The murder of Saddam Hussein [View All]

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The murder of Saddam Hussein

December 29, 2006 09:48 AM

Thoughts on the murder of Saddam Hussein
By Ray Hanania

I don’t sympathize with Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein, but I do hold sacred the international rule of law and the principle that justice must be blind.

That’s why I oppose the execution of Saddam Hussein. It’s also why I believe that Saddam Hussein did not receive a fair trial. His execution is a war crime and an act of murder. snip

Saddam Hussein was not sent to the Hague, nor was an Interneational tribunal convened because Bush cannot guarantee a conviction or death sentence there. It might also open questions about Bush’s conduct in Iraq.

If Saddam Hussein can be prosecuted for quelling a rebellion against his regime, cannot President Bush therefore be prosecuted for violating international law? snip

There is also one more legal issue that is being ignored by the kangaroo court in Baghdad. If we accept the assertions that the war in Iraq is legal, then Saddam Hussein is a prisoner of war. His murder is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Conventions, that we have already ignored in our conduct in torturing and mistreatment other prisoners.

Regardless, sentencing Saddam Hussein to death is a violation of international law. But killing him is an immoral act tantamount to murder exposing Bush administration hypocrisies.

All of these violated principles and laws may one day come back to haunt us as Americans.