Question of the day: Will Bush publicly celebrate Saddam Hussein’s execution?
It now appears likely that Saddam Hussein will be executed sometime very soon. As a death penalty opponent, I abhor all applications of the death penalty. And no, I make no exceptions for alleged war criminals. I also think that killing Hussein is likely to generate more, not less, violence in Iraq.
But none of that is what I want to talk about here. The topic of the day, rather, is whether we think Bush is stupid enough to make a major production out of it when the “big” day comes. The smart move couldn’t be more obvious: Shut the fuck up.
At most, Bush should release a brief written acknowledgement that “justice” has been carried out according to Iraqi law, closing a dark chapter in Iraqi history, and looking forward to Iraq now moving forward as one nation, or some similar BS. But does Bush have that much common sense, let alone that much impulse control?
Personally, I doubt it. My prediction is that he’ll insist on some form of public celebration over Saddam’s execution, spinning it as yet another in the endless procession of turning points in the war. Now, if he does this, he’ll almost certainly end up with egg on his face — again — when the retaliatory attacks come. But, given how starved he is for good news I doubt he can resist.
What do you think?
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December 26th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
I personally also oppose the death penalty, but if it MUST happen there should be a present serving head of state standing on the gallows along with Suddam..
December 26th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
“I abhor all applications of the death penalty.” I agree without comment.
December 26th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
The measure of any society is in how they treat their weakest citizens.
Be they poor, homeless, handicapped, or criminal. Saddam could never have imagined the consequences of his actions. 650,000 Iraqi civilians killed, the most advanced middle-eastern country, and it had the highest standards of education and medecine, reduced to rubble! What he did to his own countrymen is horrible, but to kill him merely justifies the atrocities that occurred after his overthrow. If Iraqi’s wish to become a 1st world country again they must insist on turning their backs on violence and push towards an equal and just society.
December 26th, 2006 at 8:58 pm
My prediction is that he will make a public appearance, use the spin about a turnining point, but not have a public celebration. Private maybe, but not public. He may be that stupid, but his handlers are not.
I guess I’m the only one here that is pro-capital punishment. Maybe because I’m an independent, not a Dem. It’s largely pragmatic and in synch with my personal belief in reincarnation as opposed to heaven. I would sure prefer to be put to death so I could start a new life with a clean slate than to sit in a prision cell for the rest of *this* life.
That said, I wholeheartedly agree with lamzy. There ain’t nothin’ SH did that GWB hasn’t done. Personally, I don’t agree with the death penalty in Saddam’s case anyway. I’d prefer to substitute our favorite villian.
To Jello, I agree with the first sentence right upt to “criminal”. Criminals have a choice, the poor, homeless, and handicapped don’t. I also agree that putting Saddam to death gives the Repugs an agrument for justifying what they (The Junta) did.
December 26th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
To Wye Knot:
A lot of people who oppose the death penalty, myself included, oppose it because we believe it is worse for the state to possibly execute an innocent man than it is necessary to reap vengeance on a criminal. It is not that we actually feel sorry for the criminal, or even feel that they have any particular human value. The very first time the state executed an innocent man, it rendered the death penalty immoral and illegal. That is the only fact that matters to me.
December 26th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
I suspect he’ll sit in his chair in the Oh!val Office, twirling the handgun soldiers allegedly took from Saddam and presented to Shrub like an old west gunslinger, and accidentally shoot himself in the foot….or some such metaphor…
December 26th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Well said Vetta! & to Jello too!
December 27th, 2006 at 2:28 am
Bush loves executions. Makes him feel all-powerful. Look at his record in Texas. I dont know if he will celebrate publicly. I wouldnt put any sleazy bit of slime past Dubya. He will gloat about it, that much is certain. Causing the death of others is his bread and butter, his icing on the cake. He can sit in the Oval Office and be “The Decider.” Actually, he is more like the Grim Reaper, a skeletal, evil shadow of a human being. He and Darth Dick are power addicts, intent on destruction. Compassion is a term neither one understands nor practices. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, a violent dictator. However, executing him is only going to cause more upheaval. There will be repercussions in the explosive Iraqi Inferno. But, Dubya and Darth Dick will not care who pays the price for their hubris.
December 27th, 2006 at 8:29 am
VettaKing
YES
just an aside about witnesses (even the most honest and objective), the foundation of many verdicts
False Memories by William J. Cromie:
The woman remembered that a man who looked exactly like Donald Thompson had raped her. But the psychologist, who, ironically, studies memory distortion, couldn’t remember ever meeting the woman…
The dumbfounded Thompson told police that, just before the rape, he did a live television interview, ironically again, on how people can improve their memory of faces. During questioning, the woman admitted she had watched the program. Apparently, she confused her memory of Thompson with that of the rapist…
“Memory isn’t a videotape,” he [Professor Daniel Schacter] says. “Rather, it’s a reconstruction using bits of sound, sights, words, and even tastes stored in different parts of the brain. Gaps in such reproductions, filled by imagination, cause error and distortions in eyewitness recollections and other aspects of everyday memory.”
no, the woman was not a liar - just a human, convinced of the truth of her own words
so convinced, that everyone would have believed her
December 27th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
VettaKing, exactly!
Bush will celebrate privately but smirk publicly, he can’t help himself.
The media will probably have some cute catchy countdown going for days before the big event, a great ratings-op. It will be a real proud moment for people filled with hate, revenge and bloodlust. It will be a disgrace for those who are sick of the spectacle of death. This damn war has sickened our spirit from its dishonest, immoral beginnings. The torture was but a prelude to a hanging and responsibility for these unconscionable acts has been forced on us by men and women with no conscience. This isn’t an execution as we have come to tolerate in America, this is a HANGING. One more example of how barbaric we ourselves have become. Bush has us on a steady course…backwards..and if Americans accept this hanging as justice we step backwards without a push from Bush.
God, how I hate this war.
Wye Knot
As I understand reincarnation, it’s not exactly a clean slate the next time around.