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Iraq
Saddam may hang within hours: senior Iraqi source
2006-12-29
The countdown continues ...
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein could be hanged within hours, a senior Iraqi source told Reuters on Friday after Saddam's lawyer said the former president had been handed over by U.S. forces to Iraqi authorities for execution.

"Things have changed in the past three hours. There were some issues ... and now that is resolved so it seems it's possible he may be hanged tonight," the source, who is in a senior position of authority, said after a day of confusion.

However, the start of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha on Saturday raised the possibility of a delay until after the week -long holiday is over, he added: "It's not certain," he said.
Posted by:Steve White

#55  But he is was a good man. He kept down the inter-faction violence (by having his thugs do all the killing). He kept the Shiites and Kurds from starting a civil war (by gassing them). Remember that he got 100% of the vote in the final election (no one chose "feed my into the shredder").

A lot of Demonrats who won't go to President Ford's funeral would probably like to go to Saddam's.
Posted by: Jackal   2006-12-29 22:25  

#54  Bout time. I will sleep better knowing a Mass-murdering dictator is roasting with his 72 raisins.
Posted by: Charles   2006-12-29 22:22  

#53  ...Cheers, my friends*downs his champagne*

I've been saving this scripture for a while:
Isa.14
[15] Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
[16] They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
[17] That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
[18] All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
[19] But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
[20] Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.


Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-12-29 22:09  

#52  Woo-hoo! #49 Mike.

Pop goes the cork. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-12-29 22:06  

#51  Al Aribiya: Ding. Dong. Dead.
Posted by: .com   2006-12-29 22:06  

#50  Now some Arab language networks are saying he's assumed room temperature outside the Green Zone.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie   2006-12-29 22:04  

#49  ...He's arrived at the excecution site...

CNN now saying he's dead 2156 EST

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-12-29 22:04  

#48  It shouldn't happen in the Green Zone.

Why should we get all the fun?

The Iraqis are the ones he tortured.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-12-29 22:02  

#47  CNN reporting that the execution will NOT happen in the the Green Zone, that it will be at an alternate site.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-12-29 21:50  

#46  ..CNN saying it's now dawn in Baghdad and the first day of Eid, possibility its done.

And another song - From the musical Desert Storm , Saddam sings Iraqian Nights:

Oh I come from a land
A far away place
Where the Hogs in kill boxes roam
Where we'll gas you to death if we don't like your face
It's barbaric - but hey, it's home!
With JDAMS from the west
And SLCMS from the west
And M1s rolling left and right
Come on down, stop on by
Take cover or die
It's another Iraqian Night!

Iraqian Nights, like Iraqian Days,
More often than not
You'll prob'ly get shot
Cause terror don't pay
Iraqian Nights, like Iraqian moons
I'll have to run hard
cause I've been left by my guards
Out there on the dunes...

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-12-29 21:37  

#45  Very good picks on the songs, gentlemen, but I've still got Styx's "Renegade" going on in my head right now. With all apologies....

Oh Kofi, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law
Coalition put an end to my running and I'm so far from my home
Oh Kofi, I can hear you a crying you're so scared and all alone
Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don't have very long

The jig is up, the news is out
They finally found me
The renegade who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty
Never more to go astray
This'll be the end today
Of the wanted man

Oh Kofi, I've been years on the lam and had a high price on my head
George Bush said 'Get him dead or alive' and it's for sure he'll see me dead
Dear Kofi I can hear you cryin', you're so scared and all alone
Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long

The jig is up, the news is out
They finally found me
The renegade who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty
Never more to go astray
The judge'll have revenge today
On the wanted man

Oh Kofi, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law
Iraqis put an end to my running and I'm so far from my home

The jig is up, the news is out
They finally found me
The renegade who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty
Never more to go astray
This'll be the end today
Of the wanted man
Posted by: Swamp Blondie   2006-12-29 21:25  

#44  
OldSpook. Your point is exact. And I am afraid your prediction of silence is as well.

This is the opportunity for the right side of the blogsphere to unite and demand action.

The plan is naive, but unless we can use these Internets to organize and effect change, then this is just an echo chamber, and we should all move on to something productive.

Posted by: Master of Obvious   2006-12-29 20:18  

#43  Prime opportunity to communicate the main reason for the war: that evil man and the evil he had done.

What we used to call in ops a "teaching moment".

They way I see it, Bush isnt up to the task. Hell he's wasted chance after chance to explain things inthe past, why would he start now? I expect nothing from the shrub.

(Some executive decisions have come down and I have lost almost all my respect for the man, he is a gutless eunuch - but I'll never lose my respect for the Office, Clinton tested that quite well with me).
Posted by: OldSpook   2006-12-29 19:37  

#42  
President Bush needs to take command of the bully pulpit and make the case for the justice in this war. Saddam was a very, very, very bad man.
Posted by: Master of Obvious   2006-12-29 19:25  

#41  "First we hang 'im, then we kill 'im!"
Posted by: Raj   2006-12-29 19:22  

#40  Usually they're irate over this kind of stuff. It seems they are pretty comfortable with having him offed quickly.

The sooner he's dead, the sooner the things he knows die, too.

BTW -- I hope everyone over there's remembering not to step outside without a helmet for the next couple of days. Gonna be a lot of gun sex after Saddam's neck gets stretched.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-12-29 19:11  

#39  I'm going to reach for the tinfoil hat and ask, why aren't any of the European Union countries or the U.N. doing anything to stop this? Usually they're irate over this kind of stuff. It seems they are pretty comfortable with having him offed quickly.
Posted by: Thoth   2006-12-29 19:06  

#38  
According to the AP...
Al-Nueimi said U.S. authorities were maintaining physical custody of Saddam to prevent him from being humiliated before his execution. He said the Americans also want to prevent the mutilation of his corpse, as has happened to other deposed Iraqi leaders.

"The Americans want him to be hanged respectfully," al-Nueimi said. If Saddam is humiliated publicly or his corpse ill-treated "that could cause an uprising and the Americans would be blamed," he said.
Posted by: Chuck Darwin   2006-12-29 18:35  

#37  A "handover" at the first step up the gallows would be good.

Naw. Hand him over right before the hatch opens.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-12-29 18:16  

#36  Tonight! Tonight!
We hang his ass Tonight!
And we'll jump for joy in the streets.

Tonight, tonight
We hang his ass tonight!
And the moonbats will soon come unglued.
Posted by: Shipman   2006-12-29 17:57  

#35  (With apologies to The Kingston Trio and Tom Dooley:

Hang down your head Sad-dam Huss-ein
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your head Sad-dam Huss-ein
Poor boy you're bound to die

Thumbed my nose at the US
Took thousands of Kurdish lives
Thumbed my nose at the US
Now I'll forefit my life

Hang down your head Sad-dam Huss-ein
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your head Sad-dam Huss-ein
Poor boy you're bound to die

At this time tomorrow
Reckon where I'll be
Down in that old Green Zone
Hangin' from a white oak tree

Hang down your head Sad-dam Huss-ein
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your head Sad-dam Huss-ein
Poor boy you're bound to die


Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-12-29 17:43  

#34  A "handover" at the first step up the gallows would be good.
Posted by: Classical_Liberal   2006-12-29 17:43  

#33  Eid begins at 6:00 AM Baghdad time so that explains the 10:00 PM time...

But now saying he hasn't been turned over by US, yet.

Blah. As long as he swings, I'm good.
Posted by: .com   2006-12-29 17:35  

#32  Fox is saying before 10:00 PM Eastern.

Dunno if this "senior" official knows diddley-squat.
Posted by: .com   2006-12-29 17:32  

#31  Twe're it be done. Best it be done quickly
Posted by: Lady McB   2006-12-29 17:26  

#30  Without a live boradcast, we will need a simulation. His last words.



Iraqi, I am your President! I command you to take your hands off that lever!
Posted by: BigEd   2006-12-29 17:23  

#29  Whoops:

Rumsfeld could be heard kicking on doors . . . .
Posted by: gorb   2006-12-29 17:19  

#28  I understand that we had Mullah Omar in the sights of one of our predators shortly after we started whomping on Afghanistan. And some lawyer-type advised against blasting him. I suppose out of ignorance the guys at the controls played along with it. Rumsfeld could be kicking on doors for quite a ways away when he found about this.

Perhaps someone's looking to play to the same kind of ignorance here.
Posted by: gorb   2006-12-29 17:18  

#27  Hussein's lawyers filed documents Friday afternoon asking for an emergency restraining order aimed at stopping the U.S. government from relinquishing custody of the condemned former Iraqi leader to Iraqi officials, a spokeswoman for a federal court in Washington D.C. said.

A US court has NO jurisdiction over a foreign national court, nor over events that happened on foreign soil, not involving Americans at all, so this should be "a slam dunk" and thrown out pronto. But, besides all that, I thought the evil Bushitler and his interogating minions at DoD were the devil incarnate when it comes to prisoner abuse and treatment (a'la abu gharib). Guess when you're facin' the gallows, all the sudden the 'mericans don't look so bad, eh sammy?

The documents were being processed and were not immediately made public. The Justice Department had not yet responded to the request.

Knowing that this is the Friday before New Year's and a LATE afternoon request to boot, I'd imagine there's no one home at DoJ to "respond" to this request until LONG AFTER Sammy's hangin' with Che, Arafish and Hitler in hell.
Posted by: BA   2006-12-29 17:12  

#26  Within the hour now.
Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412   2006-12-29 17:11  

#25  Kind of illuminates the role that US Courts have been playing. Last refuge for the world's worst people. I'm so proud.
Posted by: Slinemble Flaith3825   2006-12-29 17:07  

#24  I hope we've got a whole bunch of guys suited up and ready for any possibility...
Posted by: Classical_Liberal   2006-12-29 17:04  

#23  Damn. Maybe Ramsey really was contemplating a SCOTUS appeal.

Hurry up and hang the SOB!!
Posted by: KBK   2006-12-29 16:51  

#22  Good. That means they're getting to him!
Posted by: gorb   2006-12-29 16:39  

#21  But he's still trying...

WASHINGTON - Lawyers for Saddam Hussein on Friday made a last-minute appeal to an American court to avert execution in Iraq, asking a judge to block his transfer from U.S. custody to the hands of Iraqi officials.

Hussein's lawyers filed documents Friday afternoon asking for an emergency restraining order aimed at stopping the U.S. government from relinquishing custody of the condemned former Iraqi leader to Iraqi officials, a spokeswoman for a federal court in Washington D.C. said.

The documents were being processed and were not immediately made public. The Justice Department had not yet responded to the request.

A similar request by the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, Awad Hamed al-Bandar, was denied Thursday and is under appeal. Al-Bandar also faces execution. The Justice Department argued in that case that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction to interfere with the judicial process of another country.

Al-Bandar argued that his trial violated his rights under the U.S. Constitution but Justice countered that foreigners being tried in foreign courts are not protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Well....duh!
The appeals court did not indicate when it would rule on the issue.

They should've dumped flaming gasoline down that hole three years ago...
Posted by: tu3031   2006-12-29 16:36  

#20  Good job, Mike!
Posted by: Brett   2006-12-29 16:33  

#19  I guess I won't be the only one who gets an unwanted necktie for Christmas.

Yes, but at least you get to wear yours right-side-up!

Yup, hang him, that's sure to turn Iraq into a picnic park with butterflies and daisies and no low-flying body parts at all.

By that logic nobody should do anything at all. Including the terrorists. But hey, they don't play by the rules, so neither can anyone else. No use moaning about what could be in this case. You'd do better to worry about what is!
Posted by: gorb   2006-12-29 16:19  

#18  I expect stunned silence to set in for about 24 hours. Then a pause as cause and effect start to jell. A sigh of relief from some and a quick intake of breath from others.

Then mayhem as usual. But some big players are now looking in a mirror.

Effect unknown. But we're living in interesting times.
Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412   2006-12-29 16:11  

#17  A picnic park with butterflies and daisies and no low-flying body parts at all?

Maybe, maybe not, but giving the tyrant his just desserts is an inherent moral good. Consider, also: as long as Uncle Saddam draws breath, it leaves the Ba'athist insurgents with the hope, however faint, however unrealistic, that Uncle Saddam can be freed and returned to power. If Uncle Saddam is dead, there's no such hope; Qsay and Uday are already gone, so there is no obvious successor to carry on the dynasty. There's a fair possibility that Saddam's execution takes the remaining air out of the Ba'athist component of the insurgency.

There are a number of historical examples of a similar phenomenon of a totalitarian movement going defunct after the death of a charismatic leader: Italian Fascism did not outlive Mussolini; National Socialism did not outlive Hitler; Romanian communism did not outlive Caucescu. Not to say it will happen again here, but it's possible. Worth a shot, anyway.
Posted by: Mike   2006-12-29 16:02  

#16  I guess I won't be the only one who gets an unwanted necktie for Christmas.
Posted by: WhiteCollarRedneck   2006-12-29 15:58  

#15  A picnic park with butterflies and daisies and no low-flying body parts at all?
Naaaaw, it won't do that.
But if it does, Sammy won't be around to see it...
Posted by: tu3031   2006-12-29 15:56  

#14  9125 is like every other Nazi-loving swine. Adoph Hitler would be worshipped today by such swine. After all, he was an America-hating (nationalist) socialist who loved mass murder, just the kind the left can't get enough of.
Posted by: E. Brown   2006-12-29 15:54  

#13  Think it might destablize the place 9125? Downshift the cycle of violence? Add to surging mahem? Loose the war for the allies? Add to global warming climate change? Hurt someones feelings?
Posted by: Shipman   2006-12-29 15:47  

#12  Yeah, that's a bowlderization of an old Zeppelin tune. I don't even like Led Zeppelin, but it fit the situation here.
Posted by: Mike   2006-12-29 15:44  

#11  Yup, hang him, that's sure to turn Iraq into a picnic park with butterflies and daisies and no low-flying body parts at all.
Posted by: Omineper Clereper9125   2006-12-29 15:40  

#10  Mike, izzat based on the old Led Zepplin song?
Posted by: Brett   2006-12-29 15:36  

#9  Ima hearing a low tonal humming in the near distance.... mmmmmmmmm, mmmmmm, meeeeeeeeee.

Earliest would be what, 16:00 EST?
Posted by: Shipman   2006-12-29 15:36  

#8  Warm up the acordion!
Posted by: gorb   2006-12-29 15:32  

#7  Dang, crazy good Mike.
Posted by: Shipman   2006-12-29 15:30  

#6   Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
Think I see my friends coming, Riding a many mile.
Friends, did you get Kofi Annan?
Some human rights NGOs?
What did you bring me, my dear friends, to keep me from the Gallows Pole?
What did you bring me to keep me from the Gallows Pole?

I couldn't get Kofi Annan, I couldn't get no NGOs,
You know that you're too damn bad to keep you from the Gallows Pole.

Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
I think I see the New York Times coming, riding a many mile.
Pinch, did you write an op-ed?
Did you write something bold?
What did you write for me, Mister Sulzberger, to keep me from the Gallows Pole?

Brother, I wrote an op-ed,
In phrases loud and bold,
I wrote an editorial
To keep you from the Gallows Pole.
Yes, I wrote it to keep you from the Gallows Pole.

Hangman, hangman, turn your head awhile,
I think I see Maureen Dowd, riding a many mile, mile, mile.
MoDo, I implore you, take him by the hand,
Take him to some shady bower, save me from the wrath of this man,
Please take him, save me from the wrath of this man, man.

Hangman, hangman, upon your face a smile,
Pray tell me that I'm free to ride,
Ride for many mile, mile, mile.

Oh, yes, you got a fine sister, She warmed my blood from cold,
Brought my blood to boiling hot
To keep you from the Gallows Pole,
The NGOs protested, MoDo snarked my soul,
But now I laugh and pull so hard And see you Swinging on the Gallows Pole
Swingin' on the gallows pole!
Posted by: Mike   2006-12-29 15:27  

#5  They're buildin' the gallows outside my cell.
I got 25 minutes to go.

And in 25 minutes I'll be in Hell.
I got 24 minutes to go.

Well, they give me some beans for my last meal.
23 minutes to go.

And you know... nobody asked me how I feel.
I got 22 minutes to go.

So, I wrote to the Gov'nor... the whole damned bunch.
Ahhh... 21 minutes to go.

And I call up the Mayor, and he's out to lunch.

I got 20 more minutes to go.

Well, the Sheriff says, "Boy, I wanna watch you die".
19 minutes to go.

I spit in his face... and I kicked him in the eye.
I got 18 minutes to go.

Well...I call out to the Warden to hear my plea.
17 minute to go.

He says, "Call me back in a week or three.
You've got 16 minutes to go."

Well, my lawyer says he's sorry he missed my case.
Mmmm....15 minutes to go.

Yeah, well if you're so sorry, come up and take my place.
I got 14 minutes to go.

Well, now here comes the padre to save my soul
With 13 minutes to go.

And he's talkin' about burnin', but I'm so damned cold.
I got 12 more minutes to go.

Now they're testin' the trap. It chills my spine.
I got 11 minutes to go.

'Cuz the goddamned thing it works just fine.
I got 10 more minutes to go.

I'm waitin' for the pardon... gonna set me free
With 9 more minutes to go.

But this ain't the movies, so to hell with me.
I got 8 more minutes to go.

And now I'm climbin up the ladder with a scaffold peg
With 7 more minutes to go.

I've betta' watch my step or else I'll break my leg.
I got 6 more minutes to go.

Yeah... with my feet on the trap and my head in the noose...
5 more minutes to go.

Well, c'mon somethin' and cut me loose.
I got 4 more minutes to go.

I can see the mountains. I see the sky.
3 more minutes to go.

And it's too damned pretty for a man to die.
i got 2 more minutes to go

I can hear the buzzards... hear the crows.
1 more minute to go.

And now I'm swingin' and here I gooooooooo....
Posted by: Penguin   2006-12-29 15:22  

#4  Good one, Ship!
Posted by: Mike   2006-12-29 15:17  

#3  There's just a few more hours,
that's all the time I've got,
A few more hours
until they ties the knot.

Ima meet the hangman 'n the mornin,
Drugged up and feeling just like slime,
Kofi come and kiss me!
Tell 'em how you'll miss me!
But for gawds sakes get me loose in time!

I don't want to be there 'n the morning,
Hell no it's just not my time!
Call out the Army,
I know I'm sounding smary,
But for gawds sake let me loose in time.
Posted by: Shipman   2006-12-29 15:16  

#2  That is a stretch
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-12-29 15:04  

#1  The latest noose, as it were.
Posted by: Mike   2006-12-29 13:30  

00:00