Saddam & Me

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

This was taken at Madame Tussaud's in London in November 2005. I captioned it, "But he still deserves a fair trial!" I believe he did not receive one and that his execution was therefore a violation of international law. I am in NO WAY a Saddam sympathizer, but frankly, this whole affair sickens me.

[babylonsister]

1. Please explain why his execution was a violation of int'l law.

He was a pig, found out and outed many times, who violated who?

[Monkeyman]

2. It wasn't but he should of been out of the Country for this trial

Then we Americans would not be the target of what is coming our way. Right now any American out of Country is in danger

[babylonsister]

11. We don't really know if the reaction will be bad, really bad, or not.

I know you have friends over there, but it might not be as bad as you think. At least, I hope, my friend.

[Lars39]

3. Why was he not sent to The Hague for trial there upon his capture?

[Monkeyman]

7. Now that would of been common since But it would of took to Long

For Bush and company

[Psephos]

Like Milosevic?

Now THAT's what I call a mockery of justice.

Peace.

[The Magistrate]

8. There Was No Reason To, Sir, And No Jurisdiction

The international criminal court has jurisdiction only when a nation's courts will not deal with violations by its own citizens: an Iraqi court was quite willing to deal with this particular Iraqi national, and at least some of his violations.

[The Magistrate]

4. It Is Not One, Ma'am

The Talibani/Maliki regime in Iraq is recognized by the U.N., and therefore under law legitimate: it tried Hussein under Iraqi law, and convicted and sentenced him accordingly.

"We dealt with them under regulation three-oh-three."

[babylonsister]

9. Meaning, it is not a violation of international law, right?

Thanks, The Magistrate. Very nice to see/hear you chime in!

[The Magistrate]

14. That Was Indeed My Meaning, Ma'am

My apologies for the lack of clarity.

[Syncronaut Seven]

5. It's a good thing we got er done so quick

The American taxpayers were about to get stuck with the bill to fly him in to testify in front of a congressional investigative subcomitee.

There's enough here to spell impeachment: http://www.bushflash.com/thanks.html

Can you imagine if he had been allowed to testify?

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Let me list the ways

1.- He was given POW status by Geneva... therefore he could not be subject to a trial by the occupiers or their puppet government

2.- The death penalty is not contemplated in the Geneva Convention

3.- This reeked of Victor's Justice, the kind we were so careful to avoid after WW II

4.- He should have been remanded to the Hague to stand trial for his Crimes Against Humanity, what he was charged, convicted and executed for were crimes against the state... and please don't tell me that if anybody tried to kill a US pResident, in particular our current one, you would not see retribution.

5.- This was not a fair trial under any standard of International law... see reasons above

6.- this is why many International humanitarian organizations who were no fans of Sadamn protested this joke of a trial

7.- The real war crimes remain non exposed and the kurds and March arabs really are not getting to speak out... on the bright side, from our POV, nobody will mention who sold those WMDs to Sadamn and our complicity in some of these crimes.

I think I covered most of it

[AliceWonderland]

15. Here is a prelim HRW statement - inconsistencies with international law:

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950.htm

Highlights: The Iraqi High Tribunal sentenced Saddam Hussein and two others to death in November for the killing of 148 men and boys from the town of Dujail in 1982. The tribunal’s statute prohibits, contrary to international law, the possibility of commuting a death sentence. It also requires that the execution take place within 30 days of the final appeal.

According to this statement, the execution also undermines the hope for human rights law in Iraq as a byproduct. And, as an added bonus:

At the time of his hanging, Saddam Hussein and others were on trial for genocide for the 1988 Anfal campaign. The victims, including women, children and the elderly, were selected because they were Kurds who remained on their traditional lands in zones outside of areas controlled by Baghdad. Hussein’s execution will therefore jeopardize the trial of these most serious crimes.

It's disturbing to think of the precedent for international law here -- this is selective victor's retribution, and it could have been carried out in a way that advanced international human rights as a regime. Though that might get American political leaders (and the leaders of a lot more countries) in some rather hot water...

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. You didn't expect that the US was all of a sudden going to respect

international law? The only law that applies here is that of taking the best advantage of an opportunity. This "event" is supposed to prime america for a big increase in committment in Iraq that will be announced in a couple of weeks.

[bobsputer]

12. I just cant believe this...

I don't know how they did it...but they made me...a true blue american feel some level of sympathy for Saddam. How can they be so incompetent as to treat a monster like Saddam so badly that I feel as if I wanted to do something to stop this? I'm sure these are the feelings that Ramsey Clark deals with every day...

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

13. Bob, you're brave for saying that

And I agree with you. BRING IT ON, FREEPER SCUM!!!! And welcome to DU!