Ever since, the country could be held together only by an iron fist: Iraq’s history is replete with Shia, Kurdish, and even Christian Assyrian revolts, all put down in bloody fashion by the ruling Sunni minority. Throughout its history, modern Iraq has always been the most oppressive of the Arab countries.
从那以后，只有铁腕才能够确保国家的统一：伊拉克的历史上遍布着什叶派、库尔德人，甚至是基督教亚速人的叛乱，但都敌不过逊尼少数派统治者的血腥镇压。纵观其历史，现代伊拉克在所有阿拉伯国家中是压迫最严重的。萨达姆的统治也仅仅是一长串的逊尼政权中最暴虐的一个。