executed by vengeful countrymen:
As speculation swirled about the timing of the execution, Iraq's Justice Ministry denied a comment from a defence lawyer that it had taken custody of Saddam from the US military.
"It's none of the Americans' business to decide when," a senior Justice Ministry official said, dismissing a suggestion from a senior US official that Saddam could hang as early as Saturday.
He also said there would be no execution before January 26, 30 days after the sentence was upheld. But ministers say there are conflicting views in the cabinet over that timing...
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The close of the final chapter on the brutal reign of Saddam Hussein drew ever closerriverbend, Baghdad Burning:
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executed by vengeful countrymen after a quarter-century of remorseless brutality
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The dramatic, violent end for the strongman who ruled Iraq by fear for three decades
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Saddam Hussein, the dictator who ruled Iraq with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was driven from power by a U.S.-led war that left his country in shambles
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Saddam Hussein, the shotgun-waving dictator who ruled Iraq with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was driven from power by a U.S.-led war
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Clutching a Quran, Saddam Hussein went to the gallows before sunrise Saturday, executed by vengeful countrymen after a quarter-century of remorseless brutality that killed countless thousands and led Iraq into disastrous wars against the United States and Iran
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Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn on Saturday, a dramatic end for a leader who ruled Iraq by fear for three decades before a United States invasion toppled him and was then convicted of crimes against humanity.
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Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.-
This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is "Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We're hanging him- he symbolizes you." And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).
That is, of course, why Talbani doesn't want to sign his death penalty- not because the mob man suddenly grew a conscience, but because he doesn't want to be the one who does the hanging- he won't be able to travel far away enough if he does that.
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The sound would suddenly disappear...
To suggest that the execution of Saddam Hussein was an expression of the will of the Iraqi people is a very bizarre thing indeed.
You'd have to have some way to get the will of the people linked up and expressed wouldn't you? In Iraq? Now? How would you do it?
Polls? Who's going to go around the country doing that? Electronic at-home voting? You need electricity for that.
People are hiding, forced back into tribal and family groups for comfort and protection. Iraq society doesn't exist. This was not the will of the Iraqi people. This was something else.
Saddam was killed by order of the same invisible hand that drew American troops and trillions of American dollars into the deserts of Eden.
Saddam may have been an evil man, I don't know, but it's not possible for the Iraqi people to have tried and executed him. You need a functioning democracy for that.
