Former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim: Iraq Needs A Benevolent Dictator Like Saddam Hussein To Collect The Weapons Held By The Shiite And Sunni Factions

Former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim said in a March 22, 203 interview on BBC Arabic (U.K.) that Iraq needs a benevolent dictator to collect the weapons held by the Sunni and Shiite factions in Iraq. When the interviewed suggested that Iraq needs "another version of Saddam," bin Jassim agreed. He also said that Iraq's Shi'ites and Sunnis are equally Iraqi, and that their religious affiliation should remain their own business.

Hamad bin Jassim: "We should not distinguish between Sunnis and Shi'ites. They are all Iraqis. Most of them are from the same tribe. Iraq is an Arab [country] and we should treat them this way. Whether someone is Shi'ite or Sunni – that is his business, in my opinion. We should return to the basics – they are an important part of the Arab world."

Interviewer: "Is there any way to force these factions to give up their weapons? Any internal or external way?"

Hamad bin Jassim: "I think it requires a benevolent dictator."

Interviewer: "This is something I have heard in some Iraqi-Sunni cities, and even in Shi'ite cities, to tell you the truth. They say that Iraq needs another version of Saddam."

Hamad bin Jassim: "That is true. That is the truth."