Quote Originally Posted by Syme View Post

Gismo: As for Saddam being one of the more "liberal" Middle Eastern leaders, I don't know if that's the word I'd use. His government was certainly one of the region's more secular, though; definitely no connection there between him and AQ or other Islamic fundamentalists groups, unlike the governments of several other Middle Eastern states. Ba'ath parties have always been explicitly secular and pan-Arabist, which puts them at the opposite end of the spectrum from, say, the Saudis. I assume this is what you meant?
Yes, this was what I was getting at. Liberal probably wasn't the best word to describe him, but you got what I meant so that is what matters.