...the yanq is a yank, after all......and though this blog is not very political or terribly yanqui-centric, I cannot let this pass without comment.
¿What in the hell were the leaders of the old country thinking?
No one remembers why we invaded Iraq. No one knows why we are still there.
And now we have hung their president.
It doesn't matter what your views are concerning capital punishment. What matters is your view as to what constitutes justice.
Was he a son-of-a bitch? Sure. But so am I and so are you.
Did he systematically murder innocent people in the course of his insane cause? Yes. But so have the people that sent him to the gallows.
Why was this man not sent to the Hague? Is international justice not good enough?
Don't speak to me of Nuremberg. That man got nothing remotely resembling Borman, Göring or Hess. The days when we fought fascism are long gone.
Read Juan Cole:
"Dec. 30, 2006 | The body of Saddam, as it swung from the gallows at 6 a.m. Saturday Baghdad time, cast an ominous shadow over Iraq. The execution provoked intense questions about whether his trial was fair and about what the fallout will be. One thing is certain: The trial and execution of Saddam were about revenge, not justice. Instead of promoting national reconciliation, this act of revenge helped Saddam portray himself one last time as a symbol of Sunni Arab resistance, and became one more incitement to sectarian warfare.Saddam Hussein was tried under the shadow of a foreign military occupation, by a government full of his personal enemies. The first judge, an ethnic Kurd, resigned because of government interference in the trial; the judge who took his place was also Kurdish and had grievances against the accused. Three of Saddam's defense lawyers were shot down in cold blood. The surviving members of his defense team went on strike to protest the lack of protection afforded them. The court then appointed new lawyers who had no expertise in international law. Most of the witnesses against Saddam gave hearsay evidence. The trial ground slowly but certainly toward the inevitable death verdict...
...The tribunal also had a unique sense of timing when choosing the day for Saddam's hanging. It was a slap in the face to Sunni Arabs. This weekend marks Eid al-Adha, the Holy Day of Sacrifice, on which Muslims commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for God. Shiites celebrate it Sunday. Sunnis celebrate it Saturday –- and Iraqi law forbids executing the condemned on a major holiday. Hanging Saddam on Saturday was perceived by Sunni Arabs as the act of a Shiite government that had accepted the Shiite ritual calendar."
