Economic and cultural turmoil within a nation always has a source. Iraq, a nation currently suffering from violence due to its history, was brought to its current state with the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein's government. The establishment of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in 1968 led to the promotion of the genocide of Kurdish citizens living in the nation (“Kurdish Uprising”). The Ba'ath Party blamed many non-Arab Kurds for most of the problems in the Arab states that led to the genocide (“Kurdistan Democratic Party”). This was just one of the extreme methods of governance used by Saddam Hussein to maintain power. Furthermore, Saddam Hussein was extremely manipulative and used this ability to his advantage to gain personal interests. By not ratifying the borders between Kuwait and Iraq, although these borders were clearly established in letters between the two governments, it allowed Saddam Hussein to intervene and use this to his advantage to take control of Kuwait ("Iraq until the 1958 revolution" ). Saddam Hussein is often known as Saddam Hussein's ruthless dictatorship characterized by extreme and repressive rule, alliances that ensured the continuation of his control, and his numerous refusals to conform to international regulations drove foreign involvement against Iraq. Through Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule, ethnic and religious groups were subjected to repression that eventually included foreign nations. One of these groups was the Kurdish people living in Iraq. Originally living in the nation of Kurdistan, a nation eliminated by the Allied powers after World War I, over 20 million Kurds lived in parts of Iran, Iran, Turkey, and Syria (PBS). Kurds were often used as pawns in Middle Eastern politics... middle of paper... q. Hussein spent months in hiding, but was later found. He has been accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was then sent back to Iraq to face his death sentence: he was hanged just north of Baghdad, in the Kadhimiya military base (EuroNews). It is clear that Saddam Hussein was willing to sacrifice the well-being of his people and break alliances with strong allies, as well as refuse requests from the United Nations Security Council to maintain control. Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule oppressed ethnic and religious groups in the Middle East, allowed him to forge alliances that ensured the continuation of his position of authority, and led him to believe that he could refuse to abide by international laws. All of this resulted in foreign involvement against Iraq and ultimately contributed to the problematic situation in the country today.