The situation of the governments in the West fascinates me. At first, Britain and the US were happy that he'd been sentenced to death, but then they realised that that compromised certain laws in their own country after which point they sort of said, "Oh yeah, he's dead, good for Iraq."
If you are against the death penalty, you are against Saddam's death. If you enjoy public hangings, the guillotine and Russian roulette, then your conscience may rest in peace.
I;m against the death penalty and against Saddam's death. I would rant with the zeal of moral outrage right now but I couldn't be bothered. It's simply disgusting, immature and downright wrong to kill someone as punishment.
I would spank that motherfucker to death. I'm sure he had something to do with the 9/11...
If it's true, the electric chair would be better. No wait, that'd be a waste of energy. What about forcing him to eat shit till he die ? wow that would be so awesome. Oh well he's dead now. My bad.
This was not the right course of action, regardless of what Sadam has done.
Killing someone as punishment doesnt make them any better than the person they are executing, especially if they take pleasure out of it, as it seems so many have done.
Plus it won't exactly help the current situation in Iraq.
I don't have the energy to rant properly, and I'd prefer to keep out of it all.
ok, if saddam got hanged for torturing and killing people, doesn't that mean we have to hang bush now? cuz, you know, he tortured thousands people in irak as he saw fit, just as saddam.. and he didn't even find the weapons of mass destruction
@Adam: "Its (sic) a pleasure for the families that have suffered the loss of their innocent and murdered loved ones years ago."
If they are getting pleasure from somebody's death, regardless of who it is, they are sick - and they are going against their religion (presuming they are Muslim).
"I would spank that motherfucker to death."
Yes, me too, i'd love to hit that ass all day.
"What about forcing him to eat shit till he die ?"
Ok but that would lower you to the level of saddam, you shouldn't do that. Better to poop on plants, the plants like it, it's like mcdonalds to them, why to waste good poop on saddam, right?
Now theres a surprise. Somebody hid a camera phone and recorded the sound this time, insults from both Saddam and his executioners. If this doesn't bring about some more violence I don't know what will!
I feel executing someone for their crimes never really resolves anything, I would have prefered Sadam to have been locked up for the rest of his life in a bare prison with no special foods or treatment (as they do with some "celebrity" prisoners - Prince Naseem comes to mind)
I feel like killing him lets him off for everything he has done, he will no longer have those years to ponder on what he did wrong or show any resmorse - instead he went out like as a "legend" to some, arrogant and unrepentant.
staying alive doesn't resolve anything either. Unfortunately any crimes he has been found guilty of are far too great to be able to punish him properly for.
@Dogzer: "What about forcing him to eat shit till he die ?"
Ok but that would lower you to the level of saddam, you shouldn't do that. Better to poop on plants, the plants like it, it's like mcdonalds to them, why to waste good poop on saddam, right?
If it's like McDonalds to them, that means they'll probably kill themselves. McDonald's does this to people:
We've all seen the footage before he is hanged. There is a definite look of calm fear in his eyes. Thre must be not a thing that is scarier than staring death in the face like that. Kudos to him for keeping his cool.
This comment does not reflect my political beliefs in anyway, shape or form. It's just a pointless observation.
I might suck at Super Puzzle Fighter but I'll Puyo Pop you into next week!
I remember, as a kid, seeing footage on TV of a mother lying dead on a set of concrete steps, still clinging to her lifeless baby, as though protecting it was even possible. Both were victims of chemical bombings carried out by Saddams' forces against the Kurds in northern Iraq. They, and tens of thousands of others, died...terribly. Meaningless genocide. Also shown, was footage of loyalists cheering and shouting praise over what had taken place. This bizarre combo of celebration and horror (in this and other instances) has given me recurring "black & white" nightmares that are specific to the Middle East and Asia.
I saw Saddam die. A day prior, I commented to someone that it would make a great tattoo. I've seen so many horrible things, thanks to my subconscious and the media, but somehow this bothered me. It didn't seem real. No fight...no struggle...just pitiful. Why? Is it that I've had my fill of violence? I think it's the whole damn thing...this human condition, which breeds things like execution, that is eroding my shell. Whatever it is, it's making me very tired...
In retrospect, I would rather have seen him suffering in a "real" prison for the remainder of his life.
It would have given him time to reflect, something he wasn't afforded.
Ugh.. the whole thing was embarrassing for the world.
1. Although Saddam was evil, he's not half (or even a quarter) to as evil as what the USA makes of him. He killed his enemies, sure, he ruled with dictatorship, and wasted a lot of money on his ego. But guess what? Just about every other world leader would do that if they had the chance. This 'execution' didn't have anything close to a fair trial. They planned to hang him when the trial started.
2. Saddam was a great leader. His only problem was that he was TOO good. He tried to conquer other countries, repress his opponents, and that was his mistake. Otherwise, he did good for Iraq's economy, education, etc, before the world clamped the sanctions on Iraq.
3. Democracy does not and will not work well in Iraq. The closest would be a one-party democracy that Saddam used (which was ironically, toppled in the name of democracy). The USA can still live on free speech and democracy because everyone is equal. Even women/minority rights activists will agree that men, women, and people of different races *do* hang out together. In Iraq, just like in many 3rd world countries, people try to live in peace, but if you look carefully, there's still some tension between them. Forcing democracy would be giving power to the timid. Democracy can only work when over half the voters are smart/unbiased enough to give a good vote. Heck, look at Thailand, Indonesia, there are coups and most of the world didn't care.
4. For those of you who thought that it was a bad idea to hang him, it's still the best choice for his opponents. Kept in jail, Saddam, being the escape artist he is, would probably get out through bribery, charisma, or just physical skill and get back to power once America leaves. He'd get back to power as easily as Napoleon did, and everything would be right back where they started, cept that everyone, western, eastern, middle easter would be poorer. Except the oil countries.
5. Iraq's new dictator is another idiot. Left alone long enough, he'll be just like Saddam, but a lot nicer to the powerful countries and a lot meaner to his citizens. Once he sees that the western countries are too tired to go to war, he'll continue what Saddam did, just without caring about his people's happiness. Again, as evil as Saddam was, at least he had a sense of humor.
I don't know what my point is. I guess I felt sorry for him. He deserved to be shot. Still, I feel sorrier for the rest of the world. America just gave Osama bin Ladin more recruits, killed one of his enemies, and wasted a hell lot of money and lives. And in case anyone forgot, he was the true terrorist, the guy behind 9/11 or at least the one claiming the glory...
EDIT: Dunno why. But somehow the whole deal was depressing. I mean.. it doesn't seem like it's his fault he ended up the way he did... he just responded to what life gave him. It's not the fault that American soldiers are so damn violent... they've lost their best friends to 'armed civilians'. Yet when they shoot someone pointing a gun at them, they become the scapegoats. And a few days back, yet another scapegoat died, because nobody knew him, because *someone* had to die for killing thousands of American civilians. Some day, they will find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... but what's the point when all the major powers in the world have nukes? Is it because they, the faceless people of Iraq are too primitive and violent, unlike us civilized people who only use them for 'self-defense'? After all the military is under the 'department of defense', we only attack other countries because nobody likes them anyway...
Edited by the Author.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Section 1: I doubt that "Just about every other world leader" would choose to torture and kill not only their enemies, but their own people.
Section 2: "Saddam was a great leader. His only problem was that he was TOO good. He tried to conquer other countries, repress his opponents, and that was his mistake." By this reasoning, Hitler was a "great" leader too.
Section 3: Saddam assumed the role of president after forcing an old man to resign. He was not voted in by the people. NOT a democracy. Also, the Ba'ath Party, which Saddam rose through the ranks of, stole the government in the first place, by way of a coup. However, I do think that the US would have a better chance of leaving a house of cards standing in a subway tunnel, than leaving a functioning democracy behind in Iraq. I never believed that anyone could force a core belief system on another, no matter how "correct" it seemed. Crusades anyone?
Section 4: Only a complete idiot would have imprisoned Saddam in his homeland. I think he got off real easy. He did posess charisma. He calculated every step he took on his way to the presidency and exercised it well. The physical skill of Saddam at 69 is somewhat questionable
Section 5: Time will tell on this one. However, I do believe he (Talabani) has a different set of interests after 50 years of democratic advocacy. After all, he is a Kurd. "he'll continue what Saddam did, just without caring about his people's happiness" Saddam only cared about himself and the Ba'ath party. Everything he did was to garner support and finances. "as evil as Saddam was, at least he had a sense of humor" I don't know what that means...sorry
The bin Laden recruits comment is dead on. WOO!
EDIT section: "it doesn't seem like it's his fault he ended up the way he did... he just responded to what life gave him" Saddam was an extremely intelligent man who took from life EXACTLY what he wanted. "another scapegoat died, because nobody knew him, because *someone* had to die for killing thousands of American civilians" Saddam was put to death for genocidal war crimes which he DID orchestrate. Nothing less. "They planned to hang him when the trial started" - section 1 - Has he not been guilty and therfore deserving of that since the Anfal?
I'm definitely NOT always right, but some of these points I feel were incorrect, others I did disagree with. Sorry, and thanks for the interesting read
LOL!!! The task of defending the "Good old U Ass of A" would be a daunting task indeed. Saddam was once their bud, and one of many tools in the CIAs' "diss" army knife. But perhaps that is another topic...
Being killed is getting away easy in my book, that's why I'm against the death penalty.
He should have to do labour for the rest of his miserable life if it were up to me. Also being in prison nowadays is far to much of a vacation, atleast here in Sweden. They get better food that the kids at school and they have satellite-tv and shit.
Swede's are too soft ¬_¬ lol, but yeah I agree with CsaR in the fact that it'd be more of a punishment to have him captive doing labour work ... or even completely nothing for the rest of his life.. though people may plan to finish him off themselves in the meantime :\ Either way you can't really win, this world can't hack peace.
Excellent point CsaR! When a criminal violates the rights of an innocent, especially their right to live, and do so without fear, their rights should automatically become non-existent. I once conversed with a man who was given a tour of prison life somewhere in South America (I forget exactly). Each cell was a large domed room with 50 or so prisoners sharing it. What goes..goes. Each one stakes out a piece and defends it. Bare minimum is all they got, and they were lucky to survive each and every night due to a very animal-like social structure. No satellite tv there...
They killed Saddam because he would eventually "speak" in my opinion. He was a "friend" of the United States for many years... They armed him... The Americans & the British armed his soldiers with rifles and missiles in the beginning, didn't they? He was a criminal and a cruel Dictator though. His political party was created by Iraqis friendly to the Nazis back in 1930s!!! Anyway, I think that the war in Iraq is devastating and unnecessary. Innocent Iraqis and poor US soldiers die everyday for no purpose. Saddam's death will set off greater evil and will destabilize that poor country more
Jesus, you can't please anyone these days. Now people complain about the execution of an evil tyrant. Next there will protests when the war in Iraq is over.
Oh, and http://trampolinelol.ytmnd.com/ for those who haven't seen this awesome trampoline used to kill some of his victims.
"He died the same way he killed hundreds of mans, womans and childrens."
I'm just going to assume that the assault on the english language was intentional, but it exemplifies the point that killing someone as punishment for killing others throws away any semblance of a moral highground held by the powers-that-be.
Someone mentioned Osama Bin Laden in this thread, so I'd just like to say that Bin Laden's aims with regards to Israel are somewhat justified, it is simply his means that are horrific and wrong.
It's adorable when kids have bitchy little digs about people's grammar. It seems they think it will offend them. I couldn't give two wanks what anyone thinks of my grammar, especially on a site like TDC. Would you use your best english at a youth club?
hey man, if you were living in another country with a diferent language for more than 10 years, you would hardly write two sentences without making a single mistake.
I don't have problem with a few grammatical errors, I'm not a master of the english language. This is one of the few forums where we get complete sentences and even paragraphs.
But if people make stupid errors in their posts, it looks as if they haven't read their own writing. It's ignorance. For goodness sake, I'm drunk right now, yet I can make a post which is readable and spelt correctly.
Yeah, but you're a native English speaker, Noodle. That's the difference. My grammar and spelling is also quite shit at times, because I don't speak English regularly at home and with my friends every day. I've only been learning the crappy English they teach at school, for a few four years or so.
It's certainly fair enough that you'd make the odd mistake if English isn't your first language, but there are people here in that situation that write far better than many native speakers. Mistakes are one thing, but professing not to care and exhibiting deliberate ignorance is another.
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Edited by the Author.
They armed him... The Americans & the British armed his soldiers with rifles and missiles in the beginning, didn't they? He was a criminal and a cruel Dictator though. His political party was created by Iraqis friendly to the Nazis back in 1930s!!! Anyway, I think that the war in Iraq is devastating and unnecessary. Innocent Iraqis and poor US soldiers die everyday for no purpose. Saddam's death will set off greater evil and will destabilize that poor country more 
