Saddam Hussein Reported Hanged
The former dictator of Iraq had been sentenced to death after being convicted off crimes against humanity for ordering the 1982 killing of 148 Shiite men and boys from the town of Dujail as reprisal for a failed assassination attempt against him.
The hanging was reported to have been conducted at 6:05 a.m. Saturday morning in Iraq, or about 10:05 p.m. Friday EST in the United States. An official list of witnesses was not released, but was believed to have included a Muslim cleric, officials of the court and an undisclosed number of relatives of Saddam's victims. Senior officials of the Pentagon and the White House confirmed the execution had taken place, according to CNN. No images of the execution were immediately released.
According to news reports, the U.S. military handed Hussein off to Iraqi officials earlier today. Until this step, Hussein had been held at Camp Cropper, a U.S. military prison in Iraq. The transfer of control was considered the last official step leading up to the hanging.
U.S. military forces in Iraq have been placed on high alert in anticipation of greater-than-normal levels of violence in reaction to Hussein's execution.
President Bush Issues Statement
Hours after the execution of Saddam Hussein had been confirmed, the White House released a statement. "Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime," said President Bush. "It is a testament to the Iraqi people's resolve to move forward after decades of oppression that, despite his terrible crimes against his own people, Saddam Hussein received a fair trial."
Also See:
Statement by President Bush on Execution of Hussein
Saddam-approved Biography of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Sentenced to Death
Hussein On Trial: Right Where He Wants to Be
The Riddle of Saddam Hussein (Civil Liberties)
Saddam Hussein Quotes (World News)
Comments
This morning they announced that only Saddam was executed at this time. The video did not show the hanging but showed right till the noose was placed on his neck. I know that most will feel Saddam deserved to die, but don’t like videos of executions or even as much as they showed. It seems barbaric. I also am not comfortable with executing a former head of state no matter how evil we feel he is. What if someday we lose a war and someone puts a US President or British Prime Minister on trial? We would be catatonic if someone tried to execute the President regardless of our personal political opinions. I would rather have seen Saddam exiled or given a life sentence. It’s not that I even am opposed to the death penalty. I just have problems when revenge is taken on a losing Head of State.
I definitely agree that video of an execution is incredibly disturbing. Video of the entire execution exists online and is very easy to find, although I have not been able to bring myself to watch it.
I think your comments regarding executing a head of state is really interesting, and evokes the idea that heads of state are not only people, they are symbols. For better or worse, Saddam was a symbol of Iraq as a nation and of Sunnism in Iraq. Killing him will deal a severe psychological blow not only to Sunnis, but to all Iraqis (even those who rejoice in his death).
I remember reading about Queen Elizabeth I’s extreme reluctance to execute Mary Queen of Scots precisely because she recognized what a disturbing precedent it would create. I think there’s a reason why, historically – with the exception of revolution – this has been so rarely done.
Saddam should have been tried in an international court, like Slobadan Milosevic, Charles Taylor and other deposed heads of state accused of war crimes.
While Saddam may have deserved death, the trial was a travesty. It’s just such a shame, because his trial, had it been handled properly, might have been a real chance for Iraq to heal and move forward. But that chance, like so many other opportunities throughout this whole Iraq war, has been squandered.