Saddam: The Execution Scene

As I predicted a year and a half ago, Saddam was executed because of the relatively minor case of Al-Dujail. I was against Saddam’s execution for two major reasons: The first is that I am against capital punishment in general whether it was against a former gangster like Tookie Williams or a prisoner of war and a former dictator like Saddam, and the second is that I have always believed that the only people who have the right to change Saddam’s political regime and interrogate him are Iraqis, not illegal foreign occupiers.

The way that Saddam was executed added some more points to my argument. I would have never guessed that Saddam would be killed on the morning of Eid (the equivalent of Easter for Christians in terms of religious importance), and I would have never expected that it would be carried out by sectarian militiamen. On a day when Muslims are supposed to sacrifice a lamb in honor of God’s mercy, Saddam’s unprofessional executioners made him look like a sacrificed victim of vengeance.

There are two videos showing the execution scene: the official one (which is the one that hit the news some 6 hours after the execution took place), and another more graphic one that was “leaked” to the media.


The second video can be found here. It shows Saddam’s last minutes and it doesn’t stop where the official one does. It shows Saddam with the noose around his neck standing for some seconds while a group of men chant Shia slogans and others praise Muqtada al-Sadr and Muhammad Baqer Al-Sadr (the godfather of PM Al-Maliki’s Al-Dawa Party). Then it shows someone cussing and shouting “go to hell”, then Saddam falling while saying the sentence every Muslim has to say before death: “I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”. In fact, he wasn’t even given the chance to complete his sentence.

The execution scene shows some militiamen in civilian outfits covering their faces, either with black face masks or by T.V. digital blurring, holding and moving Saddam who refused, while handcuffed and shackled, to cover his face. The execution scene did not at all resemble a State execution; rather, it looked like a chaotic sectarian act of revenge interrupted by shrieking militiamen who received him from the U.S. forces less than 30 minutes before killing him.

Saddam was given the chance to look like the calm and brave leader who didn’t fear death, and who claimed to love and defend Iraq and the Islamic nation until the last second. At the same time, his executers, hiding their faces, demonstrated themselves as vengeful thugs supported by the occupation and representing only their political party and sects.

It takes a lot of stupidity to lose moral authority to a former dictator with a noose around his neck. It takes a lot of stupidity to turn Saddam's execution to an event dividing Iraqis furthermore instead of uniting them. It takes a lot to turn Saddam from a former dictator to a symbol of resistance and pride. I can go as far as comparing this to how much stupidity and hard work John Kerry put into losing the elections to an inept president like Bush.

3,000

Today, the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the beginning of the illegal invasion reached to 3000, making this month’s death toll, 115 [updated], the third highest since March of 2003. But what’s more significant about this month’s death toll is that it can be counted as the highest death toll without major battles, because the other two months with higher death tolls coincided with the battle of Fallujah at the end of 2003, and the battle of Najaf at the beginning of 2004.

Two months ago, the toll was the now second highest this year, 106, but there was an indirect reason. It was the holy month of Ramadan where more Iraqis are expected to fight against the occupation for religious reasons.

Other months with more than 100 U.S. troops killed always had an indirect or direct reason: elections, constitution, etc. But Dec of 2006 had nothing special. It was just a regular month under the occupation, and it is this insignificance that makes it very significant. This month was an indicator of how violence levels against the U.S. troops are reaching to a new height, and of how Iraq is turning into a more dangerous place for U.S. soldiers because of the lack of a political plan that would end the violence, and because of the lack of a timetable for withdrawing all the troops.

Putting a timetable for a complete withdrawal that leaves no permanent bases in Iraq is the most important first step to end the growing violence in Iraq. Ending the U.S. presence is necessary in dealing with both the Iraqi-U.S. and Iraqi-Iraqi violence. In addition, around three out of four Iraqis and U.S. soldiers in Iraq are for setting a timetable for withdrawing the troops. A majority of Iraq’s parliamentarians share the Iraqi people's legitimate demand as well.

But what is the Bush administration doing?

Sending more troops to Iraq!

I can’t believe that after the last U.S. congressional elections, which was viewed by many observers as an American referendum against the war on Iraq, the bush administration changed the national discourse from discussing the details of bringing the troops home to discussing the details and numbers of how many more troops should be sent to Iraq.

Every time one U.S. soldier is killed in Iraq, statistics indicate that:
- more than 7 other U.S. soldiers get injured
- more than 60 other U.S. soldiers go back home with PTSD and other mental diseases
- more than 200 Iraqi civilians get killed
- more than 1000 Iraqis leave the country
- and other thousands of Iraqis get injured, traumatized, or kicked out of their homes

In December, an average of 3 to 4 U.S. soldiers were falling every single day in Iraq, and other thousands of lives were lost and ruined.

There are no more Saddams and Zarqawis to kill. There are just more Iraqis and Americans losing their lives for no cause.

I hope 2007 will be a “happy new year”, a year that would witness the end of the unjustified and unnecessary war on Iraqis.