Now this is an interesting discussion.
The main reason I left the GOP was based on W and his Administration. There were several instances where they made the assertion that somehow SH was in league with a-q. This was a total lie, and it was outrageous to hear that lie repeated in perpetuity.
SH absolutely WAS a despot. He was brutal, sadistic and made short work of those who opposed him. He was also from the Ba'ath party, which is why a-q hated him. SH would have BUTCHERED the a-q leaders that were in Iraq, but they were in the regions of Iraq that he didn't control. In some ways, they were protected by the US (via the "no fly zone" over regions of his country). SH had NO TIES WHATSOEVER to a-q, and those lies were used to attack a country that did absolutely NOTHING to us on 9/11.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/alqaeda.saddam/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/08/AR2006090800777.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48970-2004Jun17.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/30/opinion/saddam-hussein-and-al-qaeda-are-not-allies.html
(note: that last link is an opinion piece, but is well-written by a former member of the National Security Council)
It is also worth noting that SH protected Jews, Christians, and minority Muslims. How many of you remember Tariq Aziz, his former Foreign Minister? (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_Aziz ) How many of you knew that he was a Christian? Which of our "allies" in the Middle East has Christians in their government? Does that make SH good? Of course not. But it DOES make him different. We are now seeing this perpetuated in the war against Asaad in Syria who also protects Jews, Christians and minority Muslims, and who hasn't threatened us in any way, shape or form. IN FACT, he too is fighting ISIS, isn't he?
Truth be told, I am unsure of Mr. Trump. I am not convinced of anything other than the fact that I could NEVER vote for the presumptive Democratic candidate - which is quite a statement for me given my documented status as a liberal. But I am so sick and tired of the distortions that are being made against a man who - quite honestly - isn't as bad as someone like John McCain. But that is another discussion....
Regards, hope all of you are well,
BiR