Witness: Saddam Hussein argued with guards moments before death

[kurth]

Witness: Saddam Hussein argued with guards moments before death

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Defiant to the end, Saddam Hussein mocked Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr moments before he was hanged, a witness said Saturday... A video of the execution broadcast on Al-Iraqiya state television showed Hussein, dressed in a black overcoat, being led into a room by three masked guards. A witness, Iraqi Judge Munir Haddad, said that one of the executioners told Hussein that the former dictator had destroyed Iraq, which sparked an argument that was joined by several government officials in the room.

As a noose was tightened around Hussein's neck, one of the executioners yelled "long live Muqtada al-Sadr," Haddad said, referring to the powerful anti-American Shiite religious leader. Hussein, a Sunni, uttered one last phrase before he died, saying "Muqtada al-Sadr" in a mocking tone, according to Haddad's account. The judge said Hussein appeared "totally oblivious to what was going on around him. I was very surprised. He was not afraid of death."

But Haddad's description of Hussein's demeanor before his execution contrasts markedly with that of another witness, Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie. "He was a broken man," al-Rubaie said. "He was afraid. You could see fear in his face." The former dictator refused to wear a hood as he was hanged, al-Rubaie said. Hussein, 69, will be buried somewhere in Iraq "in the next few hours," although talks are still under way to decide where, al-Rubaie said. "We will wash him, wrap him, put him in an Islamic coffin, someone from the Islamic community will read a death prayer over him and he will be buried with old Islamic rituals," he said...

Al-Rubaie said that while the execution was carried out with due respect to Hussein -- and following "all international and Islamic standards" -- some witnesses and the executioner could not resist celebrating by dancing around the body after the hanging.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/30/hussein

[Missy M]

1. Perhaps the Iraqi National Security Advisor may be spewing..

some propaganda to make Saddam seem like a coward in the end.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. That's my bet. (nt)

[Poll_Blind]

2. Even money says he could have been drugged. I'm not saying...

...that makes a difference, really, just could be one explanation for his demeanor. Still, when you're expecting to be formally executed by the state and are led into a room filled mostly with guys dressed in slacks and leather jackets, all (except an Iraqi official) wearing black ski-masks, I'm sure some level of confusion sets in.

PB

[Pab Sungenis]

6. It's common to give a sedative before execution.

It's done here in the U.S., too. Makes the condemned easier to deal with.

[Poll_Blind]

7. Thanks, interesting to know. I thought it was weird, I guess, how...

...the main executioner appears to be talking to Saddam through the process. I dunno, maybe that's typical, don't watch many executions if I can help it.

PB

[depakid]

3. Only when I see confirmation from a CREDIBLE source

Will I believe ANY of these accounts.

And CNN is not a credible source by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, they're still playing the "toppling of the statue" video in their Quixotic quest for ratings.

Show me something from BBC or the Guardian- or the Toronto Star.

[Canuckistanian]

12. You want the Toronto Star? Here you go

It's an AP feed, but it's the lead article in the Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/166674

Taunted on the gallows, still defiant

'I have destroyed your enemies,' former dictator says in last moments
December 31, 2006
CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD–Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners. But as his final moments approached early yesterday and masked executioners slipped a black cloth and noose around his neck, he grew calm.

In a final moment of defiance, the deposed Iraqi president refused a hood to cover his eyes.

By several accounts, Saddam was calm but scornful of his captors, engaging in a give-and-take with the crowd gathered to watch him die and insisting he was Iraq's saviour, not its tyrant and scourge.

[depakid]

14. Looks like CNN and AP lied. Big suprise!

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

[Puregonzo1188]

4. Depending on the source

he was either "defiant untill the end" or "afraid in the end."

[damntexdem]

5. In short, no credible witness was present.

Except maybe a guard or two -- certainly not any official.

[malaise]

8. Civilized people should be really embarrassed

but no doubt Bush is celebrating.

[Atman]

13. "No doubt Bush is celebrating." No shit. Dead men tell no tales.

And Saddam had LOTS of tales to tell about the BFEE. I'm sure they're all heaving a big sigh of relief.

.

[lala_rawraw]

10. seems to me like a planted story

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

11. This event will be one which drives massive amounts of propoganda.

Many, many, many political agendas in play. MKJ

[kentuck]

15. Yep...

Many agendas in play... mucho propaganda..