Here why president Saddam Hussein was actually kind of good, and how Saddam's Iraq was one of the most successful and advanced socialist countries in the third world

Before Saddam, Iraq was illiterate and destitute. During Saddam, more labor laws were introduced and wages were fairer. There was also workplace democracy, elections, and over 80% of the economy was nationalized

Basic healthcare was free for everyone, and cheap for anything that requires more than a simple visit to the doctor, not to mention that medicine prices were heavily discounted by the state so they could be affordable for everyone
https://borgenproject.org/6-facts-about-healthcare-in-iraq/

Education was free to everyone. This included college and graduate level education, and refusing to send your child to school by the age of six was illegal. And yes, girls were given the same educational opportunities as boys
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Iraq

Iraq was soon after awarded The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize for eradicating illiteracy in 1982, just three years after Saddam became president
https://iraqsolidaridad.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/illiteracy-rate-in-iraq-climbs-among-highest-in-the-region/

Women had much more rights and freedoms than before and after Saddam, were far more respected and they were free to go to school and university and work

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/26289/iraq-women-were-more-respected-under-saddam-say-women%E2%80%99s-groups

Water and electricity were made available to every city and village in Iraq, villages were built to provide farmers with better living standards, with at least one school and clinic per village, and modern highways were constructed all over the country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dams_and_reservoirs_in_Iraq

Farmers were empowered by the state. Every farmer was given pieces of land, loans, modern machinery, discounted seeds and water supplies, and every other resource necessary for them to make a living. This also included the biggest land reclamation project in the history of Iraq.

Before Saddam, the majority of of land was inarable in the beginning of the century. Saddam's river, among other projects, was constructed to fight this problem.

https://books.google.ie/books?ei=oMvOUK7jEY72zAT9k4FQ&id=nchvC9H4kvkC&redir_esc=y&hl=en

Through the 1970s and 1980s, there was an increased quality of life which even the Economist admits
https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2007/01/04/the-blundering-dictator

He ensured that families of Iraqi soldiers and officials received pensions and state support, and he also sponsored and promoted culture and the arts. Ballet, dance, and the promotion of cultural literacy and music education rose under his influence.

In 2006, following that shameful trial and execution, an Iraqi Christian interviewed by Al-Jazeera said of him: “We were heartbroken for him.”

Saddam was praised for his generosity. In 1980, Rev. Jacob Yasso of the Chaldean Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Detroit congratulated Hussein on his Presidency. Hussein later heard that Rev. Yasso’s Church was suffering from debts, and he paid them off. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/guess-who-got-the-key-to-detroit/

He was not a threat to the US, but he got in the way of western interests. In the end, he was toppled by forces that had destroyed countless other countries with similar aspirations
https://nation.com.pk/28-Apr-2016/iraq-war-a-mistake-saddam-was-no-threat-to-us-hagel

When they Killed Saddam, Iraq went into ruin. Even a CIA officer who interrogated him said “Saddam Hussein should have been left to run Iraq“

https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2fnews%2fworldviews%2fwp%2f2016%2f12%2f16%2fsaddam-hussein-should-have-been-left-to-run-iraq-says-cia-officer-who-interrogated-him%2f

Many articles criticizing Saddam do so by pointing out that Iraq had been placed on the US list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism,” first in 1979 and then again in 1990. It was only on the list because it opposed western interests.
https://time.com/4398786/trump-hussein-killing-terrorists/

There have also been articles claiming that Saddam attempted to assassinate G.H.W Bush when he visited Kuwait., but after the 2003 invasion, Iraqi government files were thoroughly searched and there was no proof of Saddam being involved
https://www.newsweek.com/saddams-files-84273

Saddam was also falsely accused of supporting terrorist, specifically the 9/11 attack in cooperation with Iran. But the US used this to justify starting a war, which was quite profitable for oil companies and the military industrial complex
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/12/september11.usa2

The Iran-Iraq war was caused by Iran, but was declared by Iraq. Iran had been committing several border violations against Iraq, and Iraqi ships were being inspected by Iranian forces, among other things

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1148666?seq=1

50,000–100,000 Kurds died over the course of 8 years (in a war that killed over 1 million), many being militants and terrorists who were murdering Iraqis for the sake of a lunatic jihadist bent on conquering Iraq
https://www.facebook.com/US-Advocates-for-an-Independent-Iraq-1209845072419825/videos/1238604076210591/

If Saddam was committing “genocide” then he would have killed them in the hundreds of thousands, or the millions. Targeted (for non-ethnic reasons)? Yes, but not put up for extermination, which some some seem to believe.

A shit-ton of leftists are going to complain about how Saddam persecuted communists and union leaders

While yes, I don't like him in this regard, many communists also did that, such as Tito, who persecuted MLs, and Thomas Sankara, who persecuted Union leaders and banned unions

I am not a Ba'athist, I acknowledge his mistakes and problems, but he did far more good than bad

Saddam helped drastically improve the lives of tens of millions of people, but even hardcore tankies who defend North Korea are not free from the slander against Saddam