Saddam in leisure wear. Saddam on his way to the beach. Saddam dressed as a sheikh. The list goes on. In many ways, Iraq has echoes of a communist state.
Bureaucracy is part of everyday life.
If you want to have breakfast, you need vouchers. If you want two extra blankets, you have to sign three pieces of paper. They walked in to the restaurant and sat down to order dinner. Only when we left did my dinner companions tell me that those three were Baath Socialist Party members. But while the people suffer, the sanctions have made Saddam a rich man.