Saddam Hussein Hanged!

Saddam Hussein was hanged just before New Year's eve.

Here is a text by Steve Amsel about Saddam's hanging :

DID IRAQ NEED A MARTYR OR DID AMERICA?

Papa Bush could have killed Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf war... he CHOOSE not to.

Israel, the world master of targeted assassinations, could have done it then, they were ORDERED not to by Papa. Israel was being bombarded by scuds during that war, its citizens locked up in 'sealed rooms' for hours at a time..... yet they were under orders to restrain their actions.

Saddam was captured two years ago... he could have been 'bumped off' right then and there... no one would have questioned the executioner... but he was ordered captured ALIVE.... not DEAD.

Why now did the Bush Administration see fit to have the man publicly executed? Why did they hand him over to their puppet Iraqi government to 'serve justice' now?

I think America needs the martyr figure even more than Iraq does at this time. America has failed at all its efforts in Iraq. It has cost them Billions of dollars, thousands of lives and hundreds of political losses in every arena of government.
America needs an excuse to get out.... and in doing so is trying to save face. But why now? Why not years ago??
Will Saddam's execution bring back the dead? Will it heal the wounds of those permanently maimed? Will it put dollars back into American coffers for the social projects they should have been spent on in the first place? NO,NO and NO! So WHY???

Methinks to save the face of a very sad looking US Administration.... no other reason.

Another question.... is Iraq better off today with Saddam gone and a US puppet regime in his place? Again, the answer is NO! Again I ask, So WHY???

Source : www.desertpeace.blogspot.com

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SADDAM HANGED

Saddam Hussein was hanged shortly before dawn today after the Iraqi Government rushed through the formalities of his final hours.

With unexpected speed, the Iraqi Prime Minister swept aside any remaining political hurdles and signed the former dictator’s death sentence. Iraqi and US officials met for almost three hours late last night to confirm that all legal requirements for the execution had been met.

The official witnesses to the execution gathered at the green zone in Baghdad in the early hours as final preparations were made. A gallows had been erected in a parade ground still dominated by a triumphal arch formed of crossed swords held in hands modelled on Saddam’s own.

Judge Moneer Haddad, who was one of the official witnesses, told The Times that he read the death warrant to Saddam before asking him for his last wish and request. Another witness, a Muslim cleric, then asked Saddam to deliver his final words.

Earlier, Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, insisted that there would be “no review or delay” in carrying out the sentence. To do so would be an insult to his victims, he said: “Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him.”

In his high-security cell near Baghdad airport, Saddam would have been aware that his end was near.He was allowed a visit by his half-brothers. Saddam gave them his will, and they left with his personal belongings.

An official close to Mr al-Maliki said the Government had decided to expedite Saddam’s route to the gallows “because a lot of Iraqis believe in conspiracies and thought a group might help him escape”.

The physical transfer of Saddam from American to Iraqi authorities was one of the last steps before the hanging. The former dictator had been in US custody since he was captured in December 2003.

The way for the execution was cleared yesterday by Mr al-Maliki and Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi President. They agreed that the hanging could go ahead without reference to the country’s three-man presidency council, as was expected, because Saddam’s case had been dealt with by a special tribunal and not the regular Iraqi courts.

Saddam’s lawyers made a desperate last-minute application asked a US judge for a stay of execution, but it was denied.

Iraqi authorities have imposed a curfew on Saddam’s home town of Tikrit.

Romano Prodi, the Italian Prime Minister, said: “The execution of Saddam Hussein fills us with horror. We had hoped that human pity and political sense would inspire wiser decisions.” In the United States, Iraqi-Americans gathered at a mosque last night in anticipation of Saddam Hussein’s execution, praying for the death of the former Iraqi dictator. People honked car horns, sang and danced in celebration.

Dave Alwatan, 32, one of dozens of men at the mosque in Detroit, said: “Now there will be peace for my family. My dream has come true.” He said that Saddam’s forces tortured and killed family members that were left behind when Mr Alwatan left Iraq in 1991.

Source : www.timesonline.co.uk