"One of the most famous sayings of the defunct Sadam was that if anybody tried to remove him and his clan from power, they would have to receive Iraq as a land empty of people." --Alaa the Mesopotamian

My mother used to repeat this saying often in the late 80s and especially in the 90s. One of my cousins told me before the invasion that he was afraid that the hardcore Ba'athists would burn the country and poison the rivers if overthrown. Read Alaa's post about the bombing of the Mansur Hotel - it's a good one.