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Reactions to Saddam Execution

The Guardian has this obituary for Saddam Hussein. The Times Online has another. The BBC obituary is here.

President Bush stayed up past his bedtime to release this statement insisting falsely that Saddam got a fair trial.

Worst headline: From Australia, "Iraqis Dance as Saddam Swings".

European leaders focus their comments on the death penalty.

Now what? More war, as usual, more U.S. soldiers will die, more billions of our dollars will be spent and we are not one bit safer.

We are all tainted by the vengeance in our name.

Update: From a soldier in Iraq:

"First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then when there were none, it was that we had to find Saddam. We did that, but then it was that we had to put him on trial," said Spc. Thomas Sheck, 25, who is on his second tour in Iraq. "So now, what will be the next story they tell us to keep us over here?"

The Catholic Church:

Saddam's execution punishes "a crime with another crime. ... The death penalty is not a natural death. And no one can give death, not even the state." - Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI's top prelate for justice issues.

< Late Night: Sympathy for the Devil | John Edwards on the War in Iraq and Saddam's Execution >
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  • Display: Sort:
    Fair trial? (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 04:50:59 AM EST
    Bush wouln't recognize a fair trial even seeing one unfold in front of his own eyes from the defendants chair. He's be gibbering and bawling like a snot nosed three year old for his daddy to come and save him.

    I am insulted by the fact that after all the lies from this cheap pathetic deceitful little killer automaton of a man that have been exposed over the years that he and his speech writers still have the gall and temerity to keep trying the same old insulting assumption that people are so stupid they cannot see through the utter manipulative bullsh*t, and even more incredulously insulted by anyone buying it.

    This is the level of respect that this piece of rancid foul stinking human refuse has for Americans and people around the world?

    treasonous cognitive dissonance. (5.00 / 3) (#4)
    by aahpat on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 07:27:30 AM EST
    "Now what? More war, as usual, more U.S. soldiers will die, more billions of our dollars will be spent and we are not one bit safer."

    We are getting less safe all the time.

    Consider this. Getting Saddam has additional costs that have not been tabulated when tallying the direct costs of the Iraq invasion. The treasonous abandonment of the Afghan campaign has directly resulted in this story at the LA Times this week. Afghan Heroin's Surge Poses Danger In US

    Heroin is now cheaper than pot.

    And a direct national security threat to the United States.

    "The Department of Homeland Security also has found evidence of increasing Afghan heroin in this country.  The agency reported skyrocketing numbers of seizures of heroin arriving at U.S. airports and seaports from India, not a significant heroin-producing country but a major transshipment point for Afghan drugs."

    With those growing new smuggling routes come new opportunities for alQaida to insert their operatives into America. This is the real border threat to America not worker immigrants.

    No, we are "not one bit safer". And the Hussein judicial assassination is nothing more than a treasonous distraction from the real threats CREATED by George W. Bush's mis-directed military excursion.
    ___
    As to the "fair trial" assertions by the Bush administration. The administration and the GOP has held the rule of law in contempt from day one. Their standing up for fair trials and the rule of law now is stretching credulity to the point of cognitive dissonance.

    Criminals (none / 0) (#18)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 10:39:14 AM EST
    Not to forget that the guys who ran Iran Contra are running out government now. More drugs = Bigger slush funds for secret unauthorized activities, like Ghost Air, and the Secret prisons.

    I am sure that they have refined their system since then to make it more profitable and harder to trace.

    Parent

    I can't read the news today (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by aw on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 07:48:13 AM EST
    I look at the NYT first thing every morning and today there was a big picture of Saddam with a noose around his neck and I just had to close it.


    I'm with you. Just the sight of Saddam's (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by Bill Arnett on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 12:50:27 PM EST
    executioners partying like there is no tomorrow just sickens me - almost as much as bush claiming Saddam got a fair trial.

    Mornin', aw, Edger, Dadler, Sailor, Squeaky, Che's, everybody. Another sad day to be an American.

    Take notice world: Become America's friend, we will supply you with weapons, chemicals, money, and whatever else you need, including CIA assistance, to overthrow your current government and install a puppet leader for you.

    But when it comes time to swing from the noose - you're on your own.

    Parent

    Up here in Vermont... (none / 0) (#37)
    by dutchfox on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 07:18:35 PM EST
    ...his morning I glanced at the NYT front page and there was nada about the execution, just that it was gonna happen.

    I guess thankfully, I don't subscribe to cable tv, so saw none of the MSM photos of Saddam being captured and the other stuff around his trial. To be sure he was a tyrant, but I do think that he was also made out to be some sort of degenerate inhuman person (that pic of him in the hovel when he was captured 3 yrs ago) - maybe to make people feel less guilty about asphyxiating him.

    Parent

    I guess (none / 0) (#39)
    by aw on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 08:10:27 PM EST
    I should have said the NYT online.

    Parent
    One megalomaniac down (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 11:19:26 AM EST
    one to go.

    Absolutely Right! (5.00 / 2) (#24)
    by JHFarr on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 12:31:15 PM EST
    We are all tainted by the vengeance in our name.

    It's just like a lynching. There most certainly was NOT a "fair trial." If there had been, we'd have heard all about current Bush administration officials' dealings with Saddam in the past. We'd have heard lots more, too.

    The whole thing makes me sick. A lynching, absolutely. Illegal, immoral, and dirty as hell. I honestly don't think America ever will recover from the Bush years. "Tainted" doesn't begin to describe what's happened to us, frankly.

    Will said... (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 07:04:12 PM EST
    "If we ever pass out as a great nation we ought to put on our tombstone 'America died from a delusion that she had moral leadership'."

    ---Will Rogers


    et al - A question... (1.00 / 3) (#11)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 09:07:30 AM EST
    Given that you want the US out of Iraq, and given that you want the best possible outcome for Iraq....

    Putting aside all the claims that the (sarcasm alert!!!) evillllll US is responsible for all the evilllll in the world, and the court who tried him was a puppet of the US... Just put that aside and say that Space Aliens invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam, do you have any doubt that he was guilty, and that the sentence was just?

    Do you not recognize that the possibility of a civil war drops signiicantly with the death of Saddam?

    that (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by aahpat on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 10:20:28 AM EST
     is a fantasy.

    Saddam's hanging changes nothing for the positive and simply continues the spiral into chaos.

    Parent

    you are dishonest and irrational (5.00 / 3) (#17)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 10:37:27 AM EST
    purposefully lying about the political opinions of those who actually care enough about their freedom as Americans to do what freedom requires: criticize and hold you supposedly representative government to the fire.  nobody on earth, nobody who's liberal, nobody save an insance person thinks any one country is responsible for every bad thing.  

    you're a childish follower, jim.  and a scared little follower, to boot.  

    i actually thought at one time you weren't.

    Parent

    Could we have some facts?? (1.00 / 2) (#29)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 04:15:54 PM EST
    Dadler, you are starting to be boring with your "scared" BS. I'm starting to have difficulty telling you, edger and sqyeaky apart.

    And you really should start quoting when you claim:

    You are dishonest and irrational purposefully lying about the political opinions of those who actually care


    Parent
    Past Prediction About Saddam (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 07:25:58 PM EST
    re: "Do you not recognize that the possibility of a civil war drops signiicantly with the death of Saddam?"

    PPJ's prediction of Saddam's hanging having positive effects reminds me of a similar prediction made by another neocon named Cliff posted on TL after Saddam was captured.  Cliff predicted after Saddam was captured that the Iraq war would last for only 6 more months.  Needless to say, it didn't happen.  

    PPJ's prediction that the civil war will end with Saddam's death is similarly a pipe dream based on wishful thinking rather than anything resembling reality.

    Parent

    Predictions? (none / 0) (#40)
    by JSN on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 08:29:02 PM EST
    If the predictions were made by flipping a coin they should be right about half the time. We are not doing that well.

    Parent
    Try to focus (1.00 / 2) (#30)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 04:20:21 PM EST
    walter66 - That lawsuit has less of a chance of going anywhere than I do of winning the powerball lottery tonight.

    BTW - I note you didn't answer, so here are the questions, again.

    do you have any doubt that he was guilty, and that the sentence was just?

    Do you not recognize that the possibility of a civil war drops signiicantly with the death of Saddam?



    Parent
    This guy doesn't agree with you (none / 0) (#27)
    by Al on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 02:10:48 PM EST
    This gentleman on Fox TV thinks civil war in Iraq is actually good for American interests, since Iraqis are "fighting themselves".  

    Parent
    A fair trial? (none / 0) (#2)
    by caramel on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 03:49:12 AM EST
    Bush is sticking to his belief that fair trials are applied in his own country too, as much as he still states that no innocents have been executed in Texas... Fair trials do not exist in America (you either have money and you'll get away with murder or you don't and you get a death sentence for a crime you did not commit), how could they exist in any other country under US watch? Not a chance. Another 175 prisoners await their execution in Baghdad but I guess there will be of no interest to the media or the public for that matter. The execution of a symbol is merely about propaganda and revenge but has nothing to do with democracy or justice. What a sad day...

    For George (none / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 08:30:35 AM EST
    Instant karmas gonna get you
    Gonna knock you right on the head
    You better get yourself together
    Pretty soon you're gonna be dead
    What in the world you thinking of
    Laughing in the face of love
    What on earth you tryin to do
    Its up to you, yeah you

    --Lennon

    Italy has a powerful political cartoon (none / 0) (#8)
    by vwbug on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 08:44:51 AM EST
    in thier paper today.  It shows the statue of liberty holding a noose with arabian building at her feet.  It's done in blackout.  It says more than a page of words ever could.

    In the interest of accuracy... (1.00 / 2) (#9)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 08:55:12 AM EST
    that would be a newspaper located in a city in the country of Ital.

    Parent
    lol... Italy... (none / 0) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 08:55:45 AM EST


    was it really him (none / 0) (#12)
    by krazycory on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 09:14:36 AM EST
    saddam had many body doubles and i think they hanged one of them. saddam and osama are having coffee with bush in the west wing of the white house

    krazycory (1.00 / 2) (#31)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 04:21:32 PM EST
    Your comment matches your moniker.

    Parent
    Some (none / 0) (#14)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 09:16:27 AM EST
    others think so too.

    Parent
    edger (1.00 / 3) (#32)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 04:22:18 PM EST
    Can you tell us about the 9/11 script??

    Parent
    Iran hails execution of Saddam (none / 0) (#13)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 09:14:58 AM EST
    From The International Herald Tribune:
    TEHRAN, Iran: Iran hailed on Saturday the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as "enforcer of the most horrendous crimes against humanity" but many Iranians said Saddam [should] have stood trial for invading Iran and Kuwait before being hanged.
    ...
    Top lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Saddam's trial was too short.

    "Saddam's trial was too limited. Still, his execution is a lesson for criminals," he said.

    "Saddam was quickly put to death perhaps because Western nations were complicit in many of the crimes Saddam committed. Countries like Germany provided Saddam with chemical weapons technology and the U.S. provoked and supported Saddam's invasion of Iran," he said.

    Sareh Naghavi, a university student, said Saddam's trial should have continued.

    "Saddam should have been questioned for all the crimes he committed before being put to death," she said. "He should have been asked to answer why he invaded Iran and Kuwait and why he launched chemical attacks against Iranians and Iraqis."



    Ya think (none / 0) (#19)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 10:42:28 AM EST
    Bush is on "The Google" right now trying to download the complete video?

    Bush ? ;-) (none / 0) (#20)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 10:50:03 AM EST
    Che's, you can bet hard money that bush... (none / 0) (#28)
    by Bill Arnett on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 02:20:19 PM EST
    ...had a closed-circuit television system set up so he could watch the execution live.

    I wonder if he fondled Saddam's gun (which he keeps in the Oval Office as a souvenir)in one hand , while in his other hand he fondled his...

    Parent

    For the record... (none / 0) (#22)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 11:51:45 AM EST
    Full story here:
    "It was very quick. He died right away," an official Iraqi witnesses told the Reuters news agency.

    "We heard his neck snap," said Sami al-Askari, a political ally of al-Maliki.

    Another witness said: "He seemed very calm. He did not tremble."

    As guards took him to the scaffold, according to witnesses, Saddam said: "There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet."



    He was a social liberal (none / 0) (#33)
    by jondee on Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 05:09:05 PM EST
    He favored health care reform, equal rights for women and other minorities, the rolling back of antiquated religious law, opposed the radical Left and favored a strong national defense.

    A social liberal, in other words.

    What does your resume look like?

    The surreal world of the "WWIV" crowd (none / 0) (#53)
    by jondee on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 11:39:37 AM EST
    The above was tongue-in-cheek, (sort of), but, did anyone catch neocon as* rocket Jonah Goldberg's act the other day, saying that what Iraq needs is a Pinocet? How far is that from saying they need another Saddam? Not very.

    correction (none / 0) (#54)
    by jondee on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 11:40:25 AM EST
    Pinochet

    Jondee (none / 0) (#58)
    by Che's Lounge on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 12:27:36 PM EST
    Pinocet is just Pinochet bound with tylenol.