First off, anyone who can find a rightie blogger who questions the timing of Saddam Hussein’s sentencing — the Sunday before the midterm election — gets a prize.
I haven’t thought about what the prize is. Not much chance I’ll be giving one.
Second, I predict Karl Rove is in for a surprise. I don’t think most of the American public gives a shit about what happens to Saddam Hussein any more. I think most Americans are sick of being jerked around on Iraq by the Bushies. The verdict is not going to change minds that the war was a mistake.
In anticipation of the joyous reaction of Iraqis, Reuters reports,
U.S. and Iraqi forces on Saturday began a security crackdown in the capital and other regions in anticipation of a verdict today in the trial of Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi government issued an around-the-clock ban on all vehicles and pedestrians, beginning Saturday night and lasting until at least Monday morning. The restrictions were also extended to the provinces of Salahuddin and Diyala, and to the city of Mosul, bastions of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.
The authorities beefed up police and military presence at checkpoints throughout the capital, and all Iraqi troops and police officers were recalled from leave and put on standby in the event of civil unrest.
Saddam faces the possibility of the death penalty, and the authorities fear that a guilty verdict could trigger widespread attacks by supporters of his government.
Those Iraqis know how to celebrate.
Kirk Semple of the New York Times writes,
Many Sunni Arabs today criticized the verdicts as the product of a political charade designed to satisfy the political agendas of the Shiite-led Iraqi government and the Bush Administration.
And even among Mr. Hussein’s detractors and enemies, the euphoria that greeted the verdicts was not unequivocal. A 70-year-old Shiite woman from the Palestine Street neighborhood of eastern Baghdad said the worsening security situation in Iraq robbed her of any feeling of celebration. “The happiness is gone because we are not comfortable now,” she complained.
For the record, I don’t doubt the guy is guilty of atrocities. But as they say, hangin’s too good fer ‘im. For someone like Hussein it would be a worse fate to rot in prison, old, alone and forgotten. But then, me and Jesus are opposed to the death penalty on principle.
If this is the best Karl can come up with, I am happy.
BTW, I saw Chris Matthews this morning on MSNBC. I cite him because he’s an idiot who frequently spouts rightie talking points. He said this probably will not help Republicans; anything that reminds voters of Iraq is a plus for Dems.
Bush got a big bump in the polls after an a terrorist big-wig was sent to Muslim paridise. I think that Saddam does not have the same appeal. His conviction does not make Americans at home or GIs any safer. It does not make Iraq more stable (probably the opposite). In terms of voting impact, this is a small plus for Dems.
The news of his conviction has thankfully been buried beneath a mountain of domestic happenings, and it has thus far only been mentioned as a minor event–though CNN has created a very dramatic graphic intro.
My memory isn’t quite up to full speed just yet (still working on the first cup of coffee), but didn’t I read something a couple days ago about how this verdict was to be announced before Saddam’s defense team even had a chance to make closing arguments?
Saddam sentenced by a fully-functioning Iraqi government that has control of its country, and greeted by a national sense of triumph and welcoming a bright new day, THAT would help the Republicans.
Saddam sentenced by a crippled Iraqi government that doesn’t even control the militias on its own side, greeted by increased sectarian violence and demonstrating that Iraqis can’t even agree that Saddam should be hung? Not so much, I think.
Sorry, Karl. Nice try.
Maha,
Against the Death Penalty? That makes three of us.
And, let’s not forget who gave this bad-boy his WMD. Reagan and Bush Sr. That’s why the imbeciles in power in ’02 and ’03 were so sure about attacking Iraq. They knew they’d find WMD. .And that’s why they were so shocked that they couldn’t find them. They knew they would find them because they’d given them to him!!!
They never realized two things:
1. Saddam was actually afraid of the UN Inspector’s. He was afraid that the other countires in the area would find out he had NO WMD anymore.
2. They never realized that Saddam was as incompetent as them.
They thought it was a “Slam Dunk” because they had put up the pole. Screwed on the backboard ,and attached the net.
Who knew Saddam had passed, or lost, the BALL!
They didn’t want to listen to independent people who said there were no WMD. They knew better.
“I wanna listen to that CD I gave you for Christmas last year. What, you can’t find it? I know you’ve got that CD because I’d given it to you. What do you mean you lost it, or didn’t take care of it? HOW!?! Oh, @#!tT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I can only hope that this trial is a preview or GWB’s future war crimes trial at the Hague……or, even better, in a free and independent Baghdad.
After all, W long passed Saddam’s record for number of Iraqis killed.
Amen, Dr Luba.
Amen again, dr. luba.
BTW, where is justme???
POP QUIZ
“I am a deceiver and a liar!”…. who said it? 25 points for correct answer.
1) George Bush
2) Dick Cheney
3) Ted Haggard
4) Satan
Swami, the correct answer is #3, Ted (Lookin’ Mighty) Haggard.
Boy, his denials unraveled fast. I love it.
I just heard Mr. Bush condemn Sadaam for torturing people and killing people. I condemn Mr. Bush for torturing people and killing people. Sadaam has been brought before a court of justice. Will Mr. Bush be brought before a court of justice?
Besides being barbaric, the death penalty condones killing. And then there’s that odd definition of killing called collateral damage. The perpetrators of 9/11 were not killing 3000 people, they were attacking the symbols of American power: The 3000 were collateral damage. We were not killing untold thousands of Iraqis when we invaded Iraq: They were collateral damage. So, there is a difference between dead and dead?
The ultimate irony may be when the Bush administration realizes that there is only one solution to the Iraq problem …dispense with (so called) democracy and install a strongman…. another one, just like Saddam. Given the current chaos and three years cumulative effect of Bush’s screw-ups; a strongman more brutal than Sadam will be needed to get the country under control. This will be Bush’s legacy. Iraq continues to head into further chaos, ugliness and depravity. What a despicable yet fitting place for dear leader to be. It will be interesting to see how he wears his new chloths now that his emperor costume has been vanquished to the pawn shop. It will not soon be forgotten that Bush has almost bankrupted his nation for this. What goes around comes around. If a strong man does come to Iraq he may owe allegiance more to Iran and Syria than to the United States. Because of George Bush the US is now despised in the Middle East. You know the birds have finally come home to roost when we see Pappy’s friends trying to bail junior out his mess. The US will need to shed its image as oppressor and destroyer if it is to have any hope of positively influencing events there. Will the election change any of this? The democrats have me worried. Will there be any investigations? Bush has made such a mess of things that the end result will likely remain unchanged. Just a different path getting there.
i do not think this country sees much difference between sadam and bush. no big deal. let’s hope someday we can get our brutal dictator on trial. as far as the death penalty, i was for it before i was against it. for i am sort of for it, ever since 10/9/06 when my brother was murdered, trussed up and put in a trash bag into a dumpster. his wife has been charged with 1st degree murder. now i am for it if i can do the injecting or pulling the plug.
The dimwit and chief, our dear leader, would want death. Torture to death. Then, when he doesn’t feel better, smarter, or more manly, he’ll wonder why it isn’t good enough. So, he’ll look to Iran for his next kill. He thinks Sadam will cure the bloodlust and emptiness.
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The atrocity for which Hussein was sentenced occurred in 1982. (From the 18th graf of the NYT story , and I suppose I should be grateful that they thought to put it in at all.)
And, (a), the following year, Donald Rumsfeld was shaking Hussein’s hand in friendship and the US was delivering weapons and dual-use technologies to Hussein.
And, (b), the NYT’s Professional Editors(TM) don’t seem to think that fact is relevant enough to even mention.
–Dog, etc.
PS. “… because he’s a BDS-suffering barking moonbat.”
He?
He?
I don’t know what “BDS” means, either. I take that was an insult.
Remember that if you’re a wingnut, anyone who disagrees with you is crazy or evil; probably both. D is for Derangement.
I thought “he” was fairly indicative of where this person was coming from: The Department of Couldn’t Even Get THAT Right.
With kind regards,
Dog, etc.
PZ Meyers (pharyngula @ science blogs) says he wouldn’t mind getting the fried food on a stick concession at Saddam’s demise. Hanging IS too good for him, but it is hardly enough to expiate his crimes. Call me sadistic, but he should be subject to trials for at least the next ten years, and then be forced to watch nasty film loops. Death is no proper pay-back. Redemption is the ultimate punishment. Then comes despair. If I recall my Jesuit upbringing correctly, despair is the one unpardonable sin. I sorta get the logic: another kind of torture.