Assessing Leadership Style: Trait Analysis

Saddam Hussein of Iraq

Authority and public that it had asked permission from the

Security Council to dedicate one billion Euros (around

$940 million) from its New York escrow to the Intifadah/^6

There are other forms of support that, while not substan-

tial, are still serving Saddam's propaganda machine. For

example, a few of the Palestinians wounded in the Intifadah

have been hospitalized in Baghdad.^17 Also, Iraq sent: a

number of trucks through Jordan and the Jordan River

bridges to the West Bank full of humanitarian goods. Israel

allowed these trucks to cross over.

Other Signs of Iraq's Growing Acceptance in the

International Community

In August 2000, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez bucked inter-
national convention and traveled to Iraq to meet with Saddam Hus-
sein. He was the first head of state to visit Iraq since the Gulf War,
signaling Iraq's growing acceptance in the international community.
Two months later, Iraq was invited to attend the Arab Summit for
the first time since the start of the Gulf crisis, indicating a thawing
in Arab attitudes toward Iraq. In another sign of normalcy, Bagh-
dad's international airport reopened in the fall of 2000. When a
hijacked Saudi airliner landed in Baghdad in October 2000 and all
passengers were released unharmed, there was a great deal of inter-
national praise for Saddam Hussein.
In January 2001, humanitarian flights began arriving daily from
abroad, and Iraqi airlines began operating (even in the no-fly zones).
As oil production recovered to prewar levels, food rations increased,
power cuts became less severe, and drinking water and sewer services
began to improve dramatically. In a calculated step to garner inter-
national favor, Saddam offered to allow Kuwaiti officials to inspect
Iraqi prisons in January 2002; this offer was rejected. Finally, in
March 2002, at the Beirut Arab Summit, Saudi crown prince Abd
Allah hugged and kissed Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, Saddam's deputy
chairman of the RCC, in front of the world's TV cameras. This ended
more than a decade of bitter hostility and was a visible symbol that
Saddam's Iraq had been fully welcomed back into the community of
Arab nations.