'I Say Goodbye To You,' Saddam Writes

[Algorem]

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/10616012/detail.html

POSTED: 11:24 am EST December 27, 2006
UPDATED: 11:31 am EST December 27, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A farewell letter posted on the Internet Wednesday in the name of Saddam Hussein called on Iraqis not to hate the invaders of their country.

In Amman, Jordan, one of Saddam's lawyers, Issam Ghazzawi, told The Associated Press the letter was authentic and was written by Saddam on Nov. 5 -- the day he was condemned to death for ordering the killing of 148 people in the northern town of Dujail in 1982.

It was released on Tuesday -- the day an appeals court upheld Saddam's death sentence in the Dujail case -- and published Wednesday on his former Baath Party's Web site.

The letter said Saddam was writing because his lawyers had told him the court would give him an opportunity to say a final word...



Saddam ready for 'sacrifice' as Baathists vow revenge

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-2520408,00.html

Devika Bhat and agencies

Saddam Hussein has vowed to go the gallows as a "martyr" ready and willing to sacrifice himself, after Iraq's highest court rejected an appeal against his death sentence.

In a defiant letter released today but said to be written from his prison cell in November when he was first sentenced to death, the ex-dictator addresses Iraq’s citizens directly, urging them to unite against "the enemies".

"I sacrifice myself. If God wills it, he will place me among the true men and martyrs," he wrote. "O faithful people, I bid you farewell as my soul goes to God the compassionate…Long live Iraq. Long Live Iraq. Long live Palestine. Long live jihad and the Mujahidin. God is great."

The message came as Saddam’s Baath Party - disbanded after his ousting in 2003 - threatened retaliation if the execution went ahead, warning in an internet posting that it would target US interests anywhere...

[ronnykmarshall]

1. Bye .....

mother fucker.

[The Stranger]

13. Did they find the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq yet?

[LynnTheDem]

18. Yes; for the past 3 years they've been raining down on Iraq.

Brought in by the invaders.

Oh wait...you meant Hussein's non-existant wmd.

[The Stranger]

19. Then kill that "motherfucker"! Tear him limb from limb!

Right?

(How'd I do?)

(( :sarcasm: ))

[Flagg]

29. Saddam has less blood on his hands than the Bush administration

[Algorem]

2. He's kooky but he was our kind of kooky.

http://www.awolbush.com.nyud.net:8090/rumsfeld_saddam.jpg

[cali]

3. And he will become a martyr

to some. A life sentence would have been wiser.

[otherlander]

4. Saddam sentenced to hang, Rumsfeld fired, Pinochet dead,

both houses blue... This is truly the end of the Republican revolution.

[Cooley Hurd]

5. Saddam: "Goodbye to you." 80's hair band "Scandal" sues for royalties...

:rofl:

[bigworld]

16. I liked that song

I'm ashamed to say. The singer was not too shabby either.

[Scurrilous]

21. Goodbye To You - Scandal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pEousobcj0

Saddam a Scandal fan? Who knew?

[ButterflyBlood]

6. so long

Wish we could say we would miss ya.

[knight_of_the_star]

7. Now he faces his god

And I doubt he will look kindly on genocide.

[truthisfreedom]

8. Two different letters, one calling for Iraqis to unite against the enemies, one saying "do not hate"

the invaders?

Methinks there's some propaganda going on.

[Javaman]

9. The catapult for the propaganda is under temporary repair...nt

[Say_What]

33. Text of the letter tranlated by AP...

<clips>

..The Baath Party's Web site posted the letter Wednesday. The Associated Press translated the text from the original Arabic. Here are some excerpts:

To the great nation, to the people of our country, and humanity,

Many of you have known the writer of this letter to be faithful, honest, caring for others, wise, of sound judgment, just, decisive, careful with the wealth of the people and the state . . . and that his heart is big enough to embrace all without discrimination.

You have known your brother and leader very well and he never bowed to the despots and, in accordance with the wishes of those who loved him, remained a sword and a banner.

This is how you want your brother, son or leader to be . . . and those who will lead you should have the same qualifications.

Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if he wants, he will send it to heaven with the martyrs, or he will postpone that . . . so let us be patient and depend on him against the unjust nations.

Remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly coexistence . . .

I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave a space for a person to be fair, and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking and keeps away one from balanced thinking and making the right choice . . .

I also call on you not to hate the peoples of the other countries that attacked us and differentiate between the decision-makers and peoples . . .

Anyone who repents -- whether in Iraq or abroad -- you must forgive him . . .

You should know that among the aggressors, there are people who support your struggle against the invaders, and some of them volunteered for the legal defense of prisoners, including Saddam Hussein . . .

Some of these people wept profusely when they said goodbye to me . . .

Dear faithful people, I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any faithful, honest believer . . . God is great . . . God is great . . . Long live our nation . . . Long live our great struggling people . . . Long live Iraq, long live Iraq . . . Long live Palestine . . . Long live jihad and the mujahedeen .

Saddam Hussein

President and Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Mujahed Armed Forces

Additional clarification note:

I have written this letter because the lawyers told me that the so-called criminal court -- established and named by the invaders -- will allow the so-called defendants the chance for a last word. But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence -- dictated by the invaders -- without presenting the evidence. I wanted the people to know this.



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/technology/orl-saddamletter2806dec28,0,6641199.story?coll=orl-technology-headlines

[Babsbrain]

10. Who Am I?

I am a leader of a sovereign nation, albeit a severely divided nation. My nation has been divided for many years, with two main factions, each with its own ideologies.

To survive as a nation, stern measures have been employed successfully to ensure stability and peace .

As a player in the world economy and contributor to world politics, my country allied itself with nations who held similar political goals, who would later reverse their alliances.

In the course of maintaining stability, I was found guilty of killing innocent people who were caught up in the chaos of war. This act was viewed as necessary to that political faction which strongly supported my decisions. It was viewed as murder to those who did not support my political agenda.

While the faction that supported me and was currently in power represented the minority share of the nation’s population, it held sway over the majority.

I have been accused of putting my own and my associates’ interests over and above those of my constituents.

To those who support me, I am seen as a demi-god. To those who do not support me, I am seen as evil.

I ponder my legacy…when I am gone, will I be remembered for attempting to bring stability to Iraq?

Who am I?

[Cooley Hurd]

11. Cool post!

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[Babsbrain]

14. Thanks for the nice welcome!

[Babsbrain]

23. Interesting side note

I posted this on the Top News forum at AOL. It was deleted by someone twice. I reposted and it was edited. I think I hit a nerve with this. I have since reposted the corrected paragraph that keeps getting edited and I am waiting to see if it gets deleted again or altered. Maybe someone can explain to be how, if you cut and paste, and it looks okay on the screen, how can a post be different after it is posted?

[cmd]

26. Must be "homeland security" at work

Good post, babsbrain, and welcome to DU.

[The Stranger]

12. You are George W. Bush.

[Vidar]

30. Welcome to DU.

[Say_What]

34. Will GWB be found guilty of the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis? n/t

[lovuian]

15. Another terrorist killed to soon by Bush

Saddam needs a few more years in jail

[damntexdem]

17. Buh-bye. But wait ...

wouldn't it be better for you to stand trial in a real court of law where the actual circumstances of your war crimes might come out? Like, who was that diplomat seen shaking hands with you in the mid-80s, and what country did he represent that was supplying you with the makings of chemical weaponry?

[Psephos]

32. Was that Chirac?

Oops, no, Chirac was Iraq's tool for nukes, not chems. My bad.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/crisis_in_the_gulf/decision_makers_and_diplomacy/58568.stm

Scroll down to the first picture on this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction



Peace.

[superconnected]

20. It will be a sad day when they execute saddam

and bush gets away.

[Raine]

22. Good bye

and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. :nopity:

Saddam, murdering scum but he's all 'ours'. x(

[lynne]

24. Buh-Bye !

He got the trial and the justice he deserved - by his peers.

:hi:

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Left Coast Lynn]

27. Let me wipe a tear from my eye

It's almost more than I can bear. I will miss him.

:sarcasm:

[raysr]

28. Sentenced by an illegal court

in an illegal occupation in an illegal war. He's no worse than the "motherfuckers" that have been killing by proxy for the US for years. On edit the same could be said about the "beloved" Ford re: East Timor.

[Left Coast Lynn]

37. You really

think Saddam and Gerald Ford are six and a half dozen?

[raysr]

38. No, but I think that Gerald Ford

did more damage to the US than Hussein ever did. I don't get all the bloodlust here for the hanging under the circumstances I stated. Bush and his minions will walk away from their crimes untouched because of the precident that Ford started.

[Nikia]

31. Strangely, one quote has been going through my head during all of this

"It is better that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." John 11:50 NIV.
No disrespect to Jesus of course.
Perhaps some hope that his death will bring an end or at least decrease in the violence. Enough people have died on his account already.
Perhaps his death will bring an increase in violence though as others seek to avenge his death despite his words to be unified and not hate the invaders.
However things go, the effects of his execution is not limited to him and his family as are most executions. His death will affect the whole of Iraq, for good or for bad.

[cambie]

36. Many quotes come to mind

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-28).

During the last set of crusades, getting on to a thousand years back, a bunch of barbarians went East to loot and pillage. Unexpectedly they found something that changed, perhaps created, Western civilization. But civilization has worn completely off around here. Hearing this from Saddam is darn strange, but could it be a clue?

[originalpckelly]

35. Saddam is Earl, and Bush + Cheney are Mary Ann and Wanda.

Goodbye Earl.