On "60 Minutes" tonight, George Piro, the Arabic-speaking FBI agent who questioned Saddam Hussein for 7 months after his capture, said that Saddam craved Weapons of Mass Destruction because they gave him assurance that Iran would not invade Iraq. Also, that he wanted nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, and feared the radical Islamic group could bring down his regime.
These are both highly-rational beliefs. Islamic dictatorships have long feared Islamic radicalism, just as we in the west have feared radical movements. Syria has stomped such movements, so has Iraq. And till it was invaded, Iraq was in a battle for regional supremacy with Iran and Israel. Now it’s Israel and Iran in the pit. Iran uses its catspaw, Hezbollah. Israel uses its, the U.S.!
Realist international relations theory says that countries exist in a constant state of tension, anxiety and threat, and seek to arm themselves to gain hegemony so that others can’t destroy them. Israel’s desire for nuclear weapons destabilized the region in the 1960s, leading (according to credible historians) to the showdown with Egypt that preceded the Six-Day War. Iran’s desire for nukes is now ratcheting up fears throughout the region. It is hardly surprising to learn that Saddam had prosaic reasons for wanting WMD–not to wipe anyone off the map. We and the Soviets wanted them for the same reason, to maintain a balance of power. The "60 Minutes" piece was a great one. It showed that for all his murderous tyranny, Saddam was motivated in normal ways. The way for the U.S. to respond to these strains is not to take sides or invade Arab countries, but to try and lower the general temperature in the region.
