Passport

Saddam Hussein had a nickname?

Saddam’s nickname while in U.S. custody was apparently “Vic.” U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Doug Stone explains in an interview with CNN’s Kyra Phillips: Ah, a little-known secret,” Stone said. “When he came here there was a debate. Do you call him Mr. President? No, that doesn’t sound very good. What do you call him?” Hussein ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

Saddam's nickname while in U.S. custody was apparently "Vic." U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Doug Stone explains in an interview with CNN's Kyra Phillips:

Saddam’s nickname while in U.S. custody was apparently “Vic.” U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Doug Stone explains in an interview with CNN’s Kyra Phillips:

Ah, a little-known secret,” Stone said. “When he came here there was a debate. Do you call him Mr. President? No, that doesn’t sound very good. What do you call him?”

Hussein also had a prisoner number, but that wasn’t going to work as a name either.

“One day he looked across at us and said why do you have initials by my name?” Stone said. “And we said, well, that stands for ‘Very Important Criminal'” … and he said, ‘OK, that’s what I want to be called.'”

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

Read More On Iraq | Middle East and North Africa

Latest

What to Know as COP28 Begins

The Man Who Conned the World

Does Democracy Really Die in Darkness?

Confusion and Ambition Caused the My Lai Atrocities

What Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ Gets Wrong About War
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    The Inevitable Fall of Putin’s New Russian Empire
  2. 2
    What Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ Gets Wrong About War
  3. 3
    Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.

Trending

  1. What Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ Gets Wrong About War
    Review
    Franz-Stefan Gady

  2. Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
    Argument
    Annie Sparrow

  3. The Inevitable Fall of Putin’s New Russian Empire
    Analysis
    Alexander J. Motyl

  4. Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
    Obituary
    Michael Hirsh

  5. Does Democracy Really Die in Darkness?
    Review
    Bronwen Everill