Saddam Hussein to be hung

Bottle_of_Smoke

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218245.stm`

About an hours time Saddam due to be hung.

Personally I think this is appalling. I acknowledge it's a lot to do with being against the death penalty but this case in particular bangs of hypocrisy.

Mainly to do with the fact that many multiples of the amount of people Saddam was convicted of murdering were killed by US/British etc forces in Sadddam's own country in recent years.

What do people think - is this rational & will it do anyone any good?

John

There's nothing rational that can be done in this situation and nothing good can come from anything that is the mess that is America's eastern front.

I'm opposed to the death penalty but when you read about the misery that Hussein has inflicted, I find myself thinking "Maybe just this one time..."

cooker3

I am pretty much against the death penalty mainly because if they are wrong there is no redress. I don't think the trial was particulary well done so in that respect it leads me to be against it. Yet, he is guilty, everyone knows it and tbh When I think about him be hung I can't help but smile. So I am a bit mixed on this. In the end I am not going to lose sleep over it.

Carcharodon

God no !!!!
The whole thing is a total joke to start with, the trial and media, the americans are treating it so casualy on their news its disgusting, its like a Big Brother eviction or something, he is still human and a life is a life at the end of the day. Whether he deserves to die or not depends on peoples views but the whole thing stinks



US President George Bush called the execution an "important milestone" for Iraq.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Saddam had been held to account for some of his crimes.

What a load of crap

DublinWriter

Noam Chomsky famously wrote that if the same laws used at the Nuremburg trial where applied to US Presidents then every president since Roosevelt would have been sentenced to hang.

The situtation in Iraqi is unstable enough without these sort of theatrics.

Saddam was exactly the same sort of leader that Tito was in Yugoslavia and look what happened with Serbia and Croatia when he left the picture.

Iraq itself is an 'artifical' country, it's borders were mapped out by the Western oil industry in the 1920's.

My prediction is that Saddam's execution will trigger a massive upsurge of violence and destablise the country eventually leading to the break up of Iraqi into 3 or 4 independant regions drawn up along relgious lines (Shia, Sunni and Kurd).

pretty*monster

I can't believe that so called civilised countries still inact the death panalty.

Sadam will now never stand trial for the genocide of the kurds. His guilt will never be established in a court of law.

And to top it all off he'll probably end up a martyr to many.

Zombrex

Saddam should not be hung. Firstly capital punishment is immoral, no matter who is being executed. Secondly this won't bring stability to Iraq, it will probably just incite more violence and greater seperation of the Shia and Sunni populations

This ridiculous idea that US government has that it is possible to bring stability to a region or win a war against terrorists by simply killing all the high profile members (the same logic is applied to fighting AL Queda) is ridiculous. As if all the followers are just going to go "Oh, right well now he is dead we better go back to er doing something else" :rolleyes:

The_Minister

Saddam got the short drop and sharp stop earlier today.

The_Minister

Wicknight wrote:

. As if all the followers are just going to go "Oh, right well now he is dead we better go back to er doing something else" :rolleyes:

It creates an ending, and allows them to move on. It may well let the terrorist movement dissapate, as it has removed the focal point of their cause.

Dave!

I don't see how Saddam's death creates any sort of ending, considering American troops are still stationed in Iraq.

testicle

Here's the deed with all it's gory details. Do not watch if squamish.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7532034279766935521

dubtom

I'll probably be castigated for this put personally I feel sorry for the man. He was a scapegoat from the start, purley and simply for the yanks to seize control of iraq's oil fields, and the coalitiion fell inplace out of fear of financial repercussions from the US.Any Iraq citizen who says that life there now is better than under Saddam's power is lying.How could life be better, they can't leave their homes without being bombed or shot and in all proababilty it will get worse.If anyone deserves to be hung it's Bush. Christ almighty how world leaders, media and us as right minded people have sat back and let this war get this far is sickening.

Asiaprod

Wicknight wrote:

Secondly this won't bring stability to Iraq, it will probably just incite more violence and greater seperation of the Shia and Sunni populations

As the man said
Creating a martyr will never lead to stability in Iraq. His death may indeed in someway bring closure to the families of his victims. Although I am in general against the death penalty, I do understand that the religion and culture in the Middle East has a lot to say about dying in disgrace. If, as The_Minister says "It creates an ending, and allows them to move on" then great. I will believe it when I see it.

Interesting to note that according to the papers Bush was a sleep at the time. Shows me how much he really cared.

maz-mar

saddam should not have been hanged it was to easy he should have suffered a slow aggonizing death like the hundreds of people he caused death too.hanging was to good for him. he should have been stoned too death vor something that would have caused un-natural suffering, but that just my opinion

Dave!

Asiaprod wrote:

As the man said
Creating a martyr will never lead to stability in Iraq. His death may indeed in someway bring closure to the families of his victims. Although I am in general against the death penalty, I do understand that the religion and culture in the Middle East has a lot to say about dying in disgrace. If, as The_Minister says "It creates an ending, and allows them to move on" then great. I will believe it when I see it.

Interesting to note that according to the papers Bush was a sleep at the time. Shows me how much he really cared.

Sky's Tim Marshall's take on the US/UK response is that they're distancing themselves from the whole affair. They both just issued the one statement, and as you mentioned, GWB was asleep when it happened (so we're told).
The British and American governments are trying to give the impression that this was an Iraqi court, an Iraqi sentence, and it's an Iraqi issue -- it's nothing to do with them, they can't do anything about it.

I'm not sure of the purpose of distancing themselves, I'm sure there's a few. Perhaps it's an element of the plan to withdraw troops from the region: the new Iraqi justice system has found their former dictator guilty of crimes against humanity, and has killed him. Thus, Iraq is blossoming into a lovely democratic state capable of standing on its own two feet........

That's just 1 take on it anyways.

flight93

First off I do not agree with the death penalty. I believe it to be morally wrong.
Secondly let us not forget that the Americans were a supporter of Sadam's regime for over 10 years. They actually assisted Sadam commit some of his atrocities. It also seems that Sadam’s defense were not allowed to say anything that might embarrass the west. Apart from this I agree with others that this may turn him into a martyr. I am sure that even more innocent people will die now in rioting due to the execution. Unfortunately my views will be perceived by some as being anti-American, which I am not. I simply disagree with American foreign policy, and George W. Bush in particular.

Suff

I'm Sad and Angry at the same time.

first of all he should have been put on trial somewhere in the EU where you could garantee the court to be transparent and fair, the Iraqi court was a joke and completly bios, as one judge said ..."you dont need a court, all you need is a hanging!" for F* sake how come the world didnt stop this joke from taking place. are we all afraid of America!?

With his death some western goverments {USA & UK} have avoided being exposed, but people do have a memory that goes back more than september 2001!!!

remember who sold Saddam Anthrax? who actually went over to Iraq to deliver it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDABe8AOuCQwho supported him fight the Iranians, invaid Kuwait, fight the Kurds and to eliminate any Iraqi uprising?...? who!

I have seen the actual uncut video of his death and the executioners where Shia [how do i know?...when they prise the Prophet they only prise him and his family they dont inculde the prohpet disciples]...cursing him and shouting "Stright To Hell !"

This is not a FAIR execution its actually a public Murder!

Suff

flight93 wrote:

I simply disagree with American foreign policy, and George W. Bush in particular.

I'm with you,...you're right 100% but can you tell me....have there been any American foreign policy that you or me would agree on!?

None!

He's been silenced from exposing the facts that the world need to hear about America's twisted foreign policy and politics

I also would like to add.....SkyNews is so Biost, the BBC or RTE has better/ fair view on the matter.

vesp

No

maz-mar wrote:

saddam should not have been hanged it was to easy he should have suffered a slow aggonizing death like the hundreds of people he caused death too.hanging was to good for him. he should have been stoned too death vor something that would have caused un-natural suffering, but that just my opinion

I think hanging him was correct. Just because Saddam tortured people and led a horriffic regime does not mean other people should sink to his level by torturing him.

Sycopat

I would be morally opposed to the death penalty anyway, because i believe it's wrong. Although personally, i see lifetime imprisonment as being worse then the death penalty, and I'm not opposed to that. As well as that it would leave Saddam unable to achieve a martyrdom, he does after all still have a lot of supporters in iraq. Alive at most he could be is an imprisoned crackpot despot, idolized by a few fanatics. Dead he can become a rallying point.

It's too late now though. Although the most atrocious thing to have come out of this farce is the way the tabloids are handling it. Are people really so boodthirsty as to actually want to see scene by scene shots of the hanging? WTF?

Suaimhneach

On a world stage, we still execute people who've done wrong. Our planet has come *so* far, yet this is how we deal with those who do wrong...

I dont know what alternative I'd suggest, or what my entire opinion is on the death penalty. But I know that it is a sad sign for humanity when we publically murder someone...

walrusgumble

not exactly a clip to watch while having the dinner, bloody hell, it has changed my opinion of the death penalty, which i oppose.

a life time in prison would be sufficient with maybe the odd hush hush beaten by inmates he is prob responsible for putting in their. he might do the honourable thing then a commit suicide.

was watching the sky/bbc coverage that night. sky were brutal, how the hell do they keep winning awards for broadcasting, all they did was refer to their people in the us. the bbc had their men in iraq and updates were more reliable.

i frear some sicko is going to do the rounds with that tape, a few t shirts etc ready to be made etc

Sand

No

Saddams case is just an example of the death penalty being enacted - wont change anyones strong opinions either way. Its a case in which its pretty clearcut the guy committed crimes against humanity so I wont mourn him all that more than I mourn war criminals executed after WW2. Victors justice maybe, but justice all the same.

I notice that Lara Marlowe has already begun the process of rehabilitating Saddam as a great man and leader, bravely defying an evil empire. Before long, Saddams Iraq will be the land of honey and chocolate, where no one cried. Youd be surprised maybe, but it is a very principled stance. Just screwed up principles.

The scenes at the hanging were wrong and the Iraqis, for their own good, should have ensured it was carried out without the sectarianism - No Sunni Iraqi watching that [the sectarianism, not the hanging - Id say they dont give two damns about Saddam] will feel in anyway reconciled to the idea that the Iraqi government isnt everything the extremists and insurgents are portraying them as. It is very clear that Shia militias have infiltrated the Iraqi government at practically all levels.

aidan24326

It stinks really. Not that I'd shed any tears for the man himself, but the way the whole thing was dealt with was wrong.

He was tried in a kangaroo court where he had no chance of anything reesembling a fair trial. Why not try him in a European court like they did with Milosevic?

The hypocrisy of it all is incredible. Bush and Blair and their cronies will take the righteous high ground despite effectively being mass-murderers themselves, men who lied their countries into a war of conquest and who in all honesty should probably be hanging beside Saddam if any real 'justice' was to be done.

And if it's murdering dictators they're after, why just pick on Saddam? What about all those other dictators? (some of them worse than Saddam) Wouldn't be all that oil by any chance...

For a real insight into US foreign policy at work, see the Democratic Republic (yeah right) of Congo.

EDIT: While there is no question he was a man who committed atrocities, it is interesting to see how the propagandist media have been exaggerating the extent of it. Reporting that he killed 2 million people even though there is no evidence to suggest that the real number was anything near that. I know there's no point splitting hairs over numbers but it is typical of media reporting nowadays. I agree with others that sky news are especially bad when it comes to jingoistic biased reporting.

Dontico

i personally dont see much of a difference between killing him or locking him up in jail for good. but they shouldnt have hung him. politicians and soilders should be shot, despite how much of bad guy they were.

Zombrex

The_Minister wrote:

It creates an ending, and allows them to move on.

Who to move on?

The_Minister wrote:

It may well let the terrorist movement dissapate, as it has removed the focal point of their cause.

The focal point of the terrorism is the centuries old distrust between Shiate and Sunni Muslims. That was there before Sadam (though he used it to his advantage), and it will exist long after Sadam has rotted away.

RedPlanet

I agree with aidan24326, the whole episode was brutal.
It looked like the yanks handed him over to a group of fanatical terrorists.

Halabjah is another instance where what really happened was lost in the fog of war however the last 10 yrs or more, Saddam is the convenient scapegoat to pin the attack on.
I used to be able to link to a report commissioned by the USA about the use of chemical weapons at Halabjah, the report cited IRAN as the primary suspect, not Iraq. I don't have that link today but this guy called Pelletiere was one of it's authors.
The site i'm linking here details how the story broke to the press at the time, also says why Iran is suspected of the attack.
"Reality checks needed during war" by DON SELLAR
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0301-06.htm