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Tagsby Mike Whitney
This is a dark day for Americans and Iraqis alike.
Killing Saddam Hussein isn’t justice; its vengeance. Only Bush believes the two are the same.
How are we supposed to feel now that we know that Saddam will be hanged for his crimes?
Elated? Energized? Jubilant?
Will it wash away the oceans of blood that Bush generated with his misguided and tragic war?
The administration clings to the foolish notion that killing Saddam will somehow justify their unprovoked invasion and slaughter of 650,000 Iraqis.
It won’t.
I expect that many people feel the same sense of disgust and
emptiness that I do. The joy of executing Saddam is limited to a small
cadre of men who revel in the suffering and subjugation of others. They
are human in name only.
Nothing Saddam did in his life will make him seem larger in the
eyes of his people than his death. Still, the administration doesn’t
care if they turn Saddam into a martyr as long as they get a bump in
the polls before Tuesday’s midterm elections. It’s pathetic.
Fortunately, the American people are not nearly as bloodthirsty as
their leaders. All they want is an end to war and the safe return of
the troops.
Sentencing a man to hang merely to improve one’s prospects at the
ballot-box is about as desperate as it gets. It may be the most cynical
political-ploy we've seen in the last 6 years. It's a thoroughly vile
act unworthy of anyone holding high-office.
The whole circus atmosphere of the Saddam trial has further eroded
confidence in American justice and evenhandedness. The outcome was
known from the very beginning. Everyone knew that he would be condemned
to death.
So, why all the hoopla? Why not just shoot him outright?
Did Bush want to give Saddam the opportunity to grab the moral
high-ground and look like a statesman? Now the deposed dictator seems
like the unwitting victim of “victor’s justice”. How smart was that?
After the verdict was announced, Saddam issued brief a statement
to his people which made him appear reflective and patriotic. He said:
“Pardon and do not take revenge on the invading nations and their people…and unify in the face of sectarian strife.”
Saddam's message of forgiveness and reconciliation won't be warmly
received in Washington where they were hoping that he would fall to his
knees and beg for forgiveness. That was another miscalculation. Saddam
may be a brutal tyrant but he was never a coward. His courtroom
performance will only strengthen the resolve of the resistance and make
life that much more difficult for occupation forces.
The whole charade has been costly blunder for the Bush team; nothing was gained.
Saddam’s death will have the same effect as the appalling photos
of the hooded prisoner at Abu Ghraib which offended the sensibilities
of decent people everywhere. It will just generate more hatred and
violence.
This isn’t justice. It's another example of a nation’s dark shame.
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