Saddam prioritized WMD over both his people’s welfare and his army

Evidence

Saddam Hussein’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction raises another issue. The possession of such weapons is clearly his first priority. For it, he is willing to sacrifice the health and lives of countless Iraqis, through the effect of sanctions that he could end at any time simply by complying with U.N. resolutions and with the terms of the 1991 cease-fire. Even without ending his defiance, he could still have spared his people suffering by using his not inconsiderable income to fund life rather than death. No less significant, though rarely mentioned, is his willingness to sacrifice his conventional weaponry to the same purpose. In tanks, guns, and the like, the Iraqi armed forces are in a parlous state. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1662

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 1662
• XREF: connects to: Saddam prioritized weapons of mass destruction over the welfare of Iraqis.
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Saddam prioritized weapons of mass destruction over the welfare of Iraqis.

Broader Connections

• Saddam prioritized weapons of mass destruction over the welfare of Iraqis. #expands (0.95)