Saddam's Execution

[Sarah]

Time we had a few current affairs topics on WO, and what could be more current then the execution of Saddam Hussain? I don't consider myself a liberal person particularly, but I don't believe in execution either; even of someone as evil as him.

If you go to reuters.com you can see the video all the way up to the point where they put the noose round his neck, it sent shivers down my spine. That's the first time I've ever looked at a person who knew they were about to die, and it's indescribable.

Has anything changed or improved as a result of his execution? No, but it has made him a martyr, and is likely to add to the civil unrest in Iraq. How does everyone else feel about it?

[gillesroy]

Political designs behind Saddam’s execution :

1. Saddam is clearly the scapegoat for an international war syndicate, which includes many in our current political leadership, both in front and behind the scenes. Evacuating due process, controlling evidence and terrorizing the prosecution team were all par for the course in Saddam’s trial. A key reason for the speedy road to execution, was to eliminate a prominent player and key witness of this international criminal war conspiracy, thereby avoid further indictment of members of our leadership, many of whom have been accessory to Saddam’s actual crimes.

2. To « bookend » media fatigue and public indifference, re : Saddam’s trial. The whole point of the « trial » was to deliver a quick public execution, and thereby feed the hunger for blood so brilliantly cultivated in Western public opinion. An execution gives sense of heightened drama, and inagurates the next round of intensified bloodshed in the region… and beyond.

3. Lastly, to make Saddam a martyr for (gasp!) sympathisers, thereby deepening chaos in the middle-east over a longer period of time. Certainly, the US-led war in Iraq can be called a success insofar as its central purpose has been to aid the spreading of chaos in the Middle-East.

[Will]

I don't agree with execution, and I'm glad we don't have it in this country. I agree it will only mak ehim a martyr, though I'm not entirely convinced that it was done to keep the middle-east in turmoil, I don't see how that can be of benefit to us.

Welcome gillesroy BTW.

[ronlyre]

I just couldn't believe that Sky news felt it neccessary to play the clips over and over again, like it was some kind of video game. What do they think we are? I was pleased to hear that they got a lot of emails complaining about the exposure. And whatever happened to the Watershed? Murdoch has a lot to answer for.

[Sarah]

They've been talking about this on the radio, some people were saying they've been watching the full version of the hanging video taken on a mobile phone, over and over again. What is wrong with these people? How is this blood lust any less dangerous that Saddam's own?