Friday, December 29, 2006

Thoughts on Saddam's Execution

If what I'm hearing from the media is correct, Saddam Hussein is not much longer for this earth.

Before we completely go giddy with joy, we should remember this is a somber occasion. Whenever anyone is put to death for crimes against humanity, it isn't supposed to be a party atmosphere. Americans and Iraqis alike have sacrificed so much to get to this point. We owe it to those who have endured what Saddam did to treat his execution with the gravity it demands.

Some have come up with ideas to televise Saddam's execution via pay per view and use the money generated to pay the families of our soldiers fighting in Iraq. A noble sentiment on one level, but I'm not comfortable with it. The Germans have a term, "schadenfreude," which loosely translated means taking pleasure at the misfortune of others. Seeing some of my conservative breathren's reaction to Saddam's execution and how quickly it's coming up, I can only say schadenfreude is running wild.

I don't want to be in that group. As bad, as ruthless, as utterly reprehensible as Saddam has been, I can't take joy at his execution. It's the closing of a chapter of world history, a chapter written in the blood of millions of of his victims. A chapter that didn't have to be written had we had the courage to hold Saddam accountable when we had the chance in Operation Desert Storm. It's hard to accept, but it's necessary. We could have stopped it, and we didn't.

Given that, how can any American be happy that Saddam is going to be hung? It may make us feel good for a short time or bolster our resolve to continue fighting, but it doesn't undo the past. It won't bring back a single Kurd gassed by Saddam. It won't heal the emotional and psychological scars of the women who survived Saddam's rape rooms. It won't stop the insurgents from targeting our troops and Iraqi citizens. It won't restore families torn apart by Saddam's machinations.

No, killing Saddam won't undo the damage he caused, but it should serve as a reminder of what happens when absolute power goes unchecked by those with the power to stop it. And that's something we all need to learn.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saddam's quick execution for ordering the deaths of 148 men and boys in retaliation for an assassination attempt means the Kurds get screwed again. It also means that the Reagan administration's complicity in Saddam's slaughter of the Kurds remains a convenient secret. It means that the elder Bush administration's unconscionable failure to back up promises of support in the fight to overthrow Saddam after the first Gulf War stays beneath the public conscience still longer.

The good news is that only 50 Iraqis were blown up in car bombs following the execution--the usual weekend slaughter in Bush's broken Iraq.

The faux concern for the plight of the Iraqis by right-wingers would be laughable if their real disdain for Muslims, the poor, and people of colour weren't such a cancer in the US.

Syd And Vaughn said...

Marcie posted our thoughts on his execution, and while we're not all giddy, as many are, we do not recognize the passing of a human being.

Saddam's crimes were numerous, and he only faced justice for one of them. We know why this happened; Not only did it pass the final judgment that any common sense person would arrive at for those crimes, but it sent a message to the other thugs and dictators around the globe.

If you're people are ever freed like the Iraqis were, and you are caught alive, the same fate will be delivered there in equal measure.

We can argue like the rest of the lawyers are doing--was this trial fair? Well, which side would you believe at that point. We think he did, and the Iraqis believe he did. We'd like to believe that they learned not to be like him under his rule.

It really comes down to one, simple, succinct question: Is it a good thing he was executed? Additionally, was it still a good idea to go in and remove him?

If there is such a thing as decency and common sense, the answer should be "yes."

Thomas

Anonymous said...

Is this a high school blog? The pablum you guy post is just stupid. Oh, Saddam was so bad he wasn’t even human—get real. This is just one more opportunity not only missed but thrown away by the incompetents in Washington. What did his execution accomplish? Not a damn thing. The video showing the taunting at his execution demonstrates it was about revenge and not justice. Will it end the war faster? No. Will it bring Sunni and Shia together? No.

Is it a good thing he was executed? Not when and how it was done, no.
Was it still a good idea to go in and remove him? Not the country-destroying way we did it, no.

Grow up. Quit asking the simple(ton) questions. Our nation deserves better, from our leaders and from the remarkably stupid electorate.

Syd And Vaughn said...

It's so nice to see such "nuanced" opinion that doesn't address the issues of Saddam Hussein. And it's also nice to see Mr. Anonymous so secure in himself that he refuses to identify himself.

Saddam was a monster to his people. That's the point, genius. He murdered and raped and victimized his population.

He lied to the UN, claiming that he needed to seel his oil to feed his starving people, and when the UN said yes, he exploited the program; bribing not only members of the Security Council, but the overseers of the Oil-For-Food program. The money he got went towards rebuildfing his military, and building monuments to himself.

He connected himself to terrorist groups throughout the region, including those in Israel, and paid suicide bombers families money for successful attacks.

He used weapons of mass destruction on his people in the form of chemical weapons in an attempt to wipe them out. And not for any "higher purpose" like Hitler claimed, but for money. He wanted to sell the oil rights in Northern Iraq. It was all about money.

Butr, maybe Mr. Anonymous is right, and Saddam wasn't such a bad guy. Maybe this all was a scheme cooked up in DC by the politicos there, and most undoubtedly, it was for oil.

Yeah. Right. I can believe that far more than I can believe that a single man was a brutal dictator.

Thomas

Anonymous said...

LOL, this IS a high school blog. When did Joe American loose his capacity to think and reason?

Saddam was not hanged for any of the laundry list of offenses Thomas dutifully recited. He was hanged for ordering the killing of 148 Shia by ski-masked Shia executioners.

You've been duped again. Luckily for you you're too stupid to know it.

TLindaman said...

LOL, this IS a high school blog. When did Joe American loose his capacity to think and reason?


Well, for one, it's "lose." Just a quick pointer for the HJs: If you're going to malign someone else's intelligence, it works better if you DON'T MISSPELL EASY WORDS. I'm just sayin'...

Now, if Mr. or Ms. Anonymous thinks this is a "high school blog," perhaps he or she has a better blog, maybe one that he or she maintains. I'd personally love to read Mr. or Ms. Anonymous's musings, if he/she would be willing to share.

So, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, the ball's in your court. Let's see your blog. I will await your response.

Anonymous said...

Wow, just when I thought this blog couldn't be more pointless and juvenile the bar is lowered another notch. The most damaging thing the younger Bush did to the Republican Party was to legitimize stupidity and ineptitude—but they’re sure careful to run a spellchecker on their posts! It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.

TLindaman said...

Wow, just when I thought this blog couldn't be more pointless and juvenile the bar is lowered another notch. The most damaging thing the younger Bush did to the Republican Party was to legitimize stupidity and ineptitude—but they’re sure careful to run a spellchecker on their posts! It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.


Dude, you misspelled "lose" in a post where you mocked the intelligence of others. You set yourself up for that one. Don't get mad at me for pointing it out.

By the way, isn't it lazy to rely on spellcheck instead of using your brain to figure out the correct spelling and usage of words like "lose"?

Speaking of juvenile postings, maybe you could enlighten us to the maturity level of the following statements:

Anonymous said...
Is this a high school blog? The pablum you guy post is just stupid.

Grow up. Quit asking the simple(ton) questions. Our nation deserves better, from our leaders and from the remarkably stupid electorate.

Anonymous said...
LOL, this IS a high school blog. When did Joe American loose his capacity to think and reason?

You've been duped again. Luckily for you you're too stupid to know it.

Anonymous said...
Wow, just when I thought this blog couldn't be more pointless and juvenile the bar is lowered another notch. The most damaging thing the younger Bush did to the Republican Party was to legitimize stupidity and ineptitude—but they’re sure careful to run a spellchecker on their posts! It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.


And that's just on this thread. The rest of Mr./Ms. Anonymous's posts aren't much above this
level.

By the way, I didn't notice where you posted the URL of your blog where you have commentary that is beyond "high school blog" level. Surely you have one, Mr./Ms. Anonymous, in order to know what goes into a good blog. I'm sure it was just an oversight, one that you will correct in short order.

After all, you wouldn't want to be seen as little more than a Howling Jackal, right?

Anonymous said...

It's so funny you have to focus on a typo. I don’t spell check comments and I couldn’t care less if I misspell something. You're even more pathetic than your silly blog implies. But thanks for the chuckles!

TLindaman said...

Anonymous said...
It's so funny you have to focus on a typo. I don’t spell check comments and I couldn’t care less if I misspell something. You're even more pathetic than your silly blog implies. But thanks for the chuckles!


Hey, you're the one claiming to be so smart. Not my fault you're confused by the ever-so-tricky usage rules for "lose."

Another typical move of the HJ's is to downplay whatever mistakes they make, especially in a high-profile situation, like when they proclaim themselves to be smarter than those who disagree with them. A hugely embarassing mistake, like using "loose" instead of "lose" in a post proclaiming intellectual superiority, gets downplayed to "It's just a typo."

Another HJ trait is that they try to deflect criticism by suggesting someone who holds them to any standard is somehow deficient. After all, they're perfect (especially when they make "just a typo), so anyone who points out they aren't perfect just HAS to have something wrong with them!

Of course, Mr./Ms. Anonymous has yet to produce a blog of his/her own to show us what a non-"high school" blog looks like. And judging from the tone of finality in his/her last post, I doubt we ever will.

Another trait of the HJ's. When challenged successfully, they insult and scurry away from the conversation.

Just like Mr./Ms. Anonymous has done.

Anonymous said...

LOL