Saddam Sounds Off: The Hulegu Speech

Full Text of Saddam Hussein's Speech
Baghdad, January 17, 2003
(Portions about Hulegu and the Mongols highlighted in Red, with Emphasis added.)

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!

There are those who, on being told: 'Your enemy has mustered a great force against you and so fear them,' they grew more tenacious in their faith and replied: Allah's help is all -sufficient for us. He is the best Protector'. Thus they earned Allah's grace and bounty and no harm befell them. For they had striven to please Allah, whose, bounty is infinite. It is Satan that prompts men to fear his followers. But have no fear of them. Fear Me, if you are true believers. Do not grieve for those that quickly renounce their faith. They will not harm Allah in the least. He seeks to give them no share in the hereafter. Their punishment shall be terrible indeed.
God speaks the truth!
Great people in Iraq, the land of faith, Jihad, bravery and glory!
Brave members of the gallant armed forces!
Sons of our glorious Arab nation!
Men of goodwill in the world, wherever you are!
From the bright light of dawn, from the ray of sun which has risen after a long absence, from its horizon, from the lids of the eyes which were wounded by heavy tears for people, dear for all of us, who can no more be seen, but who can become visible with the new sun, and from the horizon which God has ordained to be vast, with a new birth and life in whose skies exist green birds and a strong newborn which God has decided to be faithful to its nation, from all this your glorious Revolution and march, a new Iraq, was born. Its faith has been increased and deepened after the Grand Confrontation on the night of 16/17 1991, the grand military phase of the eternal battle of Um Al-Maarik, by the flagrance of the generous blood, suffering and commendable patience.
A new Iraq was born with firm resolution, great power of vision and a heart, which has been increased in strength by a determination for ascent and for overcoming difficulties. It was firm in its love for its nation. Its faith, which God has given it and which the situation and banner was perfumed by generous blood from its sons, has been deepened by a scarifies which God has accepted in compensation for the negligence which took over those who ruled Baghdad, and therefore the foreigners with the horny feet of their horses, found their way towards it. The radiation of its eyes over the nation and humanity has set down, after the water of Tigris was dyed with plentiful blood along with the ink of its books which were filled with science and knowledge, and which were thrown into the water in the year 1258, as a punishment for a history whose soul departed its body and for a civilization whose faith and guards disappeared. Hence, the ravens croaked in it, showing impudence to its eyes through which humanity saw its way to raise in culture after it had played its role and into enlighten those who could see that and accepted from it as a means from God to them as a reward for its faith and fear.
The new Iraq was born on such a view, and was born with it, its rifle in place of the arrow, spear and sword, to be armed so that the ravens could not be so covetous as to venture its palms and the eyes of its children.
A strong, believing and healthy Iraq was born. But the birth, as all other births which came before it in the horizon of humanity and in our nation, was not able to render ineffectual the croak of ravens, nor the hissing of snakes or the crossing of far crocodiles from the seas of their family in order to help the beasts of earth in their attack against the sun, in a desperate hope to obscure its light which radiated from Baghdad or to shed the blood of its people in a fake hope and out of an imagination that the generous blood shed on the soil of Baghdad and on the soil of Iraq could hinder the plants and trees from becoming green, from blossoming and from carrying with its fragrance pollens which might tempt the appetite of butterflies, and thus be able to carry with the news of new faith and resolution, with the dew and tears, a pollen to every tree whose branches and leaves become dry or ceased to give fruits now that the water ceased to reach its roots and was confident that no one could take care of its fruits and guard its plants, trees and growth.
With the new birth, there was Satan and his companion, the lizards of this time, who spit out their fire on the healthy body. But, as the birth of Baghdad was now healthy and proper, blessed by heaven by order of its God, and that its guard were putting their hands on their rifles during the dawn prayer on the day of birth, with great confidence in their breasts, on the night of 16/17 January 1991 and afterwards, Baghdad, in the name of Iraq, kept defending itself along with every faithful valiant and noble woman in defense of the command which God has so decided to their new birth. Their will of determination never bent . They defeated all evil troops of more than thirty states together with those who supported them. The number of the army, which the jihadists in the Iraq army had confronted, mounted to twenty-eight. The state of Iraq stood in the face of the aggression of forty-two countries on the night of 16 / 17 January. The confrontation and the battle lasted for a month and a half with such momentum. Afterwards, the sanctions and aggression continued for thirteen years until the present day. Such was the defence of the Iraqis on that day and the days that followed. Others, in their turn, defended the seeds which they sowed and elevated what they had built, to the point that their fields were mixed with the spacious gardens. Plants covered the land of Iraq reminding of its past when the land of Iraq was described as the land of the black for the multitude of its plants which disappeared from Baghdad, its countryside and towns, until it appeared as if they did not exist before as one sign of its health. It had mixed with the lofty constructions, dear and visible, and was dominated by the high minarets, domes and signs of the houses of worship. And with every exaltation of "Allah is the greatest" on the battlefields, the same gratification rose high in the mosques together with the voices of worship in their places, each in accordance with his own religion and manner. A visitor could tell that he was in Baghdad even though his eyes were shut, in an attempt that a traveler could hardly recognize his feet on the map... Was there a place much better than Baghdad, where religions and racial tolerance together with constructive views being born, on the side and direction of every constructive thing of other views?
The new birth brought back once again the spirit of Baghdad, and with the birth a stand, a sword, a pen and a banner were born. The call of "Allah is the greatest" blessed the stand, the sword and the pen. The birth whose threats were knitted by the dawn and blessed by the call for prayer, was an impregnable birth to every malicious, perfidious and greedy...It could not deserve, nor could Allah and the people accept for it, but the life chosen for it by its pioneers after they asked the permission of their Lord, the Merciful. The scheming of the attackers backfired in that aggression and in the on-going aggression which they make longer to the present day. Everyone who tries to climb over its wall, be it an aggressor, an insolent, a wicked, a perfidious and an oppressor will fail in his attempt.
Is not this your description and position for the men of Iraq, the believer and loyal jihadists, and for the noble women as well? Or is there anyone who might delude himself into believing to say, after treading down his luck, that Saddam Hussein is speaking about his wishes and not about a description of a condition in which he lives and gets to know, with heart and soul, its comprehensive and detailed nature? By God, this is your description and attitude, or even a reward for your suffering, sacrifices, and patience, o brave men and women.. The evil ravens and evil crocodiles, still foster wickedness and would never cease their communication with their disappointed hopes, despite the fact that their deep wounds and disgrace can not be rubbed out with the passage of time. The lizards which breathed out fire on our lord, Ibrahim (peace be upon him), as is often related by people, still give birth and still assign for every birth the task of breathing out fire, out of their belief that they are capable of burning away, in defiance of God's will which He chose to be cool and safe.
Hence, with the flying banner, raise high your swords and rifles, oh our dear people, and remind anyone who may still be under a delusion, so that he might not be deluded of your stand in the Greatest March, on the day of the Grand Allegiance and in other attitudes, but if he does so, let your guns waiting in ambush for him, preceded and guided by the radiation and light of your faith necessary for safeguarding your eyes. This is because, if their ravens have a fancy and find no one to deter them, God forbid, then they would peck up the eyes and devour the hearts and brains of faith, virtue and innovation. Hold fast to your banner, the banner of ( Allah is the Greatest) there is nothing but it that can help motivate the resolution to rise and give to defence its profound connotation.
Say: God is the greatest, oh brothers and sons. Remember the meanings of this great call in accordance with the profundity of your faith, so that its echo, along with your words and support, could be sounded by all towns and rural areas, by mountains and by plains. And with the help of the waters of Tigris and Euphrates and the water of the Gulf, your voice can reach not only every brave man and woman in the land of faith and Jihad, but also every loyal man and woman in the nation, every fair-minded and everyone who has an honorable stance in humanity.
When birth is associated with a stance, a determination, a pen, a sword and a banner, then birth can assume its proper role in our nation, God willing.
When we say that history is tantamount to doctrine, and is remembered by those who inherit it with contemplation, consideration and responsibility, this is because everything right is born with it and from it, and becomes a new and constant history after it gives a new birth with each glory and construction. A firm belief is its safe foundation . It becomes a doctrine carried from the past, still possesses the condition of the true birth when so remembered by its sons with the responsibility of the present, and with the due ambition for the future.
Such was the labour of the past. From its womb it begets a doctrine; new in its spirit, in dress and colour and its special path ... And with the new doctrine, a strong flag-post and hand has been born bearing our pride and our guidance to faith: Allahu Akbar, to stand firm in the face of every violent wind, God willing, or evil attempt.
Yes, Allahu Akbar!
Allahu Akbar!
Brothers: The saying that (history repeats itself) means, among other things, that aspects of the past could be repeated though they assume the colours and names of their stages...They repeat themselves should they be re-analyzed, revived and dissolved into their primary elements and ingredients as to their strength and weakness, ascent and descent, climbing and falling into abyss, good and bad, climbing to peaks and falling into abyss, pursuit of good will and virtue against pursuit of evil and vice, those who hate people and bring harm to them against those who love people and work for their welfare, the destroyers and the constructors and the like in the series of the images and their contrasts, up and down, bad and good.
Yes, it is true that history repeats itself but not on the basis of an uncontested premise of the ability to go up, as compared with the past without faith, consciousness, attitude and determination, or to give up to a descent case, as compared with the past also, except when all its items in life, man and nature are repeated to the point that it can hardly be conceived. Yet, a conscientious faith in portraying of how the role of man can be effective and ascending, of how can that faith be maintained together with its factors and causes and how can one reject any condition that may have an adverse impact on the faith, of the role of the believing and vanguard man in it and in its movement, or the denouncing of all this, is the decisive case in which history may repeat itself in the same form, here and there, whether negatively or positively.
Baghdad in its known history , had played the role of the Arabs' and Muslims' pure eye. It was God's spear on earth, the Arabs' skull, the reservoir of their wisdom and glorious heritage, the focal point of their civilization and great radiation. That was with other supporting roles in other centres in conformity of what had happened in Baghdad or before that time. When the Mongols and Tatars reached the zenith of their strength and occupied China, India, Persia and other countries, they were unable to convert their ascent to strength by backwardness and destruction into a force capable of bringing construction, civilization and culture. The destroying force found its complex in Baghdad; the abode of civilization and peace, and made it its target for destruction which was rendered feeble because of the weakness of those who did not hold firm to the factors of ascent, its causes and results, and also of the weakness of its rulers and the betrayal of the traitors... Hulegu and his troops occupied Baghdad for forty days and destroyed every live thing in it. And because the people of Baghdad, I mean the rulers in it, were not quite prepared when the Mongols and Tatars invaded the territory of China, India, Persia and the surroundings, their invasion of Baghdad was in agreement of what history had described, and which later include Syria and the parts connected to it.
But Baghdad was not in a position to defend itself properly, and therefore the eyes of Hulegu's army were not gouged out on its walls nor was it extinguished in its face the venture of trespassing it, or even to deny it the chance of going ahead to others from the nation to attack them as it attacked Baghdad, till Hulegu's eyes were gouged out at the hands of the Mameluke dynasty in Egypt at the famous battle of ( Ain Jalut ),after they were able to get prepared for it and learnt lessons from the war before them and after Hulegu's intent and methods were revealed... History tells us that western peoples and circles had played, for their own reasons, a role in directing Hulegu to the east, indeed to the Arab world in particular. The Jews and their supporters played a remarkably malicious role against Baghdad in the past and this conspiratorial, aggressive and wicked role is today reverting to them, to the Zionist Jews and to the Zionists who are not of Jewish origin, particularly those who are in the US administration and around who stood in opposite front of our nation and Iraq. The force in America proved itself to be incapable of educating itself. It was not able to change itself into a capability, so that its impact would be humanitarian and instructive. Zionism and prejudicial people had pushed it to search for a role through a devastating brutal instinct instead of ascending to a position of responsible ability and to its civic, cultural role which suits this age and suits the role of balanced nations and their construction role in the collective milieu and work.
Yet, Baghdad today, brothers, has its eyes pure, its mind and conscious clear of any rust or cover, and are proud of the nation and for it, in the name of God, after they have put their trust in the Owner of Potency and gets prepared to the role.
Although some eyes and minds in our nation and humanity are still incapable of seeing or perceiving the pros and cons in the nation and humanity, the people and rulers of Baghdad have resolved to compel the Mongols of this age to commit suicide on its walls and make the confrontation, in terms of meaning and sacrifice, to rise to a level which could lead other eyes and minds to be wide open of what is going around it and get elevated to its role, and make the force which it possesses after or before anyone may take this risk and is deceived by its Satan to trespass the walls of Baghdad, to be effective in the human milieu, capable of converting it into an ascent force in the milieu of constructive competition and not a brute force based on brutal devastating instinct.
Acting upon this, brothers and friends in our nation and humanity, we give our promise and make the Capable and the Great, our witness for our promise.
And acting upon this also, we have prepared our plans and muster our strength at the level of armies, people and leadership after placing our reliance on God . All success is from God.
Allah is the greatest
Allah is the greatest
The rulers of Baghdad in the past grew old. They renounced the role so commanded for them by God and deterred those who were responsible for their subjects from introducing innovations in their life affairs and defence of it when Hulegu came to the walls of Baghdad in the year 1258. Thus Hulegu came with the sunset and the rule passed to him with Baghdad as its capital. The Mongols succeeded and the sun set down from Baghdad at that time.
But now, despite Hulegu's spirit has settled in whomsoever it has settled; in their actions, in what they did, or in what they are now doing, or in what they intend to do, of those who have been incited by the criminal Zionists in more than a place in the world, they have come to confront our nation at a time when the sons of our nation are embracing inside their souls and breasts, a great faith and a great state of consciousness of their role and of how it should be in order that they attain what it must be attained, and thus the nation could revert to its true belief, and could, with its Jihad and struggle, realize a true ascent to its great, faithful, pan-Arab and humanitarian role.
Hulegu's army has now come at this age to confront Baghdad after it has born anew with the sunrise, to record, with its new youth, a level of ascent which suits it well after it has abandoned its leading role for about seven hundred years.
O Iraqis, you have indeed brought the sun back to Baghdad, and have shined in it at the time the city has been illuminated by you. But oh, how can a new Hulegu destroy the city or the great Iraq, and how can the brutal, the perfidious and the greedy, after God has ordained this nation to rise again, defeat the will of determination of your brothers in Palestine as well or wherever the will of truth, steadfastness and resistance has ripened or blossomed in the breast of every believer who embraces a great confidence.
Oh people!
You know that the first human civilization in history was grown, blossomed and bore fruits in Iraq . From that civilization, the air carried its seeds to reach to whomever it could reach, who, according to his own personal opinion, added colour to it to suit his own country. For this reason, it is the mother of civilization of Iraq which Hulegu of this age wants to attack. So, tell him in a clear, loud voice, oh evil, halt your evil-doings against the mother of civilization, its museum and basic witness, the cradle and the birthplace of prophets and messengers. Tell him to let people, each in accordance with his human choice, to build, and to build and to build which is necessary for rising high the construction, for work, for fruitful cooperation and for the dissemination of love among people. Tell him to avoid provoking hatred and evil doings so that every one can enjoy his rights, full and complete, in such a manner that might please God and bring happiness for him in the two worlds.
Everyone in whose body the Hulegu's intent and action has settled down will commit suicide at the walls of Baghdad and Iraq towns, as was the case with those who died at the walls of Jenin and Palestinian towns.
The entire nation will rise up in defence of its right to life, of its role and of anything it holds sacred ... Their arrows will be on the wrong track or will recoil to their breasts, God willing, the martyrs of the nation will turn into green birds in paradise as the Merciful has promised.
Let evil be on he who thinks evil!
Long live our glorious nation!
Long live Iraq!
Long live Iraq with its brave jihadist army!
Long live Palestine, free and Arab from the sea to the river! Long live Palestine's freedom fighters and jihadists together with its heroic people!
Glory and heaven be for martyrs!
Glory and heaven be for the martyrs of Iraq, Palestine and the nation!
Allah is the greatest!
Allah is the greatest!
Allah is the greatest!

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