Sadaam Hussein - What do you think?

[MrsD]

Just heard on the news that good old Sadaam has plead not guilty. Fiesty old crapper - still won't recognize anyone else as being in power over him. What do you think will be the outcome of this "trial"?

[SISTER_KATE]

Hang the Bastard! He is Iraq's biggest WMD!

[Pyxidragon]

Not...guilty...right....

I'll be surprised if he makes it to the end of the trial, really.

[Damm]

Now, this is what I think WILL happen...not what I want to happen.

I don't know if he's being tried by the international criminal court, or an iraqi, or a US court, but after the failure to put Milosivich (sp?) on trial, and other constant delays and blunders when it comes to trying political leaders, I'm not too optimistic that anything will come of Saddam's trial. I think it will just drag out with delays and whatnot until Saddam kicks the bucket, or someone kills him, or he kills himself.

[SISTER_KATE]

The man is too vain to kill himself!

[Nightwolf04]

sigh...well yes I can really see him saying guilty...so in all purposes him saying that doesn't surprise me...but when someone's as evil as that then obviously their going to lie.

Sigh I would like him to be killed...but I still have this weird idea in my head since about 10 that were jsut as bad as him...coz in effect were murdering him if we 'hang him'...guess just me having too many morals...but then again I don't want him to stay in jail because that'd give him 3 square meals a day...

I have no idea what to say about getting rid of him...because giving him meals would keep him alive...but leaving him to starve would in my books still be murdering him...I'm too complex lol...

But yeah I guess he does deserve to be at least tortured...if he already has then maybe again...lol

[GoingNova]

I believe he will be found guilty, and executed.

[Chrisl0]

Fount guilty and to death with him. All the people in that country remember what he did and they want revenge for his crimes. But he should be put in prision for the rest of his life; death is just a quick escape for him.

[Sicander]

He should be tried entirly in Iraq, His crimes where in Iraq and it is the juristicion of thier legal system. I love it when counties get mad at the US for meddling in other countries affairs (IE invading Iraq) but when the Iraqi people want to bring thier greatest criminal to trial the world demands that it be an international trial. They try and impose thier legal views on the Iraqi people but in the same breath condemn american for imposing its democratic veiws on them.

[Chrisl0]

I know the world is against us since were on top. Guess its true its lonely on top.

[Sicander]

I like it on top.

[MrsD]

You scared me there for a second, Sicander! Your post was at the very top of the page, and I thought you were getting "off topic" in a X-rated sort of way. PHEWWW - glad I scrolled back!;)

[Chrisl0]

I like it on top.

As do I.

[SISTER_KATE]

Sure beats being on the bottom!

[Chrisl0]

Indeed

[Lil'Jeffery34]

There is no way he's going to pull an O.J. Simpson on them. They're not going to give him leathl injection they're going to fry'em like chicken.

[Chrisl0]

Yea, that be the truth. No mercy will be extended for him.

[Nightwolf04]

in a way thats good...lol

[KorwinDallas]

The ironic thing I find, was that as we were pushing into Iraq, he was writing his novel. For a 'tyrant dictator', he sure didn't put up a fight.

[ANGLOIRISH]

Cowards never do put up a fight. They are sociopaths. Get everyone else to fight their battles and wet their pants if they themselves are caught!

[bob_gray]

The ironic thing I find, was that as we were pushing into Iraq, he was writing his novel. For a 'tyrant dictator', he sure didn't put up a fight.

He didn't put up a fight because he had nothing to put up a fight with. He had been under sanctions for so long his military was a joke. He was clearly not a threat to the US.

For what it is worth here is my understanding of the situation:

He is being tried exclusively in an Iraqi court. Since they are once again a sovereign nation with their own government the US wants to show that they are autonomous. He will not get lethal injection because by the laws in Iraq he will be hanged. The international community didn't want him tried in Iraq because of the death penalty. The US is the _ONLY_ 1^st world, western nation that still has the death penalty and the other people on this planet objected to having death as one of the possible penalties. Obviously their opinion doesn't matter now since Saddam is being tried in Iraq. I suppose it is possible, but I do not see how an Iraqi court could hand down a ruling of anything other than "guilty". The reason Saddam didn't plead guilty is because he would have been dead by the end of the year under such a plea.

[Chrisl0]

I'm surprised he didn't go out Hitler style.

[GoingNova]

He didn't put up a fight because he had nothing to put up a fight with. He had been under sanctions for so long his military was a joke. He was clearly not a threat to the US.
Ahhh, Bob, I love ya man! :D

BUT... well, I guess we disagree again! ;)
He was trying to buy missles from North Korea, actually paid for them, but North Korea backed out: Washington Times (http://www.washtimes.com/national/20031004-123026-1690r.htm)
as per the Duelfer Report:"– Saddam never abandoned his intentions to resume a chemical weapons effort when sanctions were lifted. It shows that Saddam:

a.. was in multiple breach of UN Resolutions;

b.. retained the intellectual capability to re-constitute WMD programmes
when he could;

c.. he was pursuing to that end an aggressive strategy to subvert the UN oil for food programme and bring down UN sanctions;

d.. his strategy for sanctions lift was succeeding. Sanctions – and thus the policy of containment – were eroding. And it shows;

– the ISG itself concludes that Iraq was in striking distance of a de facto end to the sanctions regime.

By 2000/1 Saddam had managed to mitigate many of the effects of sanctions and to undermine their international support. According to his former science adviser Saddam, by mid to late 2002, had concluded that sanctions had eroded to the point that it was inevitable they would be dropped.

There is a huge amount of information detailing this deception and intent, drawing in particular on interviews with former regime officials, including members of Saddam’s inner circle such as Tariq Aziz. The ISG had unprecedented access to these individuals who were interviewed and answered questions in writing. Not all co-operated. But others did so extensively.

The ISG Report shows that Iraq successfully devised methods to acquire and import items prohibited under UN sanctions. And it shows that the number of countries supporting Saddam’s schemes to undermine UN sanctions was increasing. The Iraq Ministry of Oil, with Saddam’s personal approval, used a secret oil voucher distribution system to attempt to influence other nations and individuals to support Iraq’s goals. This earned Iraq 2bn – part of an 11bn total that Iraq illegally amassed from illicit revenue streams.

Saddam never abandoned his intentions to resume a chemical weapons effort
when sanctions were lifted. Iraq organised its chemical industry after the mid 1990s in a way which allowed it to conserve the knowledge base to restart a CW program. It retained the ability to weaponise CW agent when the need arose. The ISG also found that between 1991 and 2003 the Iraq

Intelligence Service maintained a set of undeclared covert laboratories to research and test chemicals and poisons, primarily for intelligence operations. The programme included the use of human subjects for testing.

The report shows Saddam’s longstanding desire for long-range delivery systems. In the years after co-operation with UNSCOM ended in 1998, the pace of Iraq’s missile programmes accelerated, and the regime authorised scientists to develop systems with ranges in breach of the 150km limit imposed by UN Resolutions. In addition to the illegal al-Samoud II missiles exposed by UNMOVIC in early 2003, the ISG uncovered Iraqi plans and designs for ballistic missiles with ranges of 400km, 800km and 1000km.

Although none had reached the production stage by 2003, Iraqi investments
in technology and infrastructure lead the ISG to conclude that Saddam clearly
intended to reconstitute his long-range delivery systems.

The Report judges that events in the 1980s and early 1990s shaped Saddam’ belief in the value of WMD. In Saddam’s view WMD helped to save the regime
numerous times. The report says there is clear evidence of his intent to
resume WMD development as soon as sanctions were lifted. There were no written instructions to this effect, but Saddam’s lieutenants understood this was his goal from his firm verbal comments and directions to them.

We have accepted that it is unlikely that Saddam had actual stockpiles of WMD. It should however be remembered that it was the view of the whole international community that Saddam had WMD. UNSCR 1441 was signed unanimously. The disagreement within the international community was not whether Saddam had WMD, or that he posed a threat to international peace and stability, but how the threat should be dealt with.

In turn, on the basis of this report, others have to accept that not only did Saddam possess the capability and intent to develop WMD but also that the policy of containment was not working. Sanctions were a wasting asset.

He posed a threat and the world is a safer place without him in power.”

[bob_gray]

I had to disable smileys because it was messing with my formatting.

"- Saddam never abandoned his intentions to resume a chemical weapons effort when sanctions were lifted. It shows that Saddam:
<snip>
We have accepted that it is unlikely that Saddam had actual stockpiles of WMD. It should however be remembered that it was the view of the whole international community that Saddam had WMD. UNSCR 1441 was signed unanimously. The disagreement within the international community was not whether Saddam had WMD, or that he posed a threat to international peace and stability, but how the threat should be dealt with.

In turn, on the basis of this report, others have to accept that not only did Saddam possess the capability and intent to develop WMD but also that the policy of containment was not working. Sanctions were a wasting asset.

He posed a threat and the world is a safer place without him in power."
One thing which is not lacking here is disagreement :-)

Ah, this must be that liberal media I keep hearing so much about. :) Certainly the world thought he still might have WMDs because he couldn't account for having destroyed _ALL_ of them. The world was wrong. I think the most important part of this article is the disagreement on how Saddam should be dealt with. The sanctions were working and were cheaper than invading. We had inspectors in Iraq up to the day we invaded so he was under watch. Now we are in a $200 + Billion ($200,000,000,000) and counting with no end in sight debacle. By almost any measure this mission is a failure. Not only that, but if you want to compare WMD threats remember that Pakistan had sold their nuclear weapons technology to just about everyone in the region _EXCEPT_ Iraq.

I particularly enjoyed the part of the article here that says "....others have to accept that not only did Saddam ...." right after it talks about the international community. Of course these "others" remain unspecified but it is certainly implied that it is a similar group. I'm sure the "others" are the Bush administration but who can tell since the article doesn't say.

If the Bush administration thought that sanctions were weakening they could have just as easily cranked them back up as invade. Sorry, strike that. Easier and cheaper than an invasion and just as effective at containing him.

The last line is simply speculation. Arguably the world is a more dangerous place because of the rise of terrorism in Iraq itself.</snip>

[Sicander]

The ironic thing I find, was that as we were pushing into Iraq, he was writing his novel. For a 'tyrant dictator', he sure didn't put up a fight.

Most Tyrant dictators don't. They rule by fear, and when somone doesnt fear them, they run.

Also, how have we lost on all fronts... what about the schools being built, the cell towers going up the new independant news stations going in, the clinics being built, the housing going up, the constitution being drafted and ratified! What about all that?

[ANGLOIRISH]

Bush was right to do as he did. I wonder if they will have a raffle to see who wants to kill So Damn Insane? Perhaps his own Iraqi people who were for so long victimized by him. Hid daughter isn't too fond of him right now! Maybe she could do the world the honors!