Those who believe the twisted logic of the ilk of O’Donnell, et al, conclude that the Iraqi people were satisfied with Saddam’s regime, and the Bush administration simply concocted the excuse of weapons of mass destruction to topple Saddam.

15 Opposition Groups
The fact is there were as many as fifteen opposition groups in Iraq with representatives exiled outside of Iraqi, many situated in London. These groups had actively sought regime change in Iraq and tried to enlist the aide of Britain and the United States years before Operation Iraqi Freedom began. One opposition group even favored the return to a constitutional monarchy. There was also a group that favored communism. There were so many groups that naturally many were at odds with one another, but the one thing that they all had in common was their desire to be rid of Saddam Hussein.

But what was the problem with Saddam Hussein? Although a Sunni, he ran a secular dictatorship and was not a religious fanatic like Usama bin Laden. Let’s look at what Iraqis have to say about Saddam. The Iraqi National Coalition (INC) offers a useful overview of the principles of their group and a historical account of Saddam’s rule which enumerates the reasons that this group has been seeking a government based on democratic ideals.

“Saddam Hussein, the nightmare of every Iraqi”
According to the Iraqi National Coalition, “Saddam Hussein, the nightmare of every Iraqi, has defied the International Community and violated all United Nations ceasefire resolutions including (687) and (688) of 1991. These resolutions demanded the immediate cessation of Saddam’s regime terrorist activities and internal repression as a necessary means to establish regional peace and security.”

In their statement of coalition principles, they remind us of Saddam's brutal gassing of the Kurds and report that his “regime has systematically destroyed Iraq’s civil society, upon which the very Iraqi nationhood is based. It targeted particular national, ethnic, cultural and religious groups, in order to divide the Iraqi people, and eliminate the natural cohesion of family life and faith.” Nearly a half-million Shi’ites have been denied their rights, their property taken, and many have been exiled.

The coalition states that “[t]o preserve its rule in the face of ever-growing opposition, the Iraqi regime has virtually, ‘legalised’ all that is inhuman in Iraq.”

Iraqis Welcomed Military Support
In March 2000 a number of Iraqis and exiled Iraqis formed the INC to act as an umbrella group for the fifteen opposition groups in hope of providing a united front to bring their case to Britain, Europe, and the United States. Then March of 2001 they met at their first National Conference in London to “urge the world community to help rid our country of the Weapons of Mass Destruction.” Remember these are the Iraqi people claiming that their country under Saddam was blighted with “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” Also we must remember that this was prior to September 11, 2001, and World Trade Center disaster. The Iraqi people had described for the world the conditions that President George W. Bush communicated to the American people as he come forward to provide the rationale for military engagement with the Iraqi tyrant.

The INC explains further their position:

Despite the fact, that the future of Iraq will be determined, to a large extent, by the Iraqi people and their political leaders, we still feel that the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the world community, respectively, have moral responsibilities towards helping the oppressed people of Iraq in their calamity.

The Iraqi National Coalition, and in fact the Iraqi people in general, would welcome such American initiative, and would urge the USA to provide essential political, logistical, financial and indeed, military support, to assist the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam’s regime and to establish the democratic alternative.

This was the position of the Iraqi people prior to 9/11/2001.

Of course, they had hoped that the regime change would be through a peaceful transition, not through bloody confrontations, but the January 30, 2005, elections and voter turnout—eight million of the fourteen million eligible voted—show that the Iraqi people did, in fact, welcome the ousting of Saddam Hussein, and they “urge[d] the USA to provide essential political, logistical, financial and indeed, military support” to help them achieve that objective.

Opposition Groups
Iraqi National Coalition

A version of this article appeared on Suite101.com in January 2007.