Comment: Saddam capture a warning that leadership must be justly earned

Forget the humiliation that was Saddam Hussain's fate and personal choice. There is something far more sinister in the capture of the 'Butcher of Baghdad'. There is a warning that leadership, no matter how long and how powerful, must be justly earned, preserved, and nurtured. There is, in short, a need for genuine legitimacy that the Iraqi dictator never enjoyed.

To be sure, the effect of publicly humiliating an Arab leader, even a former dictator, will have consequences. Arab leaders like Saddam, who championed Arab nationalism but betrayed the Arab world, will have to work harder to retain popular support. Arabs are habitually served sweet rhetoric – Kalam Al Hilu – that promises liberation from every imaginable ism – colonialism to neo-imperialism, while neglecting sorely needed internal matters ranging from education to development.

In short, Arabs are habitually lied to by corrupt leaders like Saddam who are, nevertheless, supported by powerful allies happy to advance chimerical interests that are not those of their populations.

It is difficult to determine how history will record the legacy of Saddam but this much is certain. He will be remembered as a fallen Arab leader, not a Saladin, even if it is too early to write this historical chapter.

The man who scared millions of Iraqis into torpor was himself sluggish. He lived a life of fantasy, in lavish palaces, surrounded by luxury but devoid of an iota of truth. Above all, he lived in hatred, hatred of his own family, tribe, nation and state. This is not what nationalism is made of. This is not what martyrdom is made of either. This is why he ended up hiding in a shack and a hole in the ground.

Saddam was, of course, fingered by one of his own because he was not loved.

In turn, he never loved his people, and never respected Iraqis either. When Dr. Adnan Pachachi reported that the former dictator was un-repented, he also told us something far more profound. That Saddam did not consider the visitors his equals. All along, Saddam assumed that Iraqis were his "children" but, as every parent knows, no one owns their children.

True leaders nurture civility and call on their peoples to rise to new heights. Instead of sustaining Iraqis and inducing them to be the best they can be, Saddam silenced them into total submission. He surrounded himself with thugs willing to sell their rotten souls for a pocketful of change. Consequently, long neglected Iraqis felt no compunction in abandoning their imposed dictator at the first opportunity.

Never earned legitimacy

Leaders who, likewise, consider their subjects as children who must submit will have a whale of a time realising their own fantasies. In fact, a true leader is not one who surrounds himself with yes-men, but one who nurtures independent thought. A true leader is one who cherishes tolerance – even dissent – not for his own aggrandisement but to uphold equality for all. A great leader is one who learns how to serve the interests of the entire nation rather that satisfy a few followers eager to gloat that they have those interests at heart and that no one else can possibly know the truth. Finally, a true leader is not one who strikes at the weak and who does not rely on force to advance his nation's interests, but one who earns his legitimacy by example.

Saddam Hussain never earned any legitimacy although he imposed himself on a hapless population hypnotised into submission. He – like others around the world – lacked loyalty.

If loyalty is earned the hard way, political loyalty must be justified with bravery, the result of unmerciful compromises. Ultimately, rulership loyalty is acquired through service, as a leader learns to place the interests of his nation, tribe, or state, above his own. Saddam has not done this and some Arab leaders have not fared better. The aftermath of humiliation, especially for ex-tyrants, is popular empowerment and this is generally true for all forms of government.

Joseph Kéchichian, author of several books, is an expert on the Gulf and Middle East affairs.