Saddam to Be Executed Tonight

[rainbowdemon]

The witnesses to Saddam Hussein's impending execution gathered Friday in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone in final preparation for his hanging, as state television broadcast footage of his regime's atrocities.

A top Iraqi official said Saddam will be executed before 10 p.m. EST Friday.

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[Lord_of_the_Dense]

Watching/listening at the moment.

[rainbowdemon]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three years after he was hauled from a hole in the ground by pursuing U.S. forces, Saddam Hussein was hanged Saturday under a sentence imposed by an Iraqi court, al-Hurra TV, al-Arabiya and Sky News TV reported.

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[Kooperman]

Good riddance...now, let's get to the next leader of a country who has caused thousands of deaths to innocent people and unspeakable crimes against humanity in general.....

[Hemoglobin Harry]

I'm completely torn in two directions.

It would be awfully hard to cry for that guy but the whole picture of how and what happened leaves a gaping hole at the gallows.

&

All killing is wrong. War, punishment, murder.

--

My one history Prof stood at the front of the class one day and shook my perception of war. He said that Islam has become so predominant in the world because it was the religion that in the shortest period of time adopted the theory that killing in war was justified if in the name of the creator.

Edited December 30, 2006 by Hemoglobin Harry

[CTC Command]

They should have finished the trial for the Kurdish war crimes first.

This execution will make zero difference in the civil war. Maybe if he was executed 3 years ago, but now it's turned into a whole other animal; this is irrelevant to the big picture.

[slum_goddess]

Good riddance...now, let's get to the next leader of a country who has caused thousands of deaths to innocent people and unspeakable crimes against humanity in general.....

'crimes against world peace' is what they called it after WW2. i'm waiting impatiently over here but don't expect shit to happen.

[DudeAsInCool]

I dont believe in capital punishment, not that anyone will miss the guy anyway... Now the oddest thing happened this evening..I went to see a movie (Factory Girl with Sienna Miller playing Edie Sedgwick alongside Guy Pearce playing Andy Warhol and Hayden Christensen as Bob Dylan--interesting cinematagraphy/the film takes a look at Andy Warhols factory) and then went to a Deli nearby...I looked up and saw this guy and turned to my partner and said who does that look like? She said it was the spitting image of Saddam Hussein... so maybe he's still alive after all?

[Malicious Intent]

Yeah - this one is a real test for anyone's commitment against capital punishment. With all the killing and executions going on in the country, this isn't exactly leading by example.

[Malicious Intent]

Good to see the EU standing against the death penalty. I really didn't think anyone would, particularly not the UK:

UK Foreign Office:

"I welcome the fact that Saddam Hussein has been tried by an Iraqi court for at least some of the appalling crimes he committed against the Iraqi people. He has now been held to account.

"The British government does not support the use of the death penalty, in Iraq or anywhere else. We advocate an end to the death penalty worldwide, regardless of the individual or the crime.

"We have made our position very clear to the Iraqi authorities, but we respect their decision as that of a sovereign nation."

French Foreign Ministry:

"France calls upon all Iraqis to look towards the future and work towards reconciliation and national unity. Now more than ever, the objective should be a return to full sovereignty and stability in Iraq."

"France, which like the rest of its European partners advocates the universal abolition of capital punishment, notes the execution of Saddam Hussein on Saturday."

"That decision was made by the people and the sovereign authorities of Iraq."

Italian PM Prodi:

"Italy is against the death penalty and so even in such a dramatic case as Saddam Hussein, we still think that the death penalty must not be put into action."

More quotes on the execution:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6218597.stm

[Shawn]

link

I found the coverage of various nation's outlooks on Wikipedia facinating.

Some say exactly what you'd expect and some remarkably less so.

[Kooperman]

Breaking news! CNN reports that Saddam Hussein is still dead...more later when Larry King comes out of his coffin at sundown.

[DudeAsInCool]

Breaking news! CNN reports that Saddam Hussein is still dead...more later when Larry King comes out of his coffin at sundown.

Not true - I saw Saddam at Juniors Deli in Westwood (LA) last night...