Hussein’s Words of Wisdom Are Black and Read All Over

Libya’s Moammar Kadafi has his Green Book. China’s Mao Tse-tung had his “Little Red Book.” Now, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has a pocket-sized, white-bound pamphlet filled with his words of wisdom.

Such as:

“Don’t be attracted to easy paths because the paths that make your feet bleed are the only way to get ahead in life.”

Earlier this year, the Iraqi Information Ministry brought out “Saddam Hussein: Great Lessons, Commandments to Strugglers, the Patient and Holy Warriors.” Most Iraqis were already familiar with the free pamphlet’s contents, 57 quotations drawn from speeches made by Hussein.

Since 2000, selections from the 57 commandments have been painted on school walls, carved on statues, splashed across billboards, framed and placed on the walls in government offices, printed in Iraqi newspapers -- all of which are controlled by the state, Hussein’s Baath party or Hussein’s son Odai.

The Muslim call to prayer is broadcast on state television in Iraq and, after every call -- five times daily -- a few of the commandments are read.

Saddam’s commandments cover all aspects of life. He advises against making decisions in anger or humiliating an enemy after defeating him. He calls for doing good, depending on brains as well as brawn, ruling fairly, planning well, keeping people’s secrets and learning from others’ mistakes.

At Baghdad’s Al-Quds Elementary School, the commandments are painted in black and red on the walls of the entrance and in the classrooms.

“Who is going to recite for us one of the leader’s commandments?” Al-Quds Principal Khawla al-Ani said after introducing a reporter to a class of earnest little girls.

Seven-year-old Ilaf Marwan raised her hand, then stood and recited confidently: “Keep your eyes on your enemy and be faster than him.”

Her teacher apologized because the classroom, decorated with a poster of Hussein, was dim. There was no electricity, the teacher said, because of the U.N. trade sanctions imposed on Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Sabih Fakher, an Information Ministry official who helped compile the pamphlet, said the commandments are “very important lessons to the people of Iraq in the shadow of the continuous aggression and the unjust siege.”

Al-Ani called Hussein’s commandments “lessons from the heart to the heart.”

Such praise for Hussein is common in Iraq, where criticism of him can bring jail or worse. The United States may consider him a stockpiler of weapons of mass destruction who gives terrorists a haven and heads an “axis of evil.” But in Iraq, according to the blurb on his pamphlet, he is a “great son” of the Arabs.

The United States has threatened to topple Hussein’s government if he does not cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.

Iraq denies it has such weapons. The United States and Britain insist that he is hiding some.

If Hussein is seeking advice as the standoff intensifies, he might turn to Page 11 of his pamphlet:

“Don’t provoke a snake unless you have the intention and power to cut off its head.”

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Saddam Says ...

Selections from “Saddam Hussein: Great Lessons, Commandments to Strugglers, the Patient and Holy Warriors,” an Iraqi Information Ministry pamphlet that quotes from Hussein’s speeches.

* Don’t let he who thinks you despise him get close to you.

* If you rule, rule in a fair way, and don’t let your heart take part in the ruling, or let a criminal who cannot be rehabilitated escape punishment.

* Don’t treat your friend and your enemy equally even if you reconcile with the second. That way your enemy doesn’t scorn you and your friend doesn’t look down on the meaning of friendship and its rights.

From Associated Press