Saddam Executed...
Ok, here's my take on this. I think what happened to Saddam was just plain wrong. First, let me get out into the open that I am a rabid death penalty opponent, but even if I wasn't, I'd still think this was wrong. The biggest problem I had with this whole process is that he was tried by an Iraqi court by Shiite Muslims when he is a Sunni Muslim. In the US this wouldn't seem like such a major problem, but over there, they are two factions at war with each other. The verdict was known before the trial started. What I still couldn't believe is they actually tried to smokescreen it to make it look like a fair trial.
Even if he wasn't being tried by the opposing religious faction, at the very least he was being tried by the victims. In the US we do not allow the victims or their families to try accused murderers. There's a reason for this - to prevent unfair and unjust verdicts that are decided before trial. Everyone in Iraq was subjected to harsh conditions under his dictatorship. Everybody therefore had an opinion about his guilt before the trial even started. There was nothing that was going to change that. This whole affair was a travesty from the start, and it's sad that we had to send 3,000 Americans to their deaths just so Bush could get the satisfaction of seeing him hang.
Now don't get me wrong. Saddam was an evil man, and I believe he very likely did do exactly what they were accusing him of. However, the process he was put through to determine his guilt was unjust, unfair, and completely wrong. We would never tolerate that kind of trial in the US. There would be a huge number of valid grounds for appeal. He should have been tried in the Hague and sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. He could suffer the same fate Millosevic did, and at the same time, he'd receive a fair and impartial trial. However, that just wasn't good enough. Cowboy Bush had to have his hanging, and in the process destroyed any possibility of true justice being served, so that revenge could be served in its place.
Even if he wasn't being tried by the opposing religious faction, at the very least he was being tried by the victims. In the US we do not allow the victims or their families to try accused murderers. There's a reason for this - to prevent unfair and unjust verdicts that are decided before trial. Everyone in Iraq was subjected to harsh conditions under his dictatorship. Everybody therefore had an opinion about his guilt before the trial even started. There was nothing that was going to change that. This whole affair was a travesty from the start, and it's sad that we had to send 3,000 Americans to their deaths just so Bush could get the satisfaction of seeing him hang.
Now don't get me wrong. Saddam was an evil man, and I believe he very likely did do exactly what they were accusing him of. However, the process he was put through to determine his guilt was unjust, unfair, and completely wrong. We would never tolerate that kind of trial in the US. There would be a huge number of valid grounds for appeal. He should have been tried in the Hague and sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. He could suffer the same fate Millosevic did, and at the same time, he'd receive a fair and impartial trial. However, that just wasn't good enough. Cowboy Bush had to have his hanging, and in the process destroyed any possibility of true justice being served, so that revenge could be served in its place.
posted by VSAvatar at 10:25 PM
1 Comments:
I could not agree with you more. This has left a terrible taste in my mouth. Coupled with the fact that evidence suggests the U.S. actually placed him in power and possibly even funded some of his atrocities, the entire affair is morally reprehensible.
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