Saddam's Death is Insanely Dangerous for our Troops and Iraqi Civilians

[Ava]

My little rant tonight from my http://www.peacetakescourage.com/page-blog.htm>blog:

The media is reporting that Saddam Hussein was hanged. According to sources, the execution was videotaped and photographed. CNN is literally foaming from the mouth waiting for the photos and video footage. I don't have the stomach to turn on Fox. I don't feel any safer with Saddam dead. As a matter of fact I feel LESS safe. This is going to kill and injure thousands more of our men and women in the military and even more iraqis. The civil war was bad enough, but now we're just adding fuel to the fire. And before anyone starts ranting and raving about how evil Saddam is realize that I'm not saying he shouldn't have been punished by life in a high security prison. I'm just a very strong advocate against the death penalty, ESPECIALLY inhumane death penalties like hanging.

Oh and by the way - Now that Saddam is gone can we finally get our soldiers the heck out of there and bring them home alive?

[Monkeyman]

1. Bush now has the excuse he needs to put more in

[marshland]

4. That's what scares me

He'll assume this means the world supports him and his violent cases. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Oh, Ava, I fear for your future and the future of all our young people.:scared:

[Ava]

8. We have to make sure this new Democratic Congress has BACKBONE

the future of our country depends on it

[puebloknot]

23. I agree. I'm afraid, though, that we will need to begin...

...investing in prosthetic devices for said backs. I am trying hard to keep an open mind and wait until January (which is a hair's breadth away), to see what happens. I just think we cannot afford to give this new Congress very much time before we start demanding those *backbones* you speak of.

One hundred hours of *legislative* time could be spread out over months. The more comfortable the Dems get with their new situation, the less chance for change. We need to remind them that November 7 was a message that they are not free to ignore!

Thanks so much for your work. You're a jewel in the crown...er, fedora of American democracy! :)

[mconvente]

2. This is gonna be bad my friends...

Especially with reports of Shia dancing around the body in celebration. People, they hate, HATE, each other now - imagine after those images are released on an Arab TV station (which they will be eventually). Oh boy, get our troops out NOW

[Ava]

5. I don't think I'll be able to watch the news tomorrow

I have a feeling it's going to be heart-breaking

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. It's hard to imagine an "Upside" to this thing.

I doubt that this action will discourage any radicals.

[babylonsister]

6. Is it more dangerous, or is that what we were told to believe?

Who is going to get any angrier than they already are? Hussein's death was a done deal, known about more or less for months. Do the fighters/insurgents need more juice to anger them? I think they've been at their 'best' for awhile now.
Having said that, I hope the situation doesn't escalate, but fear that could be the plan from our careless leaders. :eyes:

[nosferaustin]

7. I'm not sure what happened tonight

But this leaves me with a very unsettled feeling in my stomach. I have no love for Hussein, but the trial was a farce, the Iraqi government is a farce, and I may be wrong but this just seems wrong to me. If the Iraqis were good enough to try him and execute him, why has he remained in U.S. custody until hours before being hanged? He was a prisoner of war, they held a kangaroo court, and we played puppet-master to the whole charade. The freepers may be wetting themselves in joy tonight but the first images of U.S. POW's hanging from a rope after a "trial" will solicit quite another reaction, I'm sure...

[mconvente]

12. That's the feeling I've been feeling.

I guess not so much unsettled but unsatisfied. There is no doubt that Saddam performed a lot of horrible things as leader of Iraq, but as we here the news of his execution I don't really feel good about it. You know, ironically, I think a lot of Iraqis would go back to the way it was before the war, having good healthcare and education and such. We've fucked over an entire generation and perhaps more, and for what. Plus this gives shrubby the "clout" to push for more troops or whatever. It's quite the fog of war cloud for me tonight...

[babylonsister]

14. I think he was in US custody because it was deemed safer than

Iraqi control. God or Allah forbid someone get at him and kill him before he was supposed to die. As for a kangaroo court, I think everyone tried to get it done in the most expeditious and legal (in the eyes of the Iraqis) way possible; people died to let Hussein have his say. Whether it was fair, I don't know. He was a bad man, but now we have to contend with our own 'bad man'.

[LynnTheDem]

25. All the NGOs say very clearly it was a very unfair trial.

And what did they hang him for? For signing death penalty warrants for 146 men found guilty by the Iraqi court.

bush signed 152 death warrants.

And the current Iraqi government under bush just signed Hussein's death warrant.

What a total fucking farce. And while too many Americans don't care what the rest of the world thinks, it is in fact vitally important what the rest of the world thinks; and they think this was a total fucking farce. What a bloody way of showing our "democracy"; invade a nation who hadn't been doing a damned thing to anyone, kill their leader after a fake trial, upholding the old Iraqi system of death penalty farce trials.

We're all going to pay the price for this farce. :(

[LynnTheDem]

24. Absolutely terrific post. "U.S. POW's hanging from a rope after a "trial""

EXACTLY.

God help us all.

[Corgigal]

9. Thanks for this post

No one is thinking cause and effect. I have a family friend, who works for a govt agency, who claims this was a stupid thing for us to do. I have on idea why we just didn't keep him locked up forever. Hell, he knew the players in the region and could have had some value along the way.

To me this isn't about the death penalty or even the crimes he committed but what we need to do to get that country stabilized. Bush doesn't give a flip about dead kurds and I don't for a minute buy this was justice for any Iraqi. It bothers me that someone who likes to have playing cards made of the "bad guys" is now playing hit-man. Are country should be better then that. At least smarter then that.

[Skip Intro]

10. The world is no safer.

Nor is it ever safer when someone already behind bars is put to death.

In this case, I agree, this will only make things worse.

Oh, but people got to wave flags, and sit back in glee. I'm sure there were fireworks somewhere.

[laylah]

11. Dear sweet Ava

your efforts are lauded and pure.

That said, there are so many that will rejoice in this murder of Saddam. He WAS evil, but he was "our" evil. He was created and primed by the good ol' US of A. My wish for you, as for my children, is that one day, ONE DAY, we will "get it right". That we will no longer allow such covert operations as the priming of yet another despot that we shall only betray and abandon.

Many of us do not feel safer now that he is dead. We might when others who also deserve such a punishment are...but not yet.

:hug: You are awesome, small woman child.

Jenn

[fooj]

18. What you just said...

:hug:

[madrchsod]

13. his death will not stop this

http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/2006/12/it-couldnt-happen-to-you.html
Days of My Life: It couldn’t happen to you ...........
she`s about your age

[XOKCowboy]

15. I've got a bad feeling about this..

We've given the Sunnni's a martyr. The Shia are celebrating. Video images will soon be circulating around the Muslim world soon. This is NOT a good day for America. It shows the world our hypocrisy in continuing this war.

This is not good. Not good at all.

[AtomicKitten]

16. We've deposed their leader, stolen their oil - our work is done (ugh)

Hi Ava. Saw you mentioned in Rolling Stone. Well done.

Happy New Year!

[femrap]

17. Maybe hanging Saddam (how

Dark Ages is that?) is the excuse * has been waiting for? Now he can be all macho and 'High Noon' and say: "I killed the enemy...OK, it's time to go home."

How did our once great nation fall so far?

I don't even watch TV anymore, Ava. You're too young to have seen Walter Cronkite. Damn...he offered a moral compass to this nation. Fox offers shit.

[calimary]

19. Thank you, Ava! It sure is worth asking: "now that Saddam is gone can

we finally get our soldiers the heck out of there and bring them home alive?" Something I'll be asking my reps next week - via the TOLL FREE Capitol Hill switchboard numbers below (in my sig line).

[shance]

20. I think it will be more likely "used" as a catalyst for more chaos.....

but don't scapegoat the Iraqis and/or Muslims of that region.

They have lost everything, their families, their future, their dreams, like all of us would have they have lost their spirit and hope.

They are in no position to do anything but wail in loss after what has been inflicted on them.

It's time to STOP BLAMING THE VICTIMS.

[sanskritwarrior]

21. Hi Ava

I am new around these parts and have recently returned from Iraq. Personally I do not feel this is fuel for the fire. Saddam was not popular in Iraq, and many Sunni tribal groups including the Obedi's and Jabouri's (2 of the largest) did not condemn the verdict. In fact the Obeidi's in Anbar at least welcomed the verdict. Granted the sectarian violence might climb another notch or two, but as far as violence against our guys, I'm not seeing it. My friend Grant is a Tanker in Baghdad and he emailed me and said so far as of 4 hours after the execution no large spikes in violence. He was headed out on his regular patrol and would tell me his impressions when he got back when he has time. Now granted you may be right, I just find it hard to believe that so many Iraqis with so many other important things are going to go banana's over a secular Sunni from an obscure tribal group. Saddam's power base was always small he was just good at playing off everyone against each other. I guess we'll see in a few days.

[kysrsoze]

22. Good info, thanks. Hope you're right. BTW - a belated "Welcome to DU!"