All these serious considerations of boo-hiss-death-penalty aside, executing Hussein is a Bad Thing: because it would encourage all the flatline bimbos who pop up on our TV screens, masquerading as serious-minded commentators, to start wittering on about "Closure for the Iraqi People". Or should that be 'flatline bimbi'?
And you don't want to set me off again on the misuse of concepts like 'closure', or about the vacuous dingbats who seem to believe that they are actually thinking when they bandy about these terms of pop psychology. It's not a pretty sight.
"Kangeroo court" and "veneer of legality". Does that make Saddam innocent of the charges against him?
Unfortunately, I would have to say until proven guilty in a court of law that's worth a damn; yes, but it wouldn't have been too hard convince me otherwise. It would have been so gratifying to see one of the world's real bona fide despots genuinely brought to justice. Alas, we never shall. Is the justice system of Iraq currently up to such a task? Maybe. Maybe we should have pushed to try him at the Hague. That way he could have been poisoned in his cell just like Milosevic wasn't. The bloodthirsty string-‘em-up brigade would be happy and the words 'death penalty' need never be mentioned. But I suppose to lose one genocidal maniac in this way is unlucky. To lose two just looks like carelessness.
H; I personally don't doubt Saddam's guilt. Unfortunately the court proceedings against him were handled so ineptly that any baathist, loyalist, or revanchist has ample grounds upon which to build all the conspiracy theories they want.
Mr Rodent, I like the shia release thingie, but only if Saddam is dressed like a character from Tron and has to run through a black-light maze pursued by screaming Sadrists.
I should probably close my tags, eh?
Of course I think Saddam is innocent, H.
That's why I said he was "actually guilty" and called him "an evil dictator", "the butcher of Baghdad" and a "genocidal maniac". I also accused him of slaughtering his people and using chemical weapons on his internal enemies
I suppose I should be clearer when I write, rather than throwing around these vague terms. It leaves too much room for interpretation.
Mr Rodent, I like the shia release thingie, but only if Saddam is dressed like a character from Tron and has to run through a black-light maze pursued by screaming Sadrists.
Betcha some entrepreneur is working on the Playstation version already.
What was that about Saddam and Tron, guys?
I was too busy playing my kick-ass retro console game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Com...ants_from_Space
It's the general glee with which the verdict was met by the press that puzzled me. The guy's no different to the many goons the UK/US axis is happy to deal with simply because they know what's good for them and in return for a bit of out-sourced torture/support for our wars/permission to use their air bases we leave them in peace to brutalise and torture their own (Hi Uzbekistan!). As you point out, Mr Hussein was in the same position for many years until the Yanks got pissed off with him.
Anyway, enjoy the sideshow. I'll be in Aisle C selling popcorn and 'Hanging Sad' effigies.
I'm living in exile, but can I assume that the BBC TV coverage didn't dwell too much on the constant replacement of recalcitrant judges with more pliable ones (see Riverbend) or the enormous coincidence involved in the timing of the verdict?
I liked Dara O' Brien's crack on Mock The Week:
"As a human rights activist I'm glad Saddam got off with a suspended sentence."
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