"My meetings with Saddam Hussein gave me a fairly accurate picture of him. He was strong-willed, unscrupulous, authoritarian, but undoubtedly intelligent. And then he managed to “turn around” the unfavourable course of the war with Iran thanks to a political agreement. Of course, he had used chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan. Of course, he ruthlessly stifled any hint of insubordination. But everything he was accused of took place in conditions that drastically ruled out any organised reaction or sanctions by the international community, which was divided by confrontation and opposition. Today, however, as a new world order based on collaboration and interaction emerges, committing an act of aggression is tantamount to committing suicide. It is impossible, I told myself, that Saddam Hussein does not realise this. (p. 145)"