The participation if women in some armies in the world is in reality only symbolic. The talk about the role of Zionist women in fighting with the combat units of the enemy in the war of 5 June 1967 was intended more as propaganda than anything real or substantial. It was calculated to intensify and compound the adverse psychological effects of the war by exploiting the backward outlook of large sections of Arab society and their role in the community. The intention was to achieve adverse psychological effects by saying to Arabs that they were defeated, in 1967, by women.

However Egypt's strong material and diplomatic support for Iraq in the war with Iran led to warmer relations and numerous contacts between senior officials despite the continued absence of ambassadorial-level representation. He also expressed a wish to have a live televised debate with George W.

In the early 1970s Saddam nationalized oil and other industries. He suppressed several movements particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements seeking to overthrow the government or gain independence respectively and maintained power during the Iran–Iraq War of 1980 through 1988. Whereas some[who?] venerated him for his opposition to Israel– which included the use of military force–he was widely condemned in the west for the brutality of his dictatorship.