Trump Is Clueless on Saddam and Terror

Donald Trump praised Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for his handling of terrorists at a Tuesday campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. Right? He was a bad guy, really bad guy," Trump said. "But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights—they didn't talk, they were a terrorist, it was over."

Trump has made similar claims in the past. And on this, as with so many other things, Trump is…confused. It's worth taking some time to set the record straight.

Saddam Hussein killed some terrorists, no doubt. But if we're evaluating Hussein's record as a leader—honestly, it's hard to believe I just typed those words—it's far more important to look at his support over several decades for terrorists of all kinds, including, yes, the jihadists we're still fighting today.

On the one hand, there is Trump's opinion. On the other, a 2008 Pentagon study, based on 600,000 Iraqi regime documents captured in postwar Iraq, that concluded: "Evidence shows that Saddam's use of terrorist tactics and his support for terrorist groups remained strong up until the collapse of the regime."