The Trial of Saddam

[JayKeeley]

So should Saddam go before an international tribunal or should the Iraqi's stand him on trial in their own national courts? The penalty, of course, would be death.

I would think that it would be in the interest for the US to let Iraq lead the trial, since they're going to try him on "cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed from 17th July 1968 to 1st May 2003 (when he lost power)".

Thing is, since the US supported him during some of those years (particularly during the war with Iran), I can't imagine the US council wanting to touch this with a bargepole just because they could end up implicating themselves for when some of those alleged crimes occurred.

I mean, the US only started having problems with Saddam when he invaded Kuwait.

 

[JayKeeley]

Look at how he was hiding!

 

[Black Winter Day]

fuck a trial... i say we just kick his ass. no frills, no deals, just a good old-fashioned ass-whupping. that would teach him a lesson.

 

[Erik]

Why did they even remove him? Just fill the hole with some dirt, slap up a tombstone, plug up the air vent and you're done.

 

[JayKeeley]

Innocent until proven guilty!!

 

[Erik]

You mean you actually still have that in the US?

 

[Demonspell]

Not since the Patriot Act was signed into law.

 

[JayKeeley]

I tell you who Saddam Hussein needs right now:

Johnny friggin' Cochran!

 

[Papa Josh]

I've been waiting for something "to happen" so that I could wax political..

I've been watching the Sunday news shows and the focus has been on next year's election. Can Howard dean beat Bush? Just last weekend it was how Dean's going to ram it down Bush's throat and now a week later it's changed. Am I the only one who notices the covenience of all of this? How many times are they going to show the images of Saddam and comment on the look in his eyes, etc, etc?

This is American politics at work. It's sad because the media is going to saturate us with this and as a result, a large portion of our ignorant population is going to forget that this was never about Saddam. At least, not to the American public. This was supposed to be about Bin Laden and 911. It has been reported over and over again that Hussein wasn't linked to it.

Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda are still functioning. Afghanistan was a joke, Iraq was a distraction. And in the meantime, the memory of the 6,000 + people that died in those buildings have not been honored. Instead, the blood of our innocent soldiers has been shed and all for what? To keep an incompetant man in office.

Bush couldn't catch the real criminal or perhaps didn't want to expose other secrets... so go after someone who wasn't involved in 911, who isn't any immediate threat, but who embarrasses your dad by remaining in control of his country after a war your father waged. Even if you don't agree with his ruling methods, it's a throwback, things have been that way for ages and who's to say it was our place to be the great police squad to raid the country?

If they don't find the weapons of mass destruction, I will laugh, if only because it will resemble a police officer raiding your house with no justification.

Yep, Iraq will be just like America.

 

[J.]

Personally, I think as soon as the soldiers (or whoever) realized who they had captured, they should have killed him. Seriously, Saddam was reportedly armed with 2 AK-47s and a pistol. The soldiers should have lied and said he shot at them. Now, with Saddam being captured alive, there are risks of more terrorist activity as a retaliation. Plus, this whole "trial" thing will be dragged out for years. He will never be executed, as he should. He will probably live out the rest of his days in relative comfort in a nice "prison", leeching tax dollars off the taxpayers.

Put a fucking bullet in his head. Now.

 

[JayKeeley]

Personally, I think as soon as the soldiers (or whoever) realized who they had captured, they should have killed him. Seriously, Saddam was reportedly armed with 2 AK-47s and a pistol. The soldiers should have lied and said he shot at them. Now, with Saddam being captured alive, there are risks of more terrorist activity as a retaliation. Plus, this whole "trial" thing will be dragged out for years. He will never be executed, as he should. He will probably live out the rest of his days in relative comfort in a nice "prison", leeching tax dollars off the taxpayers.

Put a fucking bullet in his head. Now.

Dreamlord - if they killed him, he would have become a martyr. If they killed him, most people would have dismissed the body as a lookalike. The whole situation would be left open-ended.

Now, notice how they want a very "open and public" trial. They want to prove it's him through DNA fingerprinting. They want to remind the world of his atrocities (dating back to the 60's). They want to bring an end to an era and killing him would be 'too easy'. A quick death was right for his sons, but Saddam needs to be tried like a war criminal in front of the world, particularly for the victims of all the people he had murdered.

Just my $0.02.

 

[ChiefB]

This is American politics at work. It's sad because the media is going to saturate us with this and as a result, a large portion of our ignorant population is going to forget that this was never about Saddam. At least, not to the American public. This was supposed to be about Bin Laden and 911. It has been reported over and over again that Hussein wasn't linked to it.

I believe that the capture of Saddam will in fact reignite the debate of why we have not captured Bin Laden. In the eyes of the American public the Iraq war is now 'officially' over. This means that the publics attention will now be focussed towards 9/11 and Bin Laden. The key question that will be raised: If we can catch Saddam within a one year time frame why have we still not caught Bin Laden?

 

[J.]

They could have proven it was him through DNA testing even if he was dead.

So what you're saying is that my tax dollars will pay for Saddam's "open and public" trial? I'd rather have my money, and hell, with that extra money I'll even buy a bullet to kill him.

 

[ChiefB]

Saddam will obviously be tried in Iraq. The only other place he could be legally tried is at The International War Tribunal in the Hague - for crimes against humanity.

 

[JayKeeley]

In the eyes of the American public the Iraq war is now 'officially' over. This means that the publics attention will now be focussed towards 9/11 and Bin Laden.

Unfortunately, the average American doesn't distinguish between Saddam Hussein, 9/11, and Bin Laden. Some idiots even believe that we are at war with Afghanistan.

The key question that will be raised: If we can catch Saddam within a one year time frame why have we still not caught Bin Laden?

Bin Laden is dead. I truly believe that.

 

[J.]

Bin Laden is dead. I truly believe that.

I tend to agree. The release of his "tapes" is just too perfect. RIght when America is getting back to normal, a tape of bin Laden is released to remind us he's still there.

 

[JayKeeley]

They could have proven it was him through DNA testing even if he was dead.

Yes, but there is a tendency by the general public not to believe what the American media/government tells them, and rightfully so. Saddam needs to be taken to the Hague.

So what you're saying is that my tax dollars will pay for Saddam's "open and public" trial?

Oh my fucking lord! So you have no problems with your tax dollars going towards the carpet bombing of entire countries or the devout financial support of Israel, but you're concerned by the negligble amount needed towards trying one individual? Honestly, it's pennies in comparison - put it into perspective.

Anyway, that's assuming that America wants to be involved in trying him, but they shouldn't be so lucky. I can't wait to see this trial cover all of Saddam's tracks back to 1968 and reveal all the involvement the USA had in feeding him all the requirements to make mustard gas, long range missiles, inhumane land mines etc when attacking Iran or Kurds etc. That's why my vote goes towards taking him to the Hague. The Iraqi's will just hang him and be done with it.

 

[ChiefB]

So what you're saying is that my tax dollars will pay for Saddam's "open and public" trial?

Oh for fucks sake open your eyes will you. Your tax dollars have already been spent on two wars and a substantial aid grant to Israel.

 

[NAD]

Yay! The world is a safer place! :Smug:

The thing that really pisses me off is that Bush is going to play that card (if he hasn't already, I just barely woke up and haven't heard much yet ), and act like world peace is now a possibility. I am glad that Saddam finally got captured, but only because maybe the Kurds can receive a little justice. The Hague would be the only place to try him, but that could be quite damaging for the US due to our involvement with him in the 1980s, which is sure to come up. My guess is the US admin. will want him tried in Iraq, or just hanged in public really. Texas Justice.

That does seem a bit convenient that this is happening when Dean has just received a substantial boost in popularity but I'm not sure if I buy that it's a political move. Unless Bushy just decided to tout one of Saddam's body doubles as the real thing, you never know...