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Lebanese basketball superstar Fadi El Khatib said that Lebanon is in need of a dictator such as Saddam Hussein to bring it back on its feet in an interview that aired on Sawt Beirut International (Lebanon) on January 17, 2021, because Saddam was a "real man." He said: "We are not a democratic nation [...] "democracy is not suitable for us." El Khatib explained that this is because "people are egotistical," but when you have a dictator, people who spread strife do not exist. He said: "I demand to have a dictator who will get rid of the people in power." El Khatib then elaborated that such a leader would not abide by quotas and political agreements, he would not say: "take this ministry and give me that one", rather he would put you in jail or finish you off.
Interviewer: "Who is the quintessential leader who could have saved Lebanon? The martyred Prime Minister Rafic Hariri? The vanished imam Musa Al-Sadr? Or the martyred President Bachir Gemayel?"
Fadi El Khatib: "There is another name that I wish you had included here."
Interviewer: "I think I know who you mean."
El Khatib: "Who?"
Interviewer: "You say it."
El Khatib: "Saddam Hussein."
Interviewer: "Why?"
El Khatib: "I would rather have President Saddam Hussein than all the others. First of all, he's a real man. He held on to his positions. Regardless of whether he was oppressive or not, he built a country where nobody dared to raise his head. We are not a democratic nation. Democracy will never allow us to rule ourselves by ourselves. Democracy is not suitable for us and I will tell you why. Because people are egotistical. There are always people who seek to spread strife, but when you have a dictator, these people do not exist."
[...]
Interviewer: "You are a symbol of the revolution, yet you demand to have a dictator."
El Khatib: "I demand to have a dictator who will get rid of the people in power, not of the revolution. He would get rid of the people who sit on their thrones. If we had such a person in place, none of these people would raise their heads. If we put a person like Saddam Hussein in place, none of these people will dare to raise his head. I'll tell you why. Because such [a leader] will not abide by quotas and [political] agreements. He will not say: 'Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.' This is why Saddam Hussein or someone like him would have succeeded here. He would not have it if you tell him: 'Take this ministry and give me that one.' He would put you in jail or finish you off. This is what would put the country back on its feet."
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