Although Saddam Hussein was badly beaten in the Gulf War, some NIU professors believe it’s too early to tell whether he will stay in power or not.

Political Science Professor Lawrence Finkelstein said Hussein does not pose a threat to the whole Middle East region now. However, there are still “lots of bridges to cross and in the long run he may be a problem,” he said.

Finkelstein said he believes it would have been “nice to get rid of him (Hussein),” but added he supports the decisions the president made.

“What (Bush) did was right,” he said.

Rodolphe De Seife, professor in the College of Law, said he hopes Hussein does not still pose a threat to the Middle East, but believes it is very difficult to determine whether he will in the future.

When asked whether he believes Bush pulled out of Kuwait too quickly, De Seife said the president did pull out too soon if his objective was to get rid of Saddam Hussein.

De Seife said he believes Hussein should at least be brought to trial.

He added that if his objective was to free Kuwait, Bush made the correct decision in deciding to pull out when he did.

Professor of Philosophy Sherman Stanage said he does not support Congress or the president. He added he believes the decision to begin the war was “one of those tremendously bad calls Congress has made.”

He said if President Bush wanted to remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, then “clearly he called the war to an end too abruptly.”

“For a person who did not support the war in the first place it is difficult to say whether of not we should still be there,” he added.

Although the United States’ and other allied armies, forced Iraq out of Kuwait, Hussein’s army continues to suppress the Kurdish rebels.

Stanage said although he believes the government underestimated the staying power of Hussein, he does not believe Hussein can remain in power for long.