NationStates Jolt Archive

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? Cover the the rope with a comfortable thin layer of leather? It's a hanging for christs sake, you can't expect it to be a wonderful, dignified celebration.

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? Cover the the rope with a comfortable thin layer of leather? It's a hanging for christs sake, you can't expect it to be a wonderful, dignified celebration.

Maybe they could make it more entertaining. Maybe some sort of yo-yo effect. :)

Maybe they could make it more entertaining. Maybe some sort of yo-yo effect. :)

lol, I guess "Yo Hands" could have done a rock the cradle on him if he had giant mechanical hands.

Maybe they could make it more entertaining. Maybe some sort of yo-yo effect. :)

Thats twisted! LOLOL

They're probably referring to the fact that someone taunted the late Iraqi president and posted a video of the death online.

lol, I guess "Yo Hands" could have done a rock the cradle on him if he had giant mechanical hands.

An Around The World or two would've been festive. :)

Maybe they could make it more entertaining. Maybe some sort of yo-yo effect. :)

I like it. Maybe with each bounce they could have played a loud "boing" noise, like in the cartoons.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs?

Have a minute of silence for all the people he murdered before letting him swing.

They're probably referring to the fact that someone taunted the late Iraqi president and posted a video of the death online.

That. And it's not 'the press,' the executioner himself almost bailed on the whole deal because of the way it was being handled.

They're probably referring to the fact that someone taunted the late Iraqi president and posted a video of the death online.Without that video most folks would probably never believe that Saddam is in fact dead. I suppose the world, and especially Iraq, really needs this video (but not the circumstances of the execution with the Muqtada shouts etc.)

That. And it's not 'the press,' the executioner himself almost bailed on the whole deal because of the way it was being handled.
Maybe it was too hasty?!

Have a minute of silence for all the people he murdered before letting him swing.that would make almost 3 and 1/2 years :eek:

They're probably referring to the fact that someone taunted the late Iraqi president and posted a video of the death online.

I didn't realise someone taunted him, I thought the video had no sound.

that would make almost 3 and 1/2 years :eek:

A respectful 3 1/2 years. Without disturbances in Iraq.

I didn't realise someone taunted him, I thought the video had no sound.very funny. i guess you know pretty well that there's a video with sound on the web that shows the entire execution.

I didn't realise someone taunted him, I thought the video had no sound.

The taunting was reported on Sunday in the NY Times. Saddam and the guards exchanged a number of taunts and insults (the guards got the last word).

It was badly done but given the shattered state of that country, I'm not surprised.

A respectful 3 1/2 years. Without disturbances in Iraq.or just in the gallows room

Maybe it was too hasty?!

Rushing it in so that it was hours before the both Shi'ite and Sunni holy days start (which would have delayed the execution, since in Iraq you can't be executed on your holy day) was a concern that even US officials raised.

very funny. i guess you know pretty well that there's a video with sound on the web that shows the entire execution.

well i saw the video of the execution and couldn't hear anything, maybe it was my speakers or something.

He's dead. He's in heaven making chocolate chips now, or something like that...well, right now he's probably in hell torturing Satan and will be let into heaven here in a few months. What more do people want from an execution? Who gives a fig if it was botched? Whoop-dee-damn-doo.

Of course, the ideal punishment would have been to have every Iraqi who had a family member killed by Saddam's policies line up and kick him in the jewels as revenge. That's probably several million kicks, so some would have to be distributed among his co-conspirators. If that doesn't kill him, make him live out his days under Turkmenistan's old regime. Oh yeah, and make him shave his beard AND his moustache. And eat only circus peanuts. That'll get him.

Have a minute of silence for all the people he murdered before letting him swing.

He'd still be standing there! :(

That. And it's not 'the press,' the executioner himself almost bailed on the whole deal because of the way it was being handled.

Also it seems that his US jailers tried to search all participants to remove camera's...

He's dead. He's in heaven making chocolate chips now, or something like that...well, right now he's probably in hell torturing Satan and will be let into heaven here in a few months. What more do people want from an execution? Who gives a fig if it was botched? Whoop-dee-damn-doo.

Of course, the ideal punishment would have been to have every Iraqi who had a family member killed by Saddam's policies line up and kick him in the jewels as revenge. That's probably several million kicks, so some would have to be distributed among his co-conspirators. If that doesn't kill him, make him live out his days under Turkmenistan's old regime. Oh yeah, and make him shave his beard AND his moustache. And eat only circus peanuts. That'll get him.

Because his execution was a overt political act.

Your second paragraph...well I can sorta agree with that but...

(this is a suggestion I read on another board)

Put him in a bullet proof/bomb proof box in a central location accessible to all Iraqis...feed him and guard him.

Anyone wants to talk to him can.

Revenge comes in many forms...and death is usually the kind of revenge dictators expect.

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? Cover the the rope with a comfortable thin layer of leather? It's a hanging for christs sake, you can't expect it to be a wonderful, dignified celebration.

In the purely ethical sense, execution from my frame of reference is barbaric. But...

(a) hanging looks worse than lethal injection (probably because it looks more like murder, whereas getting pricked by a needle and falling asleep doesnt), and if not executed correctly (and I would assume it runs a higher risk with respect to this) hanging is usually not as pleasant.

(b) Again, its with the way it appeared. Saddam was hanged in this dingy little darkened cellar type room, as I can discern anyway from the photos. And it basically looked very sleazy. Add to that the fact that the executioners looked like something you might expect to see in Hostel 2 and you've got the image of barbarism/ie unsanitized execution written all over it.

Though all executions are barbaric, I think most of the people who complained about it in the media realized that, the grungy aesthetic just added to it. And I think that the fact that it was unsanitized is probably better, at least its less hypocritical. Killing (or from my frame of reference when they dont want to die-murdering) people is a dirty business.

Rushing it in so that it was hours before the both Shi'ite and Sunni holy days start (which would have delayed the execution, since in Iraq you can't be executed on your holy day) was a concern that even US officials raised.

Actually they did it on the Shiite holy day (Saturday).

Actually they did it on the Shiite holy day (Saturday).

That holiday didn't start until dawn, they where sketching on a technicality.

well i saw the video of the execution and couldn't hear anything, maybe it was my speakers or something.That's because there are two videos. The state video which has no sound and cuts out before Saddam is hung. And a video captured on a mobile phone by one of the people who witnessed the execution. This video has shouts of the witnesses taunting Saddam, and videos the actual hanging.

Yes his hanging was done wrong.

THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE HANGED HIM!!

Don't get me wrong, he deserved (keeping the U.S. from their oil...) but being hanged is what he wanted!
I saw on the news that hundreds turned up to a mock funeral hailing him as a matyr!
Saddam even said "It is a true matyr's death. And I am glad." Or something along thoes lines.

They should have left him to rot in a small, cold, damp hole like the one they found him in.

He appears to have been executed properly. All the reports state that he died instantly, which is the goal in hanging.

Proably the only thing they could've done better was not allow him to refuse the hood.

People are just complaining because it was done in a dark room by men with ski masks.

He's dead. He's in heaven making chocolate chips now, or something like that...well, right now he's probably in hell torturing Satan and will be let into heaven here in a few months. What more do people want from an execution? Who gives a fig if it was botched? Whoop-dee-damn-doo.

Of course, the ideal punishment would have been to have every Iraqi who had a family member killed by Saddam's policies line up and kick him in the jewels as revenge. That's probably several million kicks, so some would have to be distributed among his co-conspirators. If that doesn't kill him, make him live out his days under Turkmenistan's old regime. Oh yeah, and make him shave his beard AND his moustache. And eat only circus peanuts. That'll get him.

Or, we could make him watch ALL the episodes of Will and Grace, over, and over, and over, and over....

He appears to have been executed properly. All the reports state that he died instantly, which is the goal in hanging.

Proably the only thing they could've done better was not allow him to refuse the hood.

People are just complaining because it was done in a dark room by men with ski masks.

You're the first person I've heard even mention a dark room and men with ski masks.

I was kinda thinking a three mile long spanking machine of Iraqis.

Or, we could make him watch ALL the episodes of Will and Grace, over, and over, and over, and over....

Ouch...

Don't get me wrong, he deserved (keeping the U.S. from their oil...)


I would have thought the hundreds of thousands of people dead from the regime would have been a better reason, other than the US and their precious oil.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think he should have been hanged either, but I don't think 'oil' is a particuarly good justification.

I was kinda thinking a three mile long spanking machine of Iraqis.

You'd need a three mile long conveyor belt. And they're hard to come by.



And three mile chains of spanking Iraqis aren't, mind.
*nod*

1,000th post, w00t!

The religious and political taunts made while he was on the gallows were certainly a violation of decorum, and extremely unprofessional and undignified for the iraqi government.

Because it happened, and video got out, fires are needlessly fanned and the iraqi government is diminished.

You're the first person I've heard even mention a dark room and men with ski masks.

O Rly?

In the purely ethical sense, execution from my frame of reference is barbaric. But...

(a) hanging looks worse than lethal injection (probably because it looks more like murder, whereas getting pricked by a needle and falling asleep doesnt), and if not executed correctly (and I would assume it runs a higher risk with respect to this) hanging is usually not as pleasant.

(b) Again, its with the way it appeared. Saddam was hanged in this dingy little darkened cellar type room, as I can discern anyway from the photos. And it basically looked very sleazy. Add to that the fact that the executioners looked like something you might expect to see in Hostel 2 and you've got the image of barbarism/ie unsanitized execution written all over it.

Though all executions are barbaric, I think most of the people who complained about it in the media realized that, the grungy aesthetic just added to it. And I think that the fact that it was unsanitized is probably better, at least its less hypocritical. Killing (or from my frame of reference when they dont want to die-murdering) people is a dirty business.

You're the first person I've heard even mention a dark room and men with ski masks.

It's not my problem if you don't pay attention.

It's not my problem if you don't pay attention.

Sorry, I was listening to the news, not rabble. My mistake. Rabble on.

EDIT: there is a long enough pause that no doubt I'm about to be linked to a news article that does indeed mention ski masks and dark rooms. So I'll cop to the fact that some have indeed mentioned it even if what I've been listening to and reading hasn't, but dark rooms and ski masks have been far from the only thing people are upset about to the point that it is not really in the top set of concerns and is left out of some reports.

That holiday didn't start until dawn, they where sketching on a technicality.

Fair enough. I was not aware of that but it makes sense (Ramadan).

What really burns my ass and what makes the entire event a mockery is that Saddam had another trial going on.

I'm not an expert in jurisprudence but surely that is not correct.

Fair enough. I was not aware of that but it makes sense (Ramadan).

What really burns my ass and what makes the entire event a mockery is that Saddam had another trial going on.

I'm not an expert in jurisprudence but surely that is not correct.

I think Ramadan was last month. It was some set of holy days that usually the Shi'ites and Sunnis celebrate on different days but was at the same time this year.

But, yeah, the Kurdish trial was also a huge issue, that he is only going to be tried in absentia, being dead already and all.

Fair enough. I was not aware of that but it makes sense (Ramadan).

What really burns my ass and what makes the entire event a mockery is that Saddam had another trial going on.

I'm not an expert in jurisprudence but surely that is not correct.Not in most countries, but it is in Iraq. Punishments must be carried out within a month of them being handed down. Or something along those lines.

I think Ramadan was last month. It was some set of holy days that usually the Shi'ites and Sunnis celebrate on different days but was at the same time this year.

But, yeah, the Kurdish trial was also a huge issue, that he is only going to be tried in absentia, being dead already and all.

I mentioned Ramadan as the fast is from dawn till dusk :)

Yes. Also the second trial could have been interesting. Lots of dirt in that one.

Not in most countries, but it is in Iraq. Punishments must be carried out within a month of them being handed down. Or something along those lines.

Quite. And who was 'advising' the Iraqi government with regards to this case?

Though all executions are barbaric...

A barbaric end for a barbaric person. Sounds civilized to me.

that would make almost 3 and 1/2 years :eek:

I think 3.5 years for a minute's silence for all his victims is a bit of an exaggeration. That would work out to killing 110.4 million people, more than the population of Iran, Iraq and Kuwait combined.

BTW it would be about 11 days for every million people.

I still opose the death penalty and would have preferred he served a life term in jail--along with Bush and Blair for murdering tens if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and disintegrating the country.

Saddam would have had to serve the sentence in a jail in exile though. The US-backed 'Iraqi government'--the terrified collaborators hiding in the Green Zone, barely controlling police and soldiers that are essentially Shia and Kurdish militias--will almost certainly collapse when the US withdraws.

If they have any sense, the ministers will run away with them (remember South Vietnemese govt. employees jumping at US ships and choppers in Saigon)--otherwise their life expentency is likely to be short. Even if they miraculously survived and some group won the civil war and formed a regime, the ministers might still risk trial and execution for collaborating with the hated Americans.

If the Americans had left Saddam behind when they withdrew, he would most likely be tortured to death by Shia or Kurdish militia or (less likely) rescued by Sunni guerrillas on the way to triumphantly burning down the US Embassy a la the Fall of Saigon. (Except the Fall of Saigon led to an alternative regime taking over, whereas the Fall of Baghdad will leave chaos, sectarian civil war and anarchy).

Should have been a firing squad... Much quicker and personally I think it was the way he should have to gone.

I think 3.5 years for a minute's silence for all his victims is a bit of an exaggeration. That would work out to killing 110.4 million people, more than the population of Iran, Iraq and Kuwait combined.

BTW it would be about 11 days for every million people.



You are thinking seconds, for a minute of silence for each person you are looking at approximately 1,840,000 victims being mourned in a three and a half year period.

Pfft. So the execution didn't have "decorum." It's an execution! The shouts are so minor compared to the main event as to be almost irrelevant.

And this is coming from one who has no problems with the death penalty. I just think that it should be kept in perspective.

Yeah it sucks to have to endure parting shouts on the way out, but I'm sure the great majority of his attention was on that noose.

Fergi America;12168413']Pfft. So the execution didn't have "decorum." It's an execution! The shouts are so minor compared to the main event as to be almost irrelevant.

And this is coming from one who has no problems with the death penalty. I just think that it should be kept in perspective.

Yeah it sucks to have to endure parting shouts on the way out, but I'm sure the great majority of his attention was on that noose.


i think its more the optics of a gang of yahoos abusing him in a sectarian manner and what that symolises in civil war iraq.

I think 3.5 years for a minute's silence for all his victims is a bit of an exaggeration. That would work out to killing 110.4 million people, more than the population of Iran, Iraq and Kuwait combined.

BTW it would be about 11 days for every million people.That's a second's silence for each person murdered by Saddam Hussein. I believe United Beleriand meant a minute's silence for each victim, so divide your "110.4 million" by 60.

Just as a side note, I think The Alma Mater meant one minute of silence, total, for all of Saddam's victims, though I get the impression most people understood this.

--The Democratic States of Cogitation
"Think about it for a moment."

What were his last words?

" Palestine is ARAB" and "Long live Palestine and Long live the Arab Ummah and long live the Iraqi People"

For the Sunni's he was a scrap. For the rest of the Arab world (and pretty much by proxy the fundilamicists) he has become a martyr.

We all know that his trial was a joke. A show trail. No more no less.

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? Cover the the rope with a comfortable thin layer of leather? It's a hanging for christs sake, you can't expect it to be a wonderful, dignified celebration.

How can a killing be more or less barbaric? Well... there's any number of more barbaric ways than a hanging. As for less barbaric... are we talking about the fact that he was hung, or the way in which he was hung?

I think 3.5 years for a minute's silence for all his victims is a bit of an exaggeration. That would work out to killing 110.4 million people, more than the population of Iran, Iraq and Kuwait combined.

BTW it would be about 11 days for every million people.

I still opose the death penalty and would have preferred he served a life term in jail--along with Bush and Blair for murdering tens if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and disintegrating the country.

Saddam would have had to serve the sentence in a jail in exile though. The US-backed 'Iraqi government'--the terrified collaborators hiding in the Green Zone, barely controlling police and soldiers that are essentially Shia and Kurdish militias--will almost certainly collapse when the US withdraws.

If they have any sense, the ministers will run away with them (remember South Vietnemese govt. employees jumping at US ships and choppers in Saigon)--otherwise their life expentency is likely to be short. Even if they miraculously survived and some group won the civil war and formed a regime, the ministers might still risk trial and execution for collaborating with the hated Americans.

If the Americans had left Saddam behind when they withdrew, he would most likely be tortured to death by Shia or Kurdish militia or (less likely) rescued by Sunni guerrillas on the way to triumphantly burning down the US Embassy a la the Fall of Saigon. (Except the Fall of Saigon led to an alternative regime taking over, whereas the Fall of Baghdad will leave chaos, sectarian civil war and anarchy).oops. indeed.
he is said to be responsible for 1.3 million deaths. so
1300000min / 60 / 24 / 365 ≈ 2.48y

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? Cover the the rope with a comfortable thin layer of leather? It's a hanging for christs sake, you can't expect it to be a wonderful, dignified celebration.

Well, apart from the fact that he was practically show-trialed ala USSR. There was also the fact that people were telling him to "go to hell" and shouting "Muqtada" during his hanging. Those two facts made it look like a sectarian shi'ite revenge killing.

Well, apart from the fact that he was practically show-trialed ala USSR. There was also the fact that people were telling him to "go to hell" and shouting "Muqtada" during his hanging. Those two facts made it look like a sectarian shi'ite revenge killing.maybe these shiites are secretly allied with the US? :eek: ;)

I think people are looking at it all wrong. It's not how could his execution been better, it's how it could have been worse. Luckily, I'm your man:
1) Beheading. Already popular in the middle east and gives it that extra edge (pardon the pun). To be really over the top though, use a non-standard instrument. Like a bread knife.
2) Roman style pole lengthwise through the body. One can survive an agonizingly long time thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, while being suspended over the streets of Baghdad for days, maybe weeks.
3) Again, we look to the ancient Romans - crucifiction is a great method of execution. He'll only last a couple days before slow suffocation finally whisks him off to permanent slumber, but people will be talking about it for centuries!
4) Lethal injection. Doesn't sound too barbaric, right? Not if you leave out the sodium pentathol. Fire in your veins, baby!
5) Electric chair. Even when done right, it's a nasty way to die - the electricity arcing through your skull isn't usually enough to knock you out and instead stimulates the pain and fear centers. Death usually results from either cardiac arrest or asphyxiation, but there have been a number of cases where the person died on the autopsy table. Now, if you do it WRONG, they burst into flames as well. BBQ!
6) Gas. Only instead of using nerve gas or poison gas along with a sedative, use mustard gas. When you're getting blisters inside your lungs, you know what pain is. Besides, there's a real "live by the sword, die by the sword" thing to it, although Saddam never used it for executions.
7) Drawn and quartered. As I understand it, this wasn't so much "quartered" as "halved". Still, it's quite the display, as one half goes screaming off away from the other. With the magic of television, we can even watch both halves in split screen.
8) Ate. Appropriately numbered and named, feeding Christians to lions was yet another Roman form of execution/entertainment. Of course, PETA will no doubt protest the cruelty to the lions.

By now, I'm sure I've offended pretty much everyone. The point is that it could have been MUCH WORSE. Hanging may be low tech, but it's pretty standard and is still used in rather civilized locations, including Japan. As far as executions go, hanging is pretty humane. Hell, some people do it to themselves for jollies.

Um...maybe it would've been nice to simply shoot him without a mass of swirling, bloodthirsty barbaric hordes?

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? Cover the the rope with a comfortable thin layer of leather? It's a hanging for christs sake, you can't expect it to be a wonderful, dignified celebration.

it was the insults and taunts directed at Saddam by the hangmen and witnesses that were the problem....

I think Ramadan was last month. It was some set of holy days that usually the Shi'ites and Sunnis celebrate on different days but was at the same time this year.

But, yeah, the Kurdish trial was also a huge issue, that he is only going to be tried in absentia, being dead already and all.

i guess this has to do with the fact that there are a lot of public secrets involving the Kurdish trials. especially about possible western involvement.

imo they should have locked him up for the rest of his life. no martyr, no comments on the 'barbarian' execution. i'd also have prefered an international trial instead of an american sponsored one.

A barbaric end for a barbaric person. Sounds civilized to me.
Then you have a strange definition of civilised. My definition of civilised excludes diving for the gutter everytime you see someone else swimming in the muck.

Barbaric isnt civilised, it's barbaric, hence the different spellings, different dictionary definitions and the complete failure of any theosaurus to list the two as synonoms.:rolleyes:

Has anybody here watched the movie "Dancer in the Dark" ?

In Texas a 10-year-old now played the execution and hanged himself.

Of course, the ideal punishment would have been to have every Iraqi who had a family member killed by Saddam's policies line up and kick him in the jewels as revenge.
What does revenge have to do with justice?

What does revenge have to do with justice?Justice is always a form of revenge, just as punishment is always a form of revenge.

it was the insults and taunts directed at Saddam by the hangmen and witnesses that were the problem....

Erm, the hangmen acted very professionally. It was the crowd of onlookers that were the problem. But it couldn't have been done any other way - nobody would have believed he was actually dead.

Justice is always a form of revenge, just as punishment is always a form of revenge.

No it isn't, and no it isn't.

A barbaric end for a barbaric person. Sounds civilized to me.

Right. And why don't we just add up all the civilians who have died to date since the invasion and how many weapons they used which were approved by the Geneva Convention?

Personally, I don't believe in the death penalty. Especially getting hanged. It was really inevitable. His trial was a bit of sham. The US were deliberately trialling him on different crimes, so that if this trial failed they would have other things to trial him for. They should have had the hanging in a small but not grisly room and they should have had only one official witness, and everyone of those guards who yelled insults at him should have been fired. We didn't liberate a barbaric dictator just to get another one.

Saddam and all of his relatives, and those complaining, should be happy that certain parties didnt get to have their way with him.
Hanging is not a terrible way to go (when done correctly, IE: Breaking a persons neck), and the I seriously doubt Saddams feelings were hurt by those mean ol' prison guards.
Besides, where he is being insulted is the least of his problems.

(in b4 religious debate k lol)

It's not a matter of "whether his feelings were hurt", it's about how professionally done it was. A 'newly liberated' country that's aiming to be 'democratic' should not allow insults to be thrown at a death sentencee (I don't care if it's a damn word or not). It makes the whole government look like a joke and legitimises his status as a martyr.

I personally don't agree with the death sentence, but I believe that if it is to be used it should be done with some decorum and in a formal manner.

Well, it was far less barbaric than some of the Kurds(Whom came from Iraq about 9 years ago) I work with were suggesting. They were jumping for joy. Still pissed a bit over how the US handled Iraq, but they love the fact Saddam is dead.

Also, to shed some light, apparently over there they consider days to start at dawn. Thus, the Holiday started an hour after he died, so no laws or traditions were broken.

At least that's what I got out of it.

First off if you actually watched the video you would probly have heard them talking. I mean listen to it. there might have been some taunting involved but most of what they were saying was a pray to mahammid. and more to the point he deserved it. He killed thousands upon thousands of innicent ppl. so yeah throwing in my two cents.

It just looks like another revenge killing to me

An absolutely pointless hanging. Still a terrible decision, but then the entire way Saddam's trial proceeded was horrid to begin with.

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? ...

You MONSTER!!!

How will he ever know how it ends?

No it isn't, and no it isn't.So putting someone in prison is not a revenge for the person's deed(s) ? Of course it is. If it had just an educational purpose, no jail would be required.

So putting someone in prison is not a revenge for the person's deed(s) ? Of course it is. If it had just an educational purpose, no jail would be required.Punishment, not revenge. Revenge has a personal element to it that a blind system of justice is not supposed to have--that's the ideal and not the practice at least. We can argue whether or not that's the way it actually works, and I'd probably agree that revenge plays a part (distasteful as agreeing with you might be), but in theory, revenge is not a part of justice.

A lot of people, especially in the press, keep complaining about how bad/barbaric/immoral the way Saddams hanging was done, and that if the US had done it they would have somehow done it in a more moral way.

Wtf? How can a hanging, a killing, be any less barbaric/immoral? What exactly could you have done to make it "better", put a video of his favourite show in front of his face while he hangs? Cover the the rope with a comfortable thin layer of leather? It's a hanging for christs sake, you can't expect it to be a wonderful, dignified celebration.


Admittedly execution is in and of itself barbaric.
Over the centuries countries that practiced it but wished to appear civilised
tried to change how it was perceived by making it a solemn and judicial occasion. Presumably on the basis that if the execution looks like a lynching by rednecks then it will not be perceived as justice but
simply as a particulary disgusting display of mob rule and state terrorism.

Most of the western media is however most offended not so much
at the cold blooded murder, nor even of the terrorist style manner of the execution but what seems to upset them most is that the complete video with sound of the execution
was 1) released bypassing them entirely and so making them look like idiots
and 2) and this should be the one that worries everyone, that the idiots doing the execution allowed it to happen in the manner that it did , with Saddam coming across as calm and dignified and everyone else looking like toerags.


Just to add to the certain future mythology of the brave and courageous arab leader brought down
by traitors who dared not show their faces.

Those who knew nothing about Saddam in the 80's but who have since joyfully tried to present
western actions as "dealing with a cruel dictator" and who have applauded his murder have themselves
to thank for this nasty vicious man moving on to glorification in death that without their idiocy would
not have happened.

from what I heard of one news report, (and I was half listening, so take it with a grain of salt) Saddam's treatment by the US military and guards were professional and mannerly. However, in the hours that he was in Iraqi hands, there was some rioting/fighting in the execution room from some of the witnesses that had to be stopped by the iraqi guards. That and the breach that allowed the cell phone video of a private event to be displayed is what they're talking about.

They're probably referring to the fact that someone taunted the late Iraqi president and posted a video of the death online.

It's the age of teh Internet.

You knew there would be a surreptitious video of the event on YouTube moments after the hanging, no matter what people tried to do.

And while it's a bad sign (that the Iraqi government is full of al-Sadr's men), I expected some very angry people to be very happy at his hanging. The dancing, singing, and taunting was less than I thought there would be.

You know, it doen't really matter. It's not like we can do it over.

Get over it. we hung the guy but who cares the fuckers dead. and its for the better. Man if it was me that found him in the spider hole i probly would have just killed him then and saved everyone the trouble but we of course had to do the right thing and take him prisoner were he gets treated mainly by americans and his still better off than alot of the ppl in iraq to begin with. so quit your whining about how barbaric it was. save it. When you need someone taken care of you get rid of them before they can cause you any more trouble and thats what we did with saddam.:sniper:

:cool: He's dead now, right? Sounds like it was done successfully to me.

from what I heard of one news report, (and I was half listening, so take it with a grain of salt) Saddam's treatment by the US military and guards were professional and mannerly. However, in the hours that he was in Iraqi hands, there was some rioting/fighting in the execution room from some of the witnesses that had to be stopped by the iraqi guards. That and the breach that allowed the cell phone video of a private event to be displayed is what they're talking about.

that and the lack of decorum from witnesses and hangmen(hangmen have since been arrested), if someone is to be executed there has to be some formality regardless of the crimes committed.....taunting the the prisoner isn't appropiate and it caused problems in Iraq as Saddam still has many supporters....

Alright so all of you that say the guards were taunting him are ignorant. They were doing there jobs perfesionaly. If you watch the video and LISTENED to what they are saying you would KNOW that it wasnt the Guards. they were saying a PRAYER to MAHAMMID exactly what kind of prayer i dont know but it was still a prayer not TAUNTING.

that and the lack of decorum from witnesses and hangmen(hangmen have since been arrested), if someone is to be executed there has to be some formality regardless of the crimes committed.....taunting the the prisoner isn't appropiate and it caused problems in Iraq as Saddam still has many supporters....

to be honest, here is where I first heard about the Taunting....

I remember hearing that after Saddam was turned over, the US stepped back and distanced themselves from the hanging... letting it totally rest on the Iraqis.

your right we did back off only because it was the iraqies choice as to what happened to him we americans were trying to protect ourselves because we probly didnt want the un to think we were convincing the iraqies to kill him. that was there idea. The iraqies probly did taunt him when they did but that doesnt mean that they did it during the hanging. Besides all the ppl were in unison in the movie.:sniper:

But, yeah, the Kurdish trial was also a huge issue, that he is only going to be tried in absentia, being dead already and all.
Does this mean that when he's found guilty, they'll exhume and rehang him?

Has anybody here watched the movie "Dancer in the Dark" ?
Why? Do you think they should have made Saddam watch that as punishment instead of hanging him? I think that would rate as both cruel AND unusual.
Or at least make him sing Selma's last song just b4 dropping the trapdoor.

:cool: He's dead now, right? Sounds like it was done successfully to me.
If the way it was handled makes people believe it wasn't justice, but a revenge killing which in turn leads to a massive upswing in sectarian violence then: No, it wasn't done successfully.

If the way it was handled makes people believe it wasn't justice, but a revenge killing which in turn leads to a massive upswing in sectarian violence then: No, it wasn't done successfully.

Arguing with the short-sighted is painful, isn't it? Never stops to think that the Maliki government did the impossible--made Hussein into a martyr and a sympathetic character to the entire Sunni population.

so why do you ppl care how it was done as long as it was done then wats the problem. I mean seriously the guy died because he did acts of violence and what would you rather give him a place were he feeds off your hard earned money. were he doesnt have to worry about anything except for bubba when he takes a shower. Fuck that. Besides who would want him the French, Great Britain, The United States of America. Sorry if this offends anyone but the french couldnt even protect themselves during WWII they basicaly let the Germans walk right into Paris so obviously we wouldnt want him there. Britain hell they lost soldiers trying to get the guy so they wont want him. And well America would have some gun nut kill him as soon as he had the chance. so yeah.

Arguing with the short-sighted is painful, isn't it? Never stops to think that the Maliki government did the impossible--made Hussein into a martyr and a sympathetic character to the entire Sunni population.
It was indeed quite an achievement. It wasn't like Saddam was particularly well-liked by anyone but now here he is, a matyr to their cause. The way he acted in his last day in court and then at the gallows pretty much showed that he knew what his death would come to symbolise.

As with arguing with the short-sighted - yep. Pretty painful. But I'm a hopeless optimist. Maybe one day one of those myopic individuals will take stock.

If the way it was handled makes people believe it wasn't justice, but a revenge killing which in turn leads to a massive upswing in sectarian violence then: No, it wasn't done successfully.

Most of the Sunnis thought that merely executing Saddam (no matter how you did it) would be an extreme provocation.

In the long run, it doesn't matter. Sunnis and Shias have had centuries of virtually no reason and no justification to kill each other other than "they don't believe what we do, so they're dead meat".

It think it was an English lord who once said something like "Horse thieves are are not hanged for stealing horses, they are hanged so that horses won't be stolen." If this is anything like true, what was the point of the execution? Will Mugabe or any other corrupt dictator anywhere in the world take the point? I don't think so!

As with arguing with the short-sighted - yep. Pretty painful. But I'm a hopeless optimist. Maybe one day one of those myopic individuals will take stock.

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