Question

Saddam Hussein
rose to power by restoring order in Afghanistan after the war with the Soviet Union.

Answer 1

That statement is incorrect.

Saddam Hussein was the leader of Iraq, not Afghanistan. He came to full power inside Iraq through the Ba'ath Party and a series of internal maneuvers and purges, not by restoring order in Afghanistan.

Short correct summary:
- Saddam joined the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and was involved in the 1968 Ba'athist coup in Iraq (the “July 17 Revolution”), which brought the Ba'athists to power.
- He rose through the party and government under President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, becoming vice president and the regime’s chief security organizer.
- In July 1979 Saddam forced al-Bakr to resign and became president. He consolidated power with purges of rivals, expansion of the security services, a cult of personality, and control of the oil economy (oil nationalization in 1972 gave the state huge revenues that helped him consolidate control).
- After becoming president he led Iraq through the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), used brutal repression against Kurds and Shia inside Iraq (including the 1988 Anfal campaign), and later invaded Kuwait in 1990.

By contrast, the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989) was a separate conflict in Afghanistan; it ended with Soviet withdrawal and Afghanistan subsequently descended into factional civil war and later the rise of the Taliban. Saddam had no role in “restoring order” in Afghanistan.