Saddam repositioned from Gulf order defender to Robin Hood figure

Evidence

In another perception, often linked with the first, his role model—not named of course—is not so much Nasser or Saladin, as Robin Hood. This involved an abrupt switch. During the war with Iran, Saddam Hussein was the defender of the sheikhly order in the Gulf against Iranian revolutionary subversion. In his new role, he is himself the subverter of rich and tyrannical old regimes, in the name of social justice and pan-Arab egalitarianism. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1700

Categorization

• XREF: The chameleon Saddam whom the West once propped up — feeds the hypocrisy/representation cluster about how Western powers manufacture regional strongmen then rediscover them as monsters.