Saddam Hussein was, until recently, the president of Iraq. He is the most recognized, and the most vicious, leader of Iraq that ever existed. He did anything possible to ensure his title as ruler, and consequently followed many of the principals that Niccolo Machiavelli set up in his book, The Prince, which was intended as a manual for weak rulers to gain and preserve political power.

Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq in 1979, after a number of manipulative moves to ensure his power. A rising star in the Ba'ath Party, which stood for economic modernization, and socialism, Saddam played a major role in the overthrow of government power in 1968 that brought the Ba'aath Party to power. Saddam carefully cultivated his relationships with fellow party members, and he soon gained a powerful circle of like-minded friends, many related to him by blood or marriage.

As Iraq's elderly President Ahmed...