Editor's note: This post originally appeared on Quora, as an answer to the question, "Is Iraq a safer place now compared to what it was like during Saddam Hussein's regime? We have republished the answer with permission from the author.
I'm an Iraqi citizen and was just shy of four months old when the Iran-Iraq war ended. At three, I survived Gulf War I and then lived through the economic sanctions for the next 12 or so years. At age 15, I witnessed Gulf War II and spent my teenage years struggling through its aftermath. So needless to say, I spent my early years during Saddam's worst days; that is, when he turned from America's favorite ally to its sworn enemy.
But was it really safer back then? Did America really help? Or was it actually worse before 2003? Personally, I think those are all misguided questions and here is why:
Iraq was a wealthy nation throughout the '70s and '80s, despite the fact that it underwent an eight-year long war with its neighboring nation, Iran. The graph below closely follows the timeline I gave in Iraq: Did the west encourage Saddam Hussein to attack and invade Iran in 1980? If so, how did they do it?. A decline is recorded around 1980 (the beginning of Iraq's war with Iran), followed by a steady recovery starting 1982, and coinciding with America's very public financial and political support for Iraq.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-life-in-iraq-was-like-under-saddam-hussein-2014-7#ixzz36UuJbCHX
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