12/30/2006
Hanging of Saddam Hussein Caps Year of Strife, Death, Torture
What price has the U.S. and the world paid for the death of Saddam Hussein?
The crimes against humanity continue.
December has been the deadliest month of the year for U.S. troops in Iraq.
Where are we going? Bush still doesn't seem to have any answers.
These are a few new magazine ads from Amnesty International which make an ingenious and chilling use of staples. Let's pray we don't have to see these ads again at the end of 2007.
Posted 2:24 PM EST by Andy Towle in George W. Bush, Iraq, News | Permalink
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With the death of Saddam... it could possibly be a Happy New Year... otherwise, we do wish you a very prosperous 2007!!
Posted by: Kelly | Dec 30, 2006 2:35:39 PM
I shuddered last night as I heard the news. Violence does not stop violence. The entire world knew what Sadam was doing while it was going on, and yet it did nothing to stop it. We are witnessing the same thing in Darfur. What do we do as citizens of the world as blood continues to coat our guilty hands?
Posted by: Mark | Dec 30, 2006 3:18:12 PM
I don't question that he deserved the ultimate penalty. He was evil to the core. He seemed to meet his end with courage, though (perhaps stunned courage). I could not help but compare that to George W. Bush's cowardly actions on 9/11, when he pissed his pants and flew all over the country on Air Force One before finally returning to Washington.
Posted by: phil | Dec 30, 2006 3:49:33 PM
No sane person would debate Hussein's "war criminal" status, but our single-minded drive for his execution speaks more of George Bush's need for revenge than global peace. I too shuddered when I heard of Hussein's death. Isn't George Bush responsible for thousands of innocent Iraqi deaths--just as Saddam? When will Bush be brought to trial and hung? What about the countless bloodthirsty dictators living in peaceful exile...or worse, still in power throughout the world...those to whom the USA turns a blind eye? Maybe if they insult George H. W. Bush, or discover oil...maybe they'll be put to death by an "international tribunal" as well...?
Posted by: Nathan | Dec 30, 2006 4:28:42 PM
Mark,
Don't worry. We'll rush to Darfur's aid 15 years from now, when some wacko with no ties to Sudan bombs our country and we're hankering to find invisible weapons and shuffle political dominoes.
Posted by: GBM | Dec 30, 2006 6:10:47 PM
"Former officials portrayed him as a vain, paranoid loner who no longer believed he was a normal person and considered compromise a sign of weakness."
- from the New York Times obituary of Saddam Hussein. Hmmm...sounds just like someone whose initials are GWB.
Posted by: JOE 2 | Dec 30, 2006 6:39:41 PM
Does anyone know what does the text on the pictures say?
Posted by: anon | Dec 30, 2006 8:39:01 PM
well at least he helped me make a lot of money on trendio as his stock skyrocketed these last days http://www.trendio.com/word.php?wordid=120&language=en
Posted by: Ormenipar | Dec 30, 2006 9:43:17 PM
Middle East expert Robert Fisk writes about the complicity of Washington and London during the decades of his murderous regime:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2114403.ece
He was a good boy once, anti-communist and anti-Iran. Nothing new about that, of course, but it helps to be reminded of the facts and to see how far back these ties went. Same goes for that picture of Rumsfeld shaking the butcher by the hand:
http://www.stpeace.org/gallery/interestingPhotos/images/saddam+rumsfeld.jpg
If there's one thing to hope for in 2007, it's for a world where men like these--Hussein/Bush/Rumsfeld, their supporters and apologists--are regarded with the contempt they deserve.
Posted by: John C | Dec 30, 2006 10:15:55 PM
Apparently Bushie is too worn out from his three hours of work the other day trying to come up with a new strategy for Iraq -- or else he was passed out on the floor -- that he had to miss the Ford funeral. That's another slap he's given to society. Ford was kind of a dud, but he was more honorable than Bush. Oddly enough, Cheney hailed the Nixon pardon by Ford: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20061231/D8MBI6TO1.html
I'm guessing he's seeing the writing on the wall and hopes for the same thing.
Posted by: woodroad34 | Dec 30, 2006 11:11:13 PM
His death may not stop the voilence BUT think of all the Iraq refugees who fled that country, now feel a sense of justice that the piece of evil who jailed their fathers for 20 years, raped their mothers and mutilated their siblings.
Instead of bringing up GWB and his stupidity over and over again. How about just once we all reflect and thank goodness that our lives were not directly shattered by this man who deserved what he got.
Posted by: steve | Dec 31, 2006 4:11:08 AM
Saddam got everything he deserved. I think they should have hung him publically. I think the Bush family is very happy that the family feud is over and good ruled over evil. After all Saddam did try to kill his father, what would you do?
Posted by: richard | Dec 31, 2006 10:45:39 AM
It is disturbing, no matter how atrocious someone's acts or how heinous their crimes, to publicly air someone's death; it is reprehensible. Yet adults and kids, families and politicians all crowded around their sets as though a holiday airing of "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" was about to begin. The hypocrisy of humanity, "we are better human beings than you but we'll gleefully cheer at your death”, is “evil”.
As for other hypocrisy's, thanks to some of you who posted the news information on Hussein's "history" with his on and off allies and enemies. I find it extremely interesting that the U.S. "plants" him in to power to do their bidding, eliminating communism for the consumer, free market based, polluting and greed inducing economic government of today (not that I am a communist but I'd not a huge fan of the free market "put a dollar sign on our lives" health care system the U.S. has generated - what are taxes good for if not for education and health???). In all the mess of the recent decades; the faltering health and education systems of the U.S., wars for oil (c'mon, let's be honest, this is a war for power and for oil), pollution, spending, corruption, and tax evasion - what is the MAIN point of the government? To protect its citizens, education, health, progress. Most (generally speaking) countries foster educated, intelligent, healthy citizens for the countries progress and well-being of humanity. Sadly, in the past few decades the U.S. has not seen such benefits. The U.S. has elected corrupt officials who have taken its citizens into wars under false pretenses, to secure its own interests. Hussein had NOTHING to do with 9/11 or "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (anyone else remember Bushes speech in which he looked for "Weapons of Mass Destruction" under his couch in the oval office as a joke? and yet Kerry makes an "inappropriate" comment about Bush's (lack of) education level and the entire world screams), yet we eat up his death like starving kids drooling over the candy everybody wants, making them more ignorant and blood thirsty.
Someone here once said it best, “apathy will be our downfall”. May it be humanity’s denial of global warming or just how sinister our own governments may be (I find it amusing and yet alarming just how similar in character Hussein and GWB really have become), if we, not as Americans or British or Brazilians, but as human beings, do not come together in a global, unified whole, if we do not set aside our differences, if we do not acknowledge that we are not always right and that the "wrong" isn't always wrong, then we might as well take the last nail and hammer our own coffins shut (and that cartoon image of a hand out of a hole of a coffin hammering itself in makes me chuckle). I will credit religion (and any other spiritual teaching) for rightfully pointing out the dangers of the seven deadly sins: greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, gluttony and wrath. It seems humanity has conveniently forgotten that we are all capable of committing those egregious sins; dictators, presidents, citizens, teachers, actors, and consumers. Each of our acts directly and consequently influences the people and environment around us. None of us are more good, evil, significant or insignificant to the other. Just like Hussein, we all have evil in our hearts. Recognizing that fact is the first step to bringing good to the world.
Posted by: Cory | Dec 31, 2006 11:20:45 AM
Ok, we can scratch Saddam off our checklist of evil dictators. Victory is ours!
If I remember correctly, wasn't there some other guy who needed to be caught?... hmmmmmm
I think his name was Osama something? Oh well, one Arab is as good as the next I suppose. Now we can turn our attention to what really matters:
American Idol returns next month!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: mark m | Dec 31, 2006 11:46:17 AM
Funny that the guy who was right about Iraq having no weapons of mass destruction was hanged.
Posted by: Marco | Dec 31, 2006 11:50:11 AM
It is not at all clear to me that the U.S. had the moral (or legal for that matter) to execute this guy. Yeah, he was a bad guy, but we have to accept responsibility that in large part he became what he was with our support.
I always find it funny that Republicans in general and the neo-cons in particular talk about moral relativism being this evil thing, and yes as a bedrock principle it leaves something to be desired, yet the vast majority of U.S. foreign policy is exactly based on operating in the gray areas. These are the same people who want to love the sinner but hate the sin, yet are very quick to categorize people and nations as evil.
I think this war will be looked upon by history as the thing that unraveled everything else. Unlike WWII which freed europe and unleashed the american economy, this war has embolding those who oppose us - Iran, Syria, N. Korea (the list is longer) and de-stablized those who either support or at least are not actively against us - Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan.
Posted by: hoya86 | Dec 31, 2006 1:17:54 PM
I felt sick to my stomach when I heard the news of this execution. So now any country has a right to invade another country, set up a puppet gov. and kill it's leader? All of this evil that Dumbya is setting up will definitely come back and bite us on the arse well after Dumbya is gone, i.e. toture of "prisoners" etc. Where will the support be from Main St. USA when the boys next door are forced to strip, perform sexual acts upon each other and have these photos exposed to the world and also beaten and murdered?
A relative of mine just left for Iraq and I learned that one of their chants during the Army graduation was "shoot, shoot, shoot, kill them , kill them, kill them, shove them in a body bag," and I guess ask questions later if at all?
Andy, uplift us today. Send a message of love, hope for the new year - we need it!
Posted by: Mike | Dec 31, 2006 2:21:16 PM
Violence pornography a la Nick Berg.
Posted by: david | Dec 31, 2006 4:10:49 PM
Excellent, Richard, spoken like a true Republican! Preach family values then hope for public executions. Pronounce another regime as evil while extolling the virtues of the Bush family, who manipulate, destroy and abuse anyone or anything that stands in their way...just because they are American. And hey, a gas station attendant was once rude to my Dad...maybe I should track him down and have him hanged in our town's square...? God Bless America...
Posted by: Nathan | Dec 31, 2006 4:20:29 PM
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Let's get rid of that sicko anti-Semitic homophobic assbag President of Iran next.
Posted by: LightningLad | Dec 31, 2006 4:33:01 PM
Not a big fan of executions in general, but this time it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Good riddance, you murderous bastard.
As for Dubya and his lot, they'll get what's coming to them eventually. I don't believe any of them should be hanged or executed in any manner, but God has a way of punishing those who elude man's justice.
Posted by: Dex | Dec 31, 2006 5:06:10 PM
There is no god, Dex - it's just you and I and everyone else talking to each other in an empty universe.
Posted by: david | Dec 31, 2006 9:52:59 PM
So will Rumey , Reagan, and bush SR hang for giving/ selling the mustard gas and nerve gas weapons to saddam that he used against a faction of kurds?
Especialy since the faction of kurds that he gassed were a faction that the main body of Kurds begged Saddam to get rid of since they were Communist....and the US was the only country...the ONLY country to veto in the UN any punishment since they were communists and we were in a cold war.
Oh how the story changes when Bush jr needs a war from propaganda purposes and oil. Do the research and find out about Saddam's trip to America afterward and the keys to which American cities he was given as a hero against communism. Look up the picture of Rummy personaly flying to Iraq to shake Saddams hand.
blah blah blah just like we suported castro and his revolution, the marcos, noriega, and even trained osama via CIA special ops to fight the communists russians in Afganistan.
We as a nation have sinned (and I believe in no gods) go ask the native americans.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Dec 31, 2006 11:31:44 PM
If you're joking, that's very funny. If you're not, I wholeheartedly disagree with you.
I don't like wingnut religious fundamentalists telling me what to believe, and I don't like pompous atheists telling me what NOT to believe. Even if you disagree with their opinions, you should show respect to everyone's faith (or lack thereof).
Posted by: Dex | Dec 31, 2006 11:31:48 PM
that last comment was directed at David, but it applies to everyone.
Posted by: Dex | Dec 31, 2006 11:37:15 PM