To paraphrase someone: As you know, you have to dispense justice with the judicial system you have, not the judicial system you want.
And what do you think would have happened if Judge Khalid al-Makaathi had attempted to acquit him?!
I won’t mourn for Hussein. I’m sure most Iraqis want him dead. I’m sure he did many deeds deserving of death. But due process of law this is not!
In that case, certainly the vast assemblage of his admirers among the Iraqi people would have borne him off in triumph to rule yet again.
But gosh, I really don’t know. Oh, to be of great moral certitude with a parade of smileys to back me up. :rolleyes:
I think invading Iraq was a rotten idea for the U.S. on so many levels it’s hard to list them all. But seeing justice catch up with Saddam is one positive thing to come out of this mess.
I imagine the hurry is to get it over before the upcoming religious holiday.
I don’t think this will have a significant affect on the various insurgencies. I do not believe any violence that does occur in the immediate aftermath of this will be perpetrated by persons who were not already actively engaged in violent acts. It is just an excuse for such people to do more of what they are already doing.
It will have the effect of giving them that excuse, but I do not think it will have any meaningful effect on the country at large. I have no desire to witness it.
There’s a lot of ground for debate when it comes to Iraq, but one area where there can be little meaningful debate is on the issue of Saddam’s character. He was an abomination of a human being, and the world will be a better place with him gone. I will not mourn Saddam Hussein, nor will I feel sorry for a man who sent so many others to the fate he now has before him. Nonetheless, I don’t support capital punishment, and I don’t support this execution. I believe Saddam’s true day of reckoning will come when he has to account for his actions before God, whatever punishment we inflict upon him here on earth is but transitory.
The only thing is this has nothing to do with the other, so it’s quite pointless to mention it.
We’re handing him over because they have rightful jurisdiction over him and right to custody over him. What they do with him while he is in their custody within the confines of the laws of Iraq is genuinely not the business of the United States government.
Different countries have different standards of due process. It’s impossible to say what we would have done if he had been acquitted. There were over 500 documented “baskets of crimes” Saddam can be charged with, I’m sure eventually one of those would result in a conviction under Iraqi law.
The charges against him were not all inclusive, they were about one incident, the sheer enormity of crimes he committed meant he could legitimately be kept incarcerated for the rest of his natural life just standing trial for crimes, and he still probably would not have gotten through the entire docket.
Now there you go! The Death by Ten Thousand Lawyers! Spiffy!
Been thinking about this all day, and the confuseder I get. On the one hand, a massive outbreak of violence seems entirely plausible. Equally plausible would be a nationwide shrug of indifference. Haven’t the foggiest.
Well, he’s got …
My opinion? There’ll be a modest spike in violence, followed by a return to the overall escalation rate we’ve been seeing anyway.
Why now, before Eid? Maybe TPTB don’t want to spoil the end-of-Ramadam holiday’s traditional theme:
Would I want to watch it? No. But if I had a morbid curiosity to see what death by hanging looks like, I’d pick Saddam’s execution for my exemplar.
Ahh, nothing to it, its a snap.
I heard it’s a pain in the neck…
:dubious:
You’re not sticking your neck out when you say that, are you?
Two things:
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Yes, I DO know it should be spelled “RamadaN”. :o
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Anyone else amused by the subject of Saddam’s hanging being raised by a poster named dropzone?
And the ghastly irony. We are set to execute a man for an awful crime, killing untold numbers of innocent people. Which may very well set off events leading to the death of many innocent people.
Tse-tse-tse! Shame on you! snicker
'Tis done.
I doubt that there will be a huge and prolonged spate of murders based on his execution. (His supporters have been the prevalent target of the people we rescued for many months, now.)
On the other hand, the joke that was his trial will probably harm Iraq for a generation or more as there is now no precedence for justice or due process in the country.
Shrinking Violet, what were you talking about at 9:37?
God, the U.S. networks are spunking over this.
It would not be much of a stretch to call this gallows humour.