THE INDEPENDENT: So America's one-time ally has been sentenced to death for war crimes he committed when he was Washington's best friend in the Arab world. America knew all about his atrocities and even supplied the gas - along with the British, of course - yet there we were yesterday declaring it to be, in the White House's words, another "great day for Iraq". That's what Tony Blair announced when Saddam Hussein was pulled from his hole in the ground on 13 December 2003. And now we're going to string him up, and it's another great day.Mark Alexander
Of course, it couldn't happen to a better man. Nor a worse. It couldn't be a more just verdict - nor a more hypocritical one. It's difficult to think of a more suitable monster for the gallows, preferably dispatched by his executioner, the equally monstrous hangman of Abu Ghraib prison, Abu Widad, who would strike his victims on the head with an axe if they dared to condemn the leader of the Iraqi Socialist Baath Party before he hanged them. But Abu Widad was himself hanged at Abu Ghraib in 1985 after accepting a bribe to put a reprieved prisoner to death instead of the condemned man. But we can't mention Abu Ghraib these days because we have followed Saddam's trail of shame into the very same institution. And so by hanging this awful man, we hope - don't we? - to look better than him, to remind Iraqis that life is better now than it was under Saddam. Robert Fisk: This was a guilty verdict on America as well
Europe calls for death penalty to be commuted
Bush hopes verdict will boost election campaign
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It is wrong to take pleasure in the approaching death of any human being, and therefore we do not celebrate the fact that – barring an exceedingly unlikely turn of events – Saddam Hussein will soon be dangling from a hangman's rope. But we recognise the justice of yesterday's death sentence by the court in Baghdad, and we also welcome the fact that this guilty defendant will be denied the firing squad reserved for those to whom a shred of honour still attaches. A hangman's noose is all Saddam deserves
Monday, November 06, 2006
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4 comments:
Thank you Mark for this excellent post. You give a broad perspective of European thought, at least from this American's point of view. I'm in agreement the editorial "A hangman's noose is all Saddam deserves"
While I don't endorse the death penalty in general, there are times when it should be invoked. This is clearly one of them.
I like the following quote by "Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt (who) called the verdict "deeply satisfying". But he also said: "The big challenge for Iraq's people is the future, and the big compromises required for maintained freedom, secured peace and sustainable reconciliation."
It is truly up to the people of Iraq to show the world the greatness of Islam by working together to resolve their sectarian differences. Trust me on this---the Americans want to get out of Iraq. We just want to do it in a way that will bring lasting change to this region--as determined by the Iraqi people. Is Islam equal to the task?
Heather:
It is truly up to the people of Iraq to show the world the greatness of Islam by working together to resolve their sectarian differences.
There is no "greatness of Islam"! So it's not possible to show it. That's where your president goes wrong! Had there been any "greatness" in Islam, the world would have known it by now.
Mark,
This was spoken as a challenge to the proponents of Islam to put their money where their collective mouth is---If ISLAM is such a superior religion as they say--NOW IS THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW THE WORLD!!!
Mark--we are on the same page as far as this goes. However, I think this challenge would go a long way for them to discover their own "inconsistencies" and resolve them. Is Islam up to this task or not?!!
Heather, I realized what you meant by that statement. I hadn't misunderstood you. I, too, believe that we're on the same page.
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