Is Saddam Hussein Guilty of Genocide?

Note: this post or fragment of a post is not very topical - I wrote it a while ago in response to a news item about Saddam Hussein being tried for genocide against the Kurdish people and / or the "Marsh Arabs". I can't remember if I wanted to add to it, and if so what.

Is Saddam Hussein Guilty of Genocide?

Genocide means the system extermination of an entire race. Happily many Kurds survive, so Saddam did not commit genocide. Did he attempt genocide? A question for his trial, perhaps, but for all his callous disregard for human life, I doubt he ever intended to commit genocide.

Mass murder is horrific but let's not confuse that with genocide. For all their horror, Saddam's crimes are no more a genocide than Dresden, Hiroshima or Passchendaele were. Let's be grateful for that.