Category: News and Views
OK, guys, I'm surprised no one has brought this up yet, so I will. Word is that they plan to execute Saddam Hussein by hanging him, in less than a week, possibly within the next 36 hours. What do you guys think about it? What do you think the repercussions will be once it has happened?
Personally, they can't execute the MF-ing SOB soon enough for my tastes. Why don't they tape it live, and broadcast the entire event all over the damn Internet and CNN, just like the terrorists did when they beheaded our people, or our allies?
The huge downside is that I think it wil make the situation in Iraq a lot worse. Once the terrorists see Saddam Hussein as a martyr, the shit is really going to hit the fan, as if it hasn't already.
So, I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts.
I agree. It can't be done soon enough. But on the other hand, it is probably too late. Just like if we ever do find Bin Laden like we've supposedly been trying to do, it will be too late.
Get on with it! although in saying that, hanging is nowhere near as bad as that suffered by the Kurds in the gas attacks. I dread the smug self satisfied gloating of bush et al, when news of the dictator's death finally reaches the west.He is doing this to further his election campaign, and no one should forget, it was Bush senior who is responsible for the gas attacks when the imbecile told the Kurds to rise against Huseein and america would back them up...LIAR!.
Personally I've never found the philosophy behind capital punishment to make any sense what so ever. There just seems to be a major floor in the logic of a nation saying, "Well, are we ever going to teach you a lesson for killing all those people. In fact, just to show you how wrong killing is, we're going to kill you". Because of course that makes so much sense.
In the first post to this thread it was even suggested that we should televise this execution so as to show the terrorists that we can kill people too. What a brilliant idea. If we're going to stoop down to their level by killing people then why not go the whole hog and do it on live TV too. Let's really show these backward people how far hundreds of years of civilization have brought us.
Have any of you ever actually stopped to think about what you are saying? Even for a second? I mean consider this. Also in the first thread it was said that we should show Saddam's execution to the World on television because that was what those horrible nasty terrorists had done to allied soldiers. But now let me ask you this. Who are we to say that there cause isn't anymore just in there eye's than our cause is in ours?
My point is this. Whether or not we agree with the terrorists point of view, it is their point of view. It's extremely arrogant to take the view that we're right and they're wrong just because our governments, and by proxy the media, say it's so.
I do completely agree with one part of post one though. Namely that Saddam's execution will only achieve one thing, and that's to give these terrorists a martyr and how on earth can that be good for anybody.
I realize that this post is a bit rambly so I'll do my best to sum up by saying this.
The whole reason for going into Iraq apparently was to remove Saddam from power, and to show the Middle East what an effective way of living the Western way could be. Democratically elected government, capitalism etc. etc. But by executing Saddam you are really sending the message that underneath all the sophistication, we're little more than savages still and really haven't progressed very far at all.
Dan.
Hi, all. Dan, I do understand your views on capital punishment. I don't necessarily agree, but I do understand your logic. What I do not understand is how you can almost sound sympathetic to the terrorists. What possible viewpoint justifies killing thousands of people by crashing two planes into the WTC, and trying to kill more by heading for the Pentagon, and possibly even the Whitehouse?
Okay my 2 cents worth. America isn't executing the man at all. It's the laws of his country that are making this possible. I do disagree that it should be shown on TV or whatever, but I do agree with the end and the means, although I believe that it will cause more strife.
I also see Bin Laden coming up in this as well. My question is how can we be sure he's still around just because we see video and maybe hear his voice? These people are good planners, and I'd think in the case of his death they'd have something setup to keep him alive in the hearts of his followers. Think about that.
I totally agree with Dan aka Harp on this one.
And, I must admit, I'm a little surprised at the indifference to God's will by supposed Christians.
As has been said elsewhere, killing this bastard will accomplish nothing but give the terrorists a Martyr, and give us the same sort of thrill we could get from a good old witch hunt.
Standing up for the sanctity of life is in no way absolving the terrorists of their stupid hanus acts on September eleven; it is showing that we truly believe in the civilization we pretend to defend.
Oh well, hipocrasy never ceases to amaze me.
Bob
Couple of quick thoughts here...
First, Bob, I am confused. What do you mean by God's will? If you are referring to capital punishment, there are actually biblical passages that demand it. Read Leviticus lately? Btw, there is also a sanction of the same in Romans...
I doubt that we are going to change the terrorists point of view, being that we are evil and deserve to be destroyed, by releasing Saddam, and merely by holding him prisoner, we are giving them further incentive to fight us, in hopes of getting him out.
Third, Dan, It is my point of view that I have the right to take your stereo, and computer. When I act on this point of view, will you give me the same leverage you give the terrorists?
The one area that I disagree with in the whole post is that I don't want to see it televised. The last thing anyone needs to see is more bloodshed. This whether they are the terrorists, (who would use it as fuel for thier cause,) or Americans. It does us no good to watch him hang. I feel no joy at his death. In many ways it does little good, but on the other hand, this particular terrorist can no longer cause others pain.
You see Dawn, the moment you start asking me questions like that, as though everything Britain and America have done can be justified because of what happened on September 11th, you are in fact treading on very thin ice because neither Britain or America have lead blameless existence's where needless killing supposedly in a just cause is concerned.
I know I said somewhere else on the boards recently that people are under a common misconception, namely that September 11th 2001 was the start of something. It wasn't though. Terrorism has been happening for different reasons all round the World for many years, and here's the important factor here, the reasons behind terrorism have been going on for far far longer than that, and those reasons, like to face the fact or not, are down to the wonderful wonderful western powers sticking their collective nose's in, often where they haven't been needed.
It's very easy for us to jump up and down and get all righteous and say that we're a force for good and that everybody is evil, George W has been pretty much justifying everything for the last 5 years using this method, but really you need to try and look beyond that.
I'm certainly not sympathetic to the terrorists no. Not at all, not even for a second. I don't agree with killing whatever the reason. However I refuse to accept this black and white argument that we're often presented with that says that the terrorists are nothing better than evil doers who are running round the World indiscriminately killing without any cause what so ever just because it's an interesting alternative to Golf! While the allied powers are the most upright, transparent collection of human beings you could ever wish to meet and really of course Mister Blaire and Mister Bush would really rather be kissing newly born children on the head and smiling at cameras, and of course they will but first they have to beet back the forces of darkness from our boarders.
I think that you mistake my need to try and understand the motives of these people for sympathy though, but the two things aren't to be confused. I'll say it again. Killing is wrong. My point though is that that rule applies just as much to Britain and America as it does to any terrorist organization. We're extremely good at vilifying everybody else for killing, so why does it suddenly become acceptable when it is us doing the killing?
To you PurringTurtle I can say only this. I think you asked the question about taking my computer and stereo in the belief that I'd suddenly sit back and rethink everything I'd said above. Well, it didn't because yes, I'd afford you exactly the same leverage as I do these terrorists. namely I'd do my best to understand your motives but ultimately wouldn't agree with your actions. If the point of that question was to make this personal and therefore to change my focus then, it failed.
Dan.
Easy, people. Easy. I include myself in this. I looked back over this thread, and realize that even I may have been too harsh here. I don't want to make this personal. This board is for discussion, not attack of each other. If I have attacked anyone here, I sincerely apologize. I guess it goes to show that we all have strong feelings regarding this issue, as I think we all have a right to. I just never meant this to turn us all on each other.
Dan, I certainly do not think America or England is perfect. Far from it. We've pulled some serious messed-up stunts in our day as a nation, no matter who the President was. Bush is not the first president to make stupid choices, nor will he be the last. I don't like killing, either. However, it's a very sad reality of the world we live in. While I don't agree with the way everything got handled, I also don't think we should have just curled up into a nice peaceful ball after September 11.
I guess it all comes down to what is justice, and what is vengance. Justice is right, vengance is not. Unfortunately, some times that gets to be a really, really thin, gray line. and vengance is so very tempting to want. At any rate, I don't claim to have all the answers, or that all of you guys should think as I do. Again, I'm sorry if I attacked any persons here, rather than just disagreeing with their ideas.
Dan,
I know you are not going to change your views. I don't expect you to. My point was not actually a personal attack as much as an addmitted attack on a value system that I disagree with. We as humans do tend to think of some actions, (killing and theft among them) as being evil. Are we are willing to excuse those actions if we think the person had a good reason? The problem with all grey thinking is it allows those actions along with those of altruism. Without a standard code of ethics, agreed to by all man, my "theft," would be just as culturally appropriate as petting a puppy. We have to have concrete morality, or they really do have just as much right to kill as I have to walk the streets. I apologize for coming off personally attacking. I still disagree with you, but hopefully you see my reasoning a little better now.
I share in common with Dan & Bob the sentiments which both of them expressed very eloquently. Dan touched upon the discourse of cultural superiority & self-righteousness prevalent among some American & Western policy-makers & perpetuated by the mainstream media. This discourse reflects an asymmetrical power relations between the West & the less developed countries in Asia & Africa. It gets translated into a strong Western drive to dominate & control these countries. No surprise then, that someone like Saddam would be demonised by American & British politicians & their audience would cheer & ask for televising his execution. To drive the message home & make it easier to understand, American readers of this posting should try to imagine what would have happened to President Truman had the US lost World War II. After all he ordered the dropping of nuclear bombs on Japan which led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians. Had America lost the war, President Truman would have been tried as a war criminal & the Japanese & probably most of the world public would have cheered for his execution.
However, I am completely baffled by the association of Saddam's execution with the events of September 11 2001. Even President Bush & vice president Cheyney, the two who worked hard on selling this idea to the gullible American public to justify the invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003 have lately retracted their statements. The heinous attacks of September 11th were the working of a clandestine religious extremist organization called al-Qaeda which was at the time operating from Afghanistan. Saddam's regime in Iraq was a secular nationalist one who was in fact viewed with hostility, by al-Qaeda & was labeled as an infidel by this organization. One of the biggest ironies is that the only part of Iraq which allowed religious extremists to operate in Iraq was the American-protected Kurdish region in the North. I suppose that both the Kurds & their American proteges shared the same hatred towards Saddam & that's why they allowed Ansar-ul-Islam (supporters of Islam) to have some training grounds in the Kurdish region with the hope of Using them to overthrow his regime. All other parts of Iraq which were under the firm control of Saddam in the South & the center were off limits to al-Qaeda & its affiliates, or any opposition groups for that matter. It is the American invasion which toppled Saddam's regime that opened-up Iraq for al-Qaeda & its followers & sympathizers.
One of the most frustrating things about this discussion is the serious lack of knowledge about the geography of the region & its recent history. Those who are impatiently awaiting Saddam's execution because of what Happened in September 11 can start their celebrations now, because he will be dead in the next few hours if he has not been killed already. But they should also learn that Afghanistan where the attacks were planned & ordered is at least one thousand miles away from Iraq. One must cross Iran & Pakistan to reach the mountainous region Where al-Qaeda's leadership was entrenched.
I think that Saddam's execution will be inconsequential. He has been out of power for four years, & generally disliked by all segments of Iraqi society. Most Iraqis are, & will be for a long time, preoccupied with the overwhelming problems caused by the American-led invasion. The joy of revenge against a dictator will be overshadowed by people's struggle to keep themselves & their children alive in a bloody civil war. So if the American occupation of Iraq was to free the Iraqis from Saddam & improve their living conditions, then it is obvious that the occupation has failed miserably. The living conditions for the average Iraqis under Saddam were certainly much better than the current realities. If the invasion of Iraq was to Avenge the gassing of the Kurds at the end of the Iraq-Iran war in 1988, Then we must raise a number of such important questions as: How did Saddam obtain the material needed for manufacturing the chemical weapons he used against the Kurds of Halabja & its surrounding villages? Why did the American & Western governments downplay the alarming news of the massacres when they were reported by Amnesty International & other human rights organizations at the time? & Why did we wait so long to avenge the massacres of the Kurds? etc.
Thank you for posting, HappyMan. See, when you post logically about all this, I really do see where you're coming from. I think you're about the first of us on this board, including me, that has posted with logic, not emotion, and I appreciate that.
This was just reported on the Huffington post:
"BBC: Execution Was Filmed...
BBC News | December 29, 2006 at 10:29 PM
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been executed by hanging at an unspecified location, reports say.
Iraqi TV said the execution took place just before 0600 local time (0300GMT). It was witnessed by a doctor, lawyer and officials. It was also filmed."
So, if we are lucky we can get a tape of the sounds of his hanging and post them here on the zone. Wouldn't that be great?
Bob
HappyMan,
You made some interesting points.. However, my thoughts on Saddam acting as a terrorist were actually pointed at his attacks on his own people. Both the Kurds, and the Shiites that disagreed with him, who were killed under his regime. These were not even the casualties of war, as were those lost in Japan. I am not saying I think we did right there, I believe that the atom bomb's use in such populated areas is more than regrettable. However, that at least can be covered by the fact that we were in war to protect innocents. Not excused, but we were hitting points of strategic military interest in hopes of ending the war.
This is so exciting!
---
Once again from the Huffington Post:
Fox News First To Show Execution Footage...Freezes Video After Noose Put Around Hussein's Neck...
The video has been released to certain news agencies, and Fox has put it up, freezing it before the critical moment. The video, with Arabic writing on the
screen, shows Saddam in a long black overcoat being walked, handcuffed, to the gallows by about four or five men wearing black balaclavas. The rope is
huge and thick - the noose is enormous - and one man holds a black cloth around Saddam's neck before the noose is placed around it. Saddam is not fighting
back, and does not seem to be reacting, really, either way, though at one point he does have an exchange with the hangman. Two men put the noose around
his neck, and tightened. At this point the videotape freezes; according to Fox it seems that they received the video that way, frozen at that moment. They
are replaying continuously; it last for about 45 seconds. It showed at approximately 3:55 a.m.
-----
It's too bad they froze the film, maybe it would show the gore that comes from a human's body when hanged, maybe
, if there were sound, we could hear his gasps and pleas for mercy and the fear in his voice....
Oh this is just so great!
I'll be sure to update you if more detailed information becomes available. Just wish the press weren't so squeamish, then we could show the footage in our churches, and to our kids, wouldn't that be great?
Laters fellow Christians.
Bob
Blboby, your last postings are hilarious. Here is an article which I think some readers may find very interesting.
December 30, 2006
The Independent (UK)
A Dictator Created Then Destroyed by America
Robert Fisk
Saddam to the gallows. It was an easy equation. Who could be more deserving
of that last walk to the scaffold - that crack of the neck at the end of a
rope - than the Beast of Baghdad, the Hitler of the Tigris, the man who
murdered untold hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis while spraying
chemical weapons over his enemies? Our masters will tell us in a few hours
that it is a "great day" for Iraqis and will hope that the Muslim world will
forget that his death sentence was signed - by the Iraqi "government", but
on behalf of the Americans - on the very eve of the Eid al-Adha, the Feast
of the Sacrifice, the moment of greatest forgiveness in the Arab world.
But history will record that the Arabs and other Muslims and, indeed, many
millions in the West, will ask another question this weekend, a question
that will not be posed in other Western newspapers because it is not the
narrative laid down for us by our presidents and prime ministers - what
about the other guilty men?
No, Tony Blair is not Saddam. We don't gas our enemies. George W Bush is not
Saddam. He didn't invade Iran or Kuwait. He only invaded Iraq. But hundreds
of thousands of Iraqi civilians are dead - and thousands of Western troops
are dead - because Messrs Bush and Blair and the Spanish Prime Minister and
the Italian Prime Minister and the Australian Prime Minister went to war in
2003 on a potage of lies and mendacity and, given the weapons we used, with
great brutality.
In the aftermath of the international crimes against humanity of 2001 we
have tortured, we have murdered, we have brutalised and killed the innocent
- we have even added our shame at Abu Ghraib to Saddam's shame at Abu Ghraib
- and yet we are supposed to forget these terrible crimes as we applaud the
swinging corpse of the dictator we created.
Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war
crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half
souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which
he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who
controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most
obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed
over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course
not. Because that would also expose our culpability.
And the mass killings we perpetrated in 2003 with our depleted uranium
shells and our "bunker buster" bombs and our phosphorous, the murderous
post-invasion sieges of Fallujah and Najaf, the hell-disaster of anarchy we
unleashed on the Iraqi population in the aftermath of our "victory" - our
"mission accomplished" - who will be found guilty of this? Such expiation as
we might expect will come, no doubt, in the self-serving memoirs of Blair
and Bush, written in comfortable and wealthy retirement.
Hours before Saddam's death sentence, his family - his first wife, Sajida,
and Saddam's daughter and their other relatives - had given up hope.
"Whatever could be done has been done - we can only wait for time to take
its course," one of them said last night. But Saddam knew, and had already
announced his own "martyrdom": he was still the president of Iraq and he
would die for Iraq. All condemned men face a decision: to die with a last,
grovelling plea for mercy or to die with whatever dignity they can wrap
around themselves in their last hours on earth. His last trial appearance -
that wan smile that spread over the mass-murderer's face - showed us which
path Saddam intended to walk to the noose.
I have catalogued his monstrous crimes over the years. I have talked to the
Kurdish survivors of Halabja and the Shia who rose up against the dictator
at our request in 1991 and who were betrayed by us - and whose comrades, in
their tens of thousands, along with their wives, were hanged like thrushes
by Saddam's executioners.
I have walked round the execution chamber of Abu Ghraib - only months, it
later transpired, after we had been using the same prison for a few tortures
and killings of our own - and I have watched Iraqis pull thousands of their
dead relatives from the mass graves of Hilla. One of them has a
newly-inserted artificial hip and a medical identification number on his
arm. He had been taken directly from hospital to his place of execution.
Like Donald Rumsfeld, I have even shaken the dictator's soft, damp hand. Yet
the old war criminal finished his days in power writing romantic novels.
It was my colleague, Tom Friedman - now a messianic columnist for The New
York Times - who perfectly caught Saddam's character just before the 2003
invasion: Saddam was, he wrote, "part Don Corleone, part Donald Duck". And,
in this unique definition, Friedman caught the horror of all dictators;
their sadistic attraction and the grotesque, unbelievable nature of their
barbarity.
But that is not how the Arab world will see him. At first, those who
suffered from Saddam's cruelty will welcome his execution. Hundreds wanted
to pull the hangman's lever. So will many other Kurds and Shia outside Iraq
welcome his end. But they - and millions of other Muslims - will remember
how he was informed of his death sentence at the dawn of the Eid al-Adha
feast, which recalls the would-be sacrifice by Abraham, of his son, a
commemoration which even the ghastly Saddam cynically used to celebrate by
releasing prisoners from his jails. "Handed over to the Iraqi authorities,"
he may have been before his death. But his execution will go down -
correctly - as an American affair and time will add its false but lasting
gloss to all this - that the West destroyed an Arab leader who no longer
obeyed his orders from Washington, that, for all his wrongdoing (and this
will be the terrible get-out for Arab historians, this shaving away of his
crimes) Saddam died a "martyr" to the will of the new "Crusaders".
When he was captured in November of 2003, the insurgency against American
troops increased in ferocity. After his death, it will redouble in intensity
again. Freed from the remotest possibility of Saddam's return by his
execution, the West's enemies in Iraq have no reason to fear the return of
his Baathist regime. Osama bin Laden will certainly rejoice, along with Bush
and Blair. And there's a thought. So many crimes avenged.
But we will have got away with it.
Excellent article HappyMan as usual.
I have one more article to present. I was originally going to carry on my baffoonery about being excited about his execution, but, after reading this article, I don't feel like more baffoonery. I just feel sad that a human being has died while others just as culpable live on (see HappyMan's previous article. I am just as sad that so many of his enemies died at his hands for they too were once babes in arms as innocent as all little children are: just as Sadom Husein was once.
Now here's the article:
-----
Saddam's end: tormented as his death loomed
By Gethin Chamberlain and Aqeel Hussein in Baghdad, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 11:44pm GMT 30/12/2006
Hands tied behind his back, feet bound, Saddam Hussein shuffled on to the red-painted metal gallows for his execution yesterday.
Iraqi TV showed Saddam Hussein being taken to the gallows and the noose being put over his head
Iraqi TV showed Saddam Hussein being taken to the gallows and the noose being put over his head
A shadow of his arrogant former self, he looked bemused, beaten. His executioners had let him wear his long black overcoat, but made him take off his woolly
hat and denied him a tie.
Before they led him into the room, he was asked if he wanted to say anything. "No," the old dictator replied. "Come on. Just do it."
As they helped him on to the platform, he mumbled: "Iraq without me is nothing." But those in the room said there was fear in his eyes.
One of the executioners explained what would happen, pointing towards the gallows and gesturing. Saddam seemed befuddled. It was as if there were two Saddams
in the room: the blustering bully who had berated the judges at his trial, and the ordinary, frightened man who had been pulled blinking from his hiding
place three years ago.
The executioners asked whether he wanted to wear a hood. Saddam said no. They wrapped a black cloth around his neck and positioned the thick hemp noose
carefully, the knot resting on his left shoulder.
A few moments later the trapdoor beneath his feet opened, the rope tightened and his neck snapped. Some of the 20 or so witnesses in the room began to dance
around the body. "This is a natural reaction," one of the observers said. "These people have lost loved ones."
After 10 minutes, a doctor made a final check. It was just before 6am in Baghdad and Saddam Hussein, the man who had ruled Iraq for 24 years, was dead.
[picture]
Residents of Najaf celebrate the news of Saddam's execution
Residents of Najaf celebrate the news of Saddam's execution
[end picture]
Minutes after the hanging was confirmed, President George W Bush issued a statement saying that Saddam's execution was "the kind of justice he denied the
victims of his brutal regime".
But Tony Blair surprised MPs in not reacting to the death of the man who has defined his premiership. It was left to Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary,
to welcome the fact that Saddam had been "held to account".
Within hours of the execution, more than 80 people had died in Iraq, including 39 civilians in a triple car bombing in a Shia area of Baghdad.
The tyrant's execution, in a small, dimly lit room in the former headquarters of his military intelligence, where he had put to death so many of his opponents
on the same gallows, ended an extraordinary 24 hours of drama and confusion.
But the signing of his death warrant on Friday evening signalled the beginning of the end. In the middle of the night, he was moved from US custody at Camp
Cropper, near Baghdad airport, and handed to the Iraqi authorities. They put him in a cell inside the two-storey concrete building in the Khadimiya district.
Saddam rejected an offer of dinner, a cooked chicken, and asked only for a copy of the Koran. By 1am, all he wanted to do was sleep.
But his guards, all members of the dominant Shia Sciri party, had other ideas. One in particular, nicknamed Ali the Butcher, intended to make a hell of
Saddam's last night on earth. "They were making jokes about Saddam," another guard who spoke to those on duty told The Sunday Telegraph. "Ali the Butcher
had the rope they would hang him with, and he was telling Saddam 'It's waiting for you, it's waiting for you'.
"The guards were dancing in front of him. When Saddam tried to sleep, they were going in, every 30 minutes. They said, 'We didn't let him sleep. We destroyed
his personality'."
A little after 5am, a number of officials arrived at the jail. Saddam declined breakfast. He asked a guard for a cigarette, but was refused. Then, with
his hands tied in front of him, he was led towards the execution cell.
In the small hall outside, he sat as a judge read the details of the death sentence imposed on him for crimes against humanity for the killing and torture
of 148 Shia villagers in Dujail, following a failed assassination attempt in 1982.
In his hands the 69-year-old former leader held a copy of the Koran. There was nothing he wanted to say, he told the judge. He handed the book to one of
the witnesses. "Give it to Bandar [a friend]," he said.
Saddam's hands were untied and re-tied behind him and his feet were bound. Then he was led, shuffling, into the execution chamber and passed to the four
executioners, each wearing a black balaclava.
Catching sight of the cameraman who had been brought in to film his final moments, he started to shout: "God is great. The nation will be victorious. Palestine
is Arab." He railed against Iran.
"He said he was not afraid of anyone," said Judge Moneer Haddad, one of the appeal court judges who had been invited to watch Saddam die.
"It was a terrifying scene. Saddam was in self-control. I was not expecting him to be like that. One of the attendants asked him 'Are you afraid?' He said
'I have never been afraid as long as I lived. I lived as a mujahideen and expected death any moment'."
The hangmen moved him forward, almost lifting him into place.
"We took him to the gallows and he was saying some few slogans," said Mouwafak al-Rubaie, the Iraqi national security adviser, who was present in the room.
"He was very, very, broken." He said that Saddam turned to look at him. "He was frightened. It was clear in his face."
Saddam recited the Muslim profession of faith: "There is no God but God and Mohammed is his prophet." Then a hangmen pulled a lever, and the door opened
beneath Saddam's feet. "We heard the cracks of his neck," said Judge Haddad.
Ali al-Massedy, the cameraman ordered to film the event for posterity, watched the body twitch and shake. Then he was dead. "He died instantly."
When the film was shown on the Iraqiya television channel, it cut away before the last moments.
Afterwards, the body was wrapped in a white shroud and taken by ambulance to the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and the
US embassy. Saddam's Lebanese lawyer, Bushra al-Khali, said it was then flown in an American plane to his home town, Tikrit, ready for burial today.
Some of those who testified against him were invited to see the body.
"When I saw the body in the coffin I cried," said Jawad al-Zubaidi. "I remembered my three brothers and my father whom he had killed. I approached the body
and told him: 'This is the well-deserved punishment for every tyrant'."
Bob
I have no words for this, i really don't...
I think it's sad that thousands of people died by his order, i think it's sad that a lot of people died in the twin towers.
However, i also think it's sad, when the Kirds rose up, thinking the americans would help them, that they were left alone, and subsiquently many were executed.
I also feel sorow for anyone who is compelled to dance at the feet of a dead man...
If you kill a man, you should do it with dignity, not that i support the idea of capital punishment at all, but, if you kill a man, you let him make his peace... you don't taunt and tease him in his last hours.
Americans clame that capital punishment is a deterant, but, there was less crime in the US when they had no capital punishment in the 70's, thus the arguement has a flaw.
The americans say capital punishment is right because god says it is.
However, jesus said in the New Testiment not to punish evil with evil...that arguement is thus flawed.
The americans say that killing the vile dictater will avenge the people brutally murdered at his hand, while it very well may, it also plunges Iraq into further civil war, and, if you are familiar with Shiits, Sunni's and Kirds, you will know that their warring has gone for centuries and it is very difficult to stop them from fighting.
Sadam is now a martyr of his country and the majority will treat him such...i don't think that's much of an arguement.
I think, if the americans wanted to make democracy an option for the Iraqee people, they should have done to them what they did with Japan after WWII.
This is exactly the same problem the people of Afghanistan are having now, life under the talaban was more stable, and so, people are willing to help them regain the country, just to gain stability.
The Iraq war has destroyed the american economy, the canadian dollar is almost equal and other forms of currency are pulling away from the american dollar as the americans continue to poor money into this war.
So, why do the americans use capital punishment?
It's simple. it saves money.
it costs a lot to provide poor people with lawyers, it costs a lot to hold trials, it costs a lot to go through appeals and it, surprisingly enough, costs less to keep them in prison for their natural lives...so, that arguement is again, flawed.
Isn't capitalism great?
With sadam, i believe the people of Iraq will be feeling the consequences of this war for years to come, students who were attending university are now living on the streets...how is that fixing things?
i'm done ranting.
Galileo,
Excellent rant. Unfortunately, no answers, and I have none either.
Thanks for posting this.
Bob