you want to look for it. Hussein's first job was assassin. He's a killer and he enjoys it.
He runs a police state, has access to lots of money, and is pursuing and developing weapons of mass destruction.
It's a serious error to think he's too sensible not to use these weapons against the US or some other truly powerful country. When he's hitting a grandiosity plateau he's capable doing all kinds foolish things.
For once, in this case, the leader of a foreign country is every bit as bad as his enemies say he is and, if they've led sheltered lives, they probably don't think he's as dangerous as he really is.
Even if Dubya is thicker than a post and venal, (I don't think he is), he's on the side of the angels with this one. |
