Saddam Dead by Sunday

[Divinus Arma]

Saddam to be hanged by Sunday
Ex-dictator’s execution expected to be carried out by start of Eid holiday

NBC News and news services
Updated: 2 hours, 51 minutes ago

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday, NBC News reported Thursday. According to a U.S. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, Saddam will be hanged before the start of the Eid religious holiday, which begins at sundown Saturday.

The hanging could take place as early as Friday, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.

The U.S. military received a formal request from the Iraqi government to transfer Saddam to Iraqi authorities, NBC reported on Thursday, which is one of the final steps required before his execution. His sentence, handed down last month, ordered that he be hanged within 30 days.

Etc... Article


An interesting development...

[Mooks]

Will he die a slow and agonizing death...or will they let him fall from so high that his neck will snap?

[Proletariat]

As long we (Americans) are contributing to guys like these hanging high instead of propping them up high, I'm happy.

[BigTex]

Do your Dictator's hang low?
Do they wobble too and fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them over your shoulder like a continental soldier?
Do your dictators
Hang
Low?

Happy New Years Eve Saddam

[Prince of the Poodles]

[Samurai Waki]

... I was just starting to enjoy his bizarre rants.

Allah akbar.

[Mooks]

They should fashion a good ol medieval gallows. Down with the fabric wire, use inch thick ol fashioned rope.

[Samurai Waki]

Yeah and while we're at it, why don't we hang him until he's nearly dead, cut him down, and repeat the process.

[Mooks]

Yeah and while we're at it, why don't we hang him until he's nearly dead, cut him down, and repeat the process.

That would be stooping to his own pathetic level of inhumanity. You sir, are a savage.

[Louis VI the Fat]

You too can hang Saddam - in your own home!

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

That's terrible, Louis!

[Mooks]

Hang a giant saddam doll on your flagpoll.

[Xiahou]

Good riddance... he's a monster.

[Navaros]

This is absolutely sickening that they will be murdering Saddam.

He was not given a trial. He was merely given a farce masquerading as a trial in order to pretend that murdering him via hanging will not be murder.

The soldiers who found him might as well have shot him the head when he came out of the spider hole. At least then the murder of Saddam wouldn't have tried to have been covered up via a totally illegitimate, fake trial.

Totally disgusting that some posts are making a joke out of Saddam's murder.

[BigTex]

This is absolutely sickening that they will be murdering Saddam.

He was not given a trial. He was merely given a farce masquerading as a trial in order to pretend that murdering him via hanging will not be murder.

The soldiers who found him might as well have shot him the head when he came out of the spider hole. At least then the murder of Saddam wouldn't have tried to have been covered up via a totally illegitimate, fake trial.

Totally disgusting that some posts are making a joke out of Saddam's murder.

The trial was far from a farce. Sure it was near pointless when the end result of the trial was already known. His crimes were all well documented, all of them were well known. It's hard to cover up the fact that he brutally murdered thousands and torchered countless others. Any highly publicized trial with such a well known end result will end up looking like a circus.

It is far from disgusting to celebrate justice against a man who unjustly killed so many. It is human nature.

I personally look forward near years eve, to see the great Coliseum of Rome ablaze with lights celebrating the execution of this crazed psychotic murderer.

[AntiochusIII]

This is absolutely sickening that they will be murdering Saddam.

He was not given a trial. He was merely given a farce masquerading as a trial in order to pretend that murdering him via hanging will not be murder.

The soldiers who found him might as well have shot him the head when he came out of the spider hole. At least then the murder of Saddam wouldn't have tried to have been covered up via a totally illegitimate, fake trial.

Totally disgusting that some posts are making a joke out of Saddam's murder.

Nav, you do realize Saddam was a totalitarian who violently and aggressively opposed the cause you seem to favor, those of the Islamists? He was also noticeably lacking in any religious convictions, as well...

Moreover, the trial was not a farce. It was a necessity. Now, personally I don't want anyone to die, not even Saddam, especially since he's already in captivity as is...

Louis: that picture is wicked!

[Dâriûsh]

Saddam is a monster, no doubt about that. He committed heinous crimes against Iraqis, Iranians, and Kuwaitis, and for that he should be punished. Even so I am no supporter of the death penalty, not even in his case. Though believe me, I have no pity for that man.

I am concerned however with the trial, and I do think Navaros is right when he calls it a farce. I think that many people outside Iraq want to see Saddam dead. Because then at least one figure of authority will pay for the current mess in Iraq. As if the death of Saddam will appease the insurgents.

But really, is injustice against the unjust justifiable? And if so, why was Iraq invaded at all?

[Pannonian]

Saddam is political poison, but we are praying for someone like him to take over, since that's the best chance we have of leaving an Iraq that satisfies our national interests. A secular ruler guaranteeing stability and a certain degree of social liberalism in Iraq, who is fanatically opposed to Bin Laden and Iran alike - what's not to like?

Personally, I would have popped him out of prison, given him 10 billion dollars and free use of coalition troops inside Iraq, and told him there's another 50 billion in regular installments over the next 10 years if he does a good job of stabilising the place and behaves himself. Simplest and cheapest solution to the problems we're facing over there.

[AntiochusIII]

Saddam is political poison, but we are praying for someone like him to take over, since that's the best chance we have of leaving an Iraq that satisfies our national interests. A secular ruler guaranteeing stability and a certain degree of social liberalism in Iraq, who is fanatically opposed to Bin Laden and Iran alike - what's not to like?

Personally, I would have popped him out of prison, given him 10 billion dollars and free use of coalition troops inside Iraq, and told him there's another 50 billion in regular installments over the next 10 years if he does a good job of stabilising the place and behaves himself. Simplest and cheapest solution to the problems we're facing over there.

You know that'd be something America would never be able to do, of course.

It means they've just stormed in, took him out, waste billions (and thousands of lives), then put him back in. No politicians responsible for this would ever survive the storm unleashed upon him at home.

[Sjakihata]

The civilized crowd of the backroom sickens me. To read that people are enjoying even jubilating another individuals death makes me wonder how far our supposed western liberal-deomocratic tradition have actually come?

I will ask the mods to make sure that no triumphing is done (it has been illegal before here to do that) and I see no difference in this thread.


On punishments. You punish someone for a crime he has done, in order to return to the harmony or balance there once were between the perpetrator and the community. When he is punished that balance is once again restored and thus the actions of the criminal have been paid for or in other word has been justified and his actions forgiven. I do not see how mass-murderers and evil tyrants can ever be forgiven their actions and thus a punishment cannot be given. This is the problem Hannah Arendt raises in the book Eichmann in Jerusalem. Makes you think, no?

[AntiochusIII]

On punishments. You punish someone for a crime he has done, in order to return to the harmony or balance there once were between the perpetrator and the community. When he is punished that balance is once again restored and thus the actions of the criminal have been paid for or in other word has been justified and his actions forgiven. I do not see how mass-murderers and evil tyrants can ever be forgiven their actions and thus a punishment cannot be given. This is the problem Hannah Arendt raises in the book Eichmann in Jerusalem. Makes you think, no?

Your premise of what punishment is, I'm sure, is a position some would contest, thus rendering the conclusion in dispute.

[Pannonian]

You know that'd be something America would never be able to do, of course.

It means they've just stormed in, took him out, waste billions (and thousands of lives), then put him back in. No politicians responsible for this would ever survive the storm unleashed upon him at home.

That's why the whole enterprise should have been under British control from the start. We've never been averse to u-turns and doublethink. Jomo Kenyatta, the loathsome Mau-Mau terrorist whom we condemned to years of hard labour, was the same Jomo Kenyatta who became the enlightened 1st president of Kenya, who maintained close links with the British after independence. Perfidious and hypocritical Albion we may be, but we know how to get results.

"I like the English - in England. The Whites must go. Africa is for the Africans."
- Jomo Kenyatta

[Banquo's Ghost]

I will ask the mods to make sure that no triumphing is done (it has been illegal before here to do that) and I see no difference in this thread.

I'm keeping an eye on it.

Celebrating the death of any individual is not a good thing, but as one who is implacably opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances, I have to recognise that Saddam's career is likely to provoke strong feelings of vengeance.

People understandably rejoice when justice is done unto evil men, however flawed the judicial process.

However, any continuance of the speculation about a lingering death or additional tortures will be frowned upon.

[BigTex]

The civilized crowd of the backroom sickens me. To read that people are enjoying even jubilating another individuals death makes me wonder how far our supposed western liberal-deomocratic tradition have actually come?

I will ask the mods to make sure that no triumphing is done (it has been illegal before here to do that) and I see no difference in this thread.


On punishments. You punish someone for a crime he has done, in order to return to the harmony or balance there once were between the perpetrator and the community. When he is punished that balance is once again restored and thus the actions of the criminal have been paid for or in other word has been justified and his actions forgiven. I do not see how mass-murderers and evil tyrants can ever be forgiven their actions and thus a punishment cannot be given. This is the problem Hannah Arendt raises in the book Eichmann in Jerusalem. Makes you think, no?

Sarcasm aside, it is a joyess event when a wicked and despicable man is removed from society. He murdered thousands indiscriminately, torchered untold numbers of innocent. Western democracy has come far from what it was by just doing this. Western Democracy has removed a tyrant, instead of proping one up and giving them candy if their nice, we have removed him and he has recieved punishment for his actions against his countrymen. This in it self is an event worthy of praise and jubilation.

You bring up a good point on punishment. For mass murderes they can never be forgiven. As no punishment is enough, as nothing will be equivilent to their actions. The only suitable action is to remove from them what they have removed from countless others.

When the slack in that rope is gone and Saddam swings it will definately be a joyess event for those who have lost family members, for those that have been torchered by his secrety police. When Saddam swings, Iraqi courts will have proven themselves strong enough to try even a totalitarian dictator fairly. When Saddam swings it will go along way to making Iraq a more stable country.

The Coliseum of Rome will definately be a beautiful site this New Years eve.

[Kagemusha]

Killing will not end killing.But i wont miss him.

[BigTex]

Killing will not end killing.But i wont miss him.

Just like imprisoning criminals doesnt stop theives. Executions serve as a deterent, a public statement of what happens if your caught.

By the way, Louis those print out quite nicely.

[Lemur]

Death is appropriate for a monstrous dictator. This doesn't make me happy, exactly, but it seems like the right thing.

As an American, however, I think we paid too much in blood and gold for this outcome.

[Pannonian]

Just like imprisoning criminals doesnt stop theives. Executions serve as a deterent, a public statement of what happens if your caught.

But the situation in Iraq is tantamount to blowing up the house to catch the burglar. Catching the burglar is, in theory, a good thing. But once you factor in the costs, you start to think whether it would have been a better idea to let it go and claim from insurance. And from the police point of view, if the thief patrols his stretch of the nieghbourhood and prevents anyone else from muscling in, tolerating him might actually keep overall crime levels down. It's not ideal, but faced with a choice between the bad and the worse, it might be preferable to keep the bad.

All this is hypothetical, as the man's going to hang within the week whatever we say. Let's just hope that we find another Saddam pretty soon, and put him in power so we can get out of there before things get even worse than they already are.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Saddam is reaping what he has sown. Hopefully those that feel execution is not just revenge for the victims and surviving family members will never have their beliefs and resolve tested by being placed in a similar circumstance.

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

This is absolutely sickening that they will be murdering Saddam.

He was not given a trial. He was merely given a farce masquerading as a trial in order to pretend that murdering him via hanging will not be murder.

No he wasn't. You know why? He wasn't giving a "fair trial" to the 100 or so Shiites he killed and gassed. Why do you even give these people trials? We know he's guilty, hang the guy. I think the execution method is highly innapropriate. Let's kill him by the way he's lived: by gas or gun.