An Iraqi government newspaper said Saturday that toppled President Saddam Hussein was expected to be sentenced and executed within weeks. The government-financed al-Sabah daily quoted unidentified sources close to a special court hearing Saddam's case that the verdict will be issued in the next three weeks against the former leader and his top former aides. The sources said they expected the first death penalty against the former regime officials to be handed to Saddam after the special court convicts him on 12 charges of "crimes against humanity."I'm not a huge fan of the death penalty, but I must admit that there is absolutely no doubt as to his guilt. When you serve as tyrant for 30 years, the documentation against you is just a bit too damning. Although I still think the KoF plan would be more effective. In my plan, the deposed Iraqi dictator would spend the remainder of his days in a modest cell. The walls of this enclosure would be lined with television monitors. Cameras across the nation of Iraq would broadcast what is happening in the new Iraq 24/7. They would show the thriving marketplaces and children learning in schools constructed by the coalition-forces. Every session of the legislative body plus committee meeting would continuously play before the eyes of the imprisoned Saddam. And the one image that Saddam would never see in his continuous live tour of Iraq would be his own. There is no cult of Saddam in the new Iraq, and the realization I wish for Mr. Hussein is not of condemnation but of complete and utter irrelevance.
Why King, you have a mean streak!
Just kidding, but I prefer the death penalty for a few reasons. The Iraqi taxpayers will not have to continue to pay to maintain Saddam. And this does not just include food and shelter, but security.
This is my second reason. When I was in the middle east (last fall), I was informed that many Iraqis still fear the new government will topple and Saddam and his thugs will resume power. This is the proclaimed goal of some of the insurgents. Saddam’s execution (along with that of his head thugs) will eliminate this fear as well as reduce one of the reasons for the insurgents (not that I expect that insurgency to stop after Saddam’s execution, but their demoralization is just an extra bonus).
By the way, I really like your DNA test. Did you create this or is there a MT module for this?
Actually, my initial plan was to have Saddam in a cage in the center of a busy, flourshing Baghdad market, but I decided the security would be impossible. I do agree that his execution does make reascending to a leadership position just a bit more difficult.
The ‘captcha’ is built-in to ExpressionEngine, but I know there is one available for MT.
According to the Veda and the Manu Samhita, the government’s killing of a murderer or other heinous criminal is a dutiful act of mercy upon the perpetrator. Their execution relieves the criminal of the extreme burden of the sinful act.
In Bhagavad-gita 10:38, Krishna speaks of punishment:
TRANSLATION
“Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom.”
PURPORT (By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
There are many suppressing agents, of which the most important are those that cut down miscreants. When miscreants are punished, the agency of chastisement represents Krishna. Among those who are trying to be victorious in some field of activity, the most victorious element is morality. Among the confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is most important because by silence one can make progress very quickly. The wise man is he who can discriminate between matter and spirit, between God’s superior and inferior natures. Such knowledge is Krishna Himself.
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