Friday, December 29, 2006
So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good night....
How I'm sure Saddam would want to be remembered ...
UPDATE: Morose snark aside, the Foreign Minister of Malaysia almost got it right. I have no problem with the death penalty, especially for Saddam. However, I believe the haste that the Shiite-led government pursued in snuffing out Hussein sends the message to the Kurdish people, "Screw you, the crimes against your people don't matter as much as crimes against Shiites." I'm not playing a "numbers game" with victimized groups, but will the al-Maliki government pursue due process for the families of Kurdish victims, or is that just so much historical Iraqi dust swept under the tent floor? Using Iraqi government logic, the Nuremberg Trials were a meaningless exercise in juris prudence, just because the six million (or more) victims of the Holocaust couldn't take the witness stand against the Nazis from beyond the grave. Iran's proxy government in Iraq has made its first major state-sanctioned kill. It's new unofficial theme song here.
Labels: Execution, Kurds, Saddam Hussein
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Hanged, Nailed.
As I’m sure everyone knows, a certain Mr. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti is on the fast track to the gallows. I'm not sure why the "need for speed" on the part of the Iraqi court. Perhaps the cries that "We were better off under Saddam" will die down once he is physically removed, and help any future Iraqi leadership to deal more effectively with the country's problems.
Saddam has been out of power for almost four years. Iraq will be no better or no worse off after his death. The magnitude of any successes or failures of Operation Iraqi Freedom have overshadowed Saddam and his dark legacy, which is why his execution will ultimately be a historical, political and cultural anti-climax. It will be nothing more than a "media moment," with many TV talking heads and newspaper columnists waxing poetic (while fetching for a Pulitzer nomination) over the "meaning" of Saddam's execution. Of course, the fringe elements of the anti-war movement will have to find some other cause célèbre, and Lord only knows where Ramsey Clark will find his next retainer.
Labels: Execution, Iraq, Saddam Hussein
