Saddam Hussein was hung for his crimes at dawn Saturday.
The whole deal went down fairly quickly once the US released him to the Iraqi government's custody.Unfortunately for the Kurds, Saddam's hanging took place in the middle of his trial for that particular bit of genocide. Apparently, the Iraqis wanted to get it over and done with fairly quickly.
His last words, shouted as they put the hood over his head were `Palestine is ours'! Saddam remained a true Arab leader to the last - whether its raining outside, the car won't start or the numbers on the national budget don't add up, it's the Jews. Always el-Yahudi in this neck of the woods, and don't you dare forget it.
I must confess, I really don't truly believe in the traditional Bruegel/Dante Hell. But if it exists, there must be a special level for truly failed leaders who've spent their lives feeding on their own people like a vampire at midnight. And cheerfully murdering anyone who had the least problem with it.
Papa Doc Duvalier is there, Pinochet is there, Sukarno is there, Nero leads the band and Evita Peron is Mistress of Ceremonies. Yasir Arafat, of couse is the eminence gris, revered by all the inhabitants as one of the truest examples of the type. Even Stalin looks up to Arafat, though Uncle Joe undoubtedly has a great deal more blood on his hands. Hard to surpass that record...but Arafat tried, albeit on a smaller scale and with a more limited canvas to work with.
Saddam Hussein has had a spot reserved for him in this particular neighborhood of Hell for over two decades. Had he made the trip beforehand, there are a lot of people whom would be walking around today, instead of being mere dessicated skeletons in places like Najaf.
It is an interesting commentary on our age to note the dinosaur media's coverage of this event. From the lachrymous ink given to this monster's `farewell letter' to the acounts of the actual execution and the outcry in certain predictable circles about `barbaric death sentence' and `victor's justice', it speaks volumes about the debasement of standards of what I can only call common decency.
Certainly, Saddam recieved eons more justice than any of his victims ever did. And as for the cries of `victor's justice', I would expect that kind of propaganda from al-Arabiya or al-Jazeera, but I would think that the west's dinosaur media would have the common sense to note that the US didn't execute Saddam - the government of Iraq did, after a lengthy trial that documented and proved him a murderer.
Saddam Hussein has left the building, and the Earth is a bit more salubrious for his absence.
Well spoken. Hopefully the Iraqs will have a better out look on life in 2007 knowing that Saddam can not come back.
ReplyDeleteNice one. Just one eetsy-beetsy little thing, though.
ReplyDeletePinochet was the best thing that ever happened to Chile. And he stepped down when a small majority of the people voted against him in a referendum 17 years after he took power.
Pinochet was neither a failed leader, nor did he "feed on his own people like a vampire at midnight." During his tenure, 3000 people were killed, but most of those were in the two weeks after he took power.
And anyway, they were only commies.
It's been interesting to watch the reaction to the event. It has brought out the usual anti-death penalty crew. In addition, at Ezra Klein's blog, for example, Josh Marshall is cited for the general proposition that Saddam's hanging evidences Bush's failed Iraq policy (of course). Wow, I really missed the boat on this one. I was under the mistaken impression that it evidenced justice against a guy who killed 300,000+ Iraqis. What was I thinking??
ReplyDeleteHere's Ezra:
ReplyDelete"In the end, Saddam's execution only underscores our plight. By the time his neck snapped and his feet swung, Saddam was but a diminished eccentric. His death, once supposed to be the final, glorious denouement of the war, is just a discomfiting reminder that we know only how to destroy, not rebuild." In other words, Saddam's execution is all about us.
And here's a piece of Josh Marshall's wisdom, cited by Klein:
"So this execution, ironically and pathetically, becomes a stand-in for the failures, incompetence and general betrayal of country on every other front that President Bush has brought us. [...]
There you have it. It's all about Bush's failed Iraq policy! What could be clearer?
If you want to guess where Saddam went, try here.
ReplyDeleteUh, good riddance. Kudos to the Iraqis for offing this mother fucker pronto. No ceremony or pomp and circumstance. Just very swift justice after a fair trial and an appeal. I have heard he is responsible for the deaths of aobut 2 million Iraqis. The leftys and anti-death penalty marshmellows can just shut the fuck up. There I said it. One despot out of how many actually met some justice. Boo-yeah!
ReplyDelete