(New York Times) Amir Taheri - Saddam Hussein's basic assumption is that there is a single Arab nation stretching from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, and that it is now Iraq's turn to assume leadership of this mythical nation. Since 1972 he has been working to Arabize Iraq by force. Nearly a million Persians, born and raised in Iraq, were expelled, to be replaced by Egyptian Arabs. In addition, more than 4,000 Kurdish villages in the north of the country were razed, their inhabitants transferred to southern Iraq and scattered among the Arabic-speaking majority.
2002-11-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive