feckin' good if you ask me

Full agreement
BUT
Will it make any difference to the guerilla war that is going on?
Informed opinion seems to think not

you have to hope so,but he still will have follower's who will carry on his evil work

Those who accused Blair and Bush of inventing him to justify the war must be feeling pretty sheepish, huh?

Oops sorry - meant to post that in a parallel universe...

I wonder how Saddam's family member will spend the $25 million awarded by the US government for leading to his capture? C4? AK-47's?

Assuming the news is factual, I'm happy for the Iraqis.

[This message was edited by Ludwig on MONDAY 15 December 2003 at 00:01.]

In a special edition WSJ story discussing POW status versus a "special" tribunal, etc, etc, I found this to be humorous:

"There may be concern about how much public access Mr. Hussein should be given. He was once a U.S. ally, during the Iraqi war with Iran, and he could potentially provide embarrassing information about how past U.S. governments cooperated with his regime even as it was carrying out the crimes that will be on trial."

quote:

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Originally posted by AL4N:
you have to hope so,but he still will have follower's who will carry on his evil work

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That's assuming the "freedom fighters" fighting the "imperialist invaders" or "terrorists" as we call them actually want Saddam back. They may just want to push the US out to create a totally new regime independent of the West.

Tom

Actively enjoying it all

My guess is that the resistance fight will not diminish simply because of the capture. BUT, I also think that Saddam had contacts with these fighters, and that names (even in written form) will be found which will have enormous intelligence value. That may strengthen coalition forces in this regard. It will depend on how much he knows and how much he talks. I'm guessing since he's in line for a box sans headhead in either case, he's going to be rather quiet.

I'm convinced it would have been preferable to have not taken him alive. He did not fight on prupose. Likewise, putting Bin Laden on trial in the US (or elsewhere other than a "quick justice" sort of jurisdiction) will result in a public relations nightmare. Judd.

I don't believe in the death penalty not even for evil Saddam. It would be most useful to keep him alive and exile him somewhere obscure as we did with Napoléon. The more he talks the better his life will be in exile.

I'm in a pragmatic mood.

Then there is the issue of all those Shi'ites baying for his blood; not a good idea to kill him really, is it?

Retribution is allowing one's heart to rule one's head.



Regards,

Steve.

The American announcement 'We got him' reminded me of the Belgrano sinking and 'Gotcha' in The Sun. Badly done guys.

I cannot imagine how he might be tried anywhere 'fairly' to be honest and I think his 'disposal' will be a major headache.

We could of course trust the US to handle his interrogation and trial with the same transparency and fairness they are using to deal with the prisoners in Guantanamo.

Bruce

He was a vicious thug who caused the death of thousands of inocent people. We should let the Iraqui's try him and accept whatever sentence they pass.

He is now their responsiblity, not ours.

Regards

Mick

So to whom would you hand Saddam over? They have no legal system or administration. Just release him in the centre of Baghdad with a big sign saying 'come and get him'?

Bruce

He is now nothing to do with us, he is their problem not ours. We have no right to tell them what to do with him.

Regards

Mick

I take your point Mick. By the same token should we now just leave Iraq, pull out all the troops (and construction workers)?

Bruce

There is a major difference between helping them to reconstruct their economy and telling them how to run the judicial system.

You have to give them the freedom to determine their own future and Saddam's trial is the first step.

Regards

Mick

quote:

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It would be most useful to keep him alive and exile him somewhere obscure as we did with Napoléon.

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Hmm... Didn't he come back?

JohanR

It might be useful to have Saddam alive in the future for whatever reason. We still have Bin Laden to get. Not sure how it may work, but to kill him now may turn out to be pissing on our chips.
Is there a chance that Bush may now win the Pres elecs?

The even worse thought is that Tony will!

This morning I see they discussed the crimes Saddam could be charged with which came down to three which included
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.They all carry the death penalty in Iraq. It's going to be difficult for them to give him clemency but they recognise the problem of the "matyr effect" so this is going to be something nobody wants to be involved with

geoff

quote:

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"matyr effect"

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Perhaps to lower this effect they could have him shaking hands with Mr.Bush as they turn the power on the electric chair.

Or perhaps with Rummy who has had more practice at this sort of thing



Matthew