In the Spanish Civil War Franco's emergent fascist regime was aided by the fascist regimes of both Italy and Germany. The later used the conflict to test out equipment and tactics. Any confrontation would have had no effect in either Italy or Germany.

Wolfgang, there are more similarities that dissimilarities as long as you set the time frames (Art's is 1937, McGoH's is 1938 & 1939, mine is 1936).

1937 - Hitler had already re-occupied the Rhineland and his rearmament programme was well under way. The Austrian Anchluss had been accepted by the international community.

1938 & 1939 - All of the above except that Germany now had the Sudatenland, plus Czechoslovakia and had prepared the carve up of Poland in conjunction with Stalin's Russia under the terms of the non-aggression pact.

1936 - In power for three years, secretly rearming with personnel being trained in tank warfare in Russia, submariners being trained in Italy. Coming out of a major domestic (internal) rebuilding/restructuring programme without any hope of being able to raise the finances to pay for it.

The impression that Germany was a strong industrial economic centre in the years 1933 to 1936 was an illusion - a bubble that was about to burst.

Some more similarities:

1. Both countries are ruled by National Socialist Governments. (The Ba'ath Party in both Syria and Iraq are modelled on the German National Socialist Party)

2. Both leaders on suceeding to power carried out ruthless purges of their party faithful.

3. Both undertook programmes to improve the domestic situation of their civilian populations.

4. Both set out clearly in print what they felt that their chosen mission was (Hitler Mein Kampf - defeat of Communism and extermination of the Jews: Saddam Hussein Annihilation of the State of Israel).

5. Both believed that the International Organisations would go for the laissez-faire option and leave them severely alone.

6. The obvious one - both had moustaches (to-days version being a great deal more luxurient than his later-day counter-parts - might make him more dangerous!)

Amos:

"I do not believe that Saddam is the catastrophe a-borning that Bush's apartchiks paint. But the similarities -- cunning, brutality, megalomania, indifference to suffering and the will to resort to extreme -- even excessive -- measures-- are disturbing."

If he manages to hoodwink us this time round and does get his hands on a nuclear weapon - this guy could make Hitler look like a boy-scout.