..why didn't we think of that?, or, hindsight is always 20/20
I see on the web news that noted meanie Saddam Hussein's death sentence has been upheld by the longstanding and respected Iraqi judicial system, and that he is to be executed within 30 days.
It makes me proud when I consider that we helped to establish justice in that backward country, and strengthened the carefully balanced judiciary that now holds forth. I was intrigued by the statement that Saddam will die whether or not the President and two Vice-Presidents sign the death warrant. I was also impressed that an appellate court was able to send a case back to be reconsidered because the sentence of life-imprisonment was too lenient.
Nothing like impartiality and due process.
I want you to know that I have no feelings at all for Mr Hussein, and the fact that he will die has no bearing on things at all, but right now I get the feeling that our actions have done exactly nothing to help the Iraqi people, (or, frankly, ourselves--the real intended beneficiaries of Operation Iraqi Freedom). Our actions are and have been, in fact, a lot like the rantings of another noteworthy meanie, Kim Jong Il. Anything that he says or does is not really taken seriously, and only hardens the attitude of those aligned against him, in short, he impresses not too many besides himself. And that is where we are. Nothing we do makes a difference, it only serves to stir the pot a bit more. The government that we favor appears to be something less than what we had hoped for, and its position is by no means secure.
As late as last friday, my opinion was that Iraq will be the focal point of the next cold war, much like Germany was for fifty years following the last world war, but I no longer believe that to be the case. Iraq, for our interests, is lost. If we get what we want in the region, they will only hate us in a slightly less malevolent manner, and will certainly not cut us any slack in any significant way, (you know, O * I * L). Today, I am not as sure, (not that I ever am), I think that the economic assetts of that country are about to fall under the influence of the regime to the east, and the rest of the country will become just another impoverished enclave.
Just so I am on the record, the best thing that could happen for that embittered and embattled country is for Saddam and his henchmen to be spared the gallows and allowed to live, in solitary confinement, in a public prison. The people that he oppressed should be able to view his cell and to express their outrage, around the clock. Wishing him a long life in those cisrcumstances would be as much justice as this world can muster. I know that won't happen, and I expect to see copious video of his long drop to the end of the short rope available on the 'net within 31 days.
I look back, not quite to 9/11, when the 'finish the job' fervor really took root in Washington, but to the day that Hussein was captured. He had a pistol at the time, but apparently not the nerve to save himself the anguish of a trial. It goes without saying that the marines that captured him were also armed, it is too bad that just one of them had not the foresight to shoot the man while he was resisting capture.
It would have saved us, and the Iraqi people, much.
It makes me proud when I consider that we helped to establish justice in that backward country, and strengthened the carefully balanced judiciary that now holds forth. I was intrigued by the statement that Saddam will die whether or not the President and two Vice-Presidents sign the death warrant. I was also impressed that an appellate court was able to send a case back to be reconsidered because the sentence of life-imprisonment was too lenient.
Nothing like impartiality and due process.
I want you to know that I have no feelings at all for Mr Hussein, and the fact that he will die has no bearing on things at all, but right now I get the feeling that our actions have done exactly nothing to help the Iraqi people, (or, frankly, ourselves--the real intended beneficiaries of Operation Iraqi Freedom). Our actions are and have been, in fact, a lot like the rantings of another noteworthy meanie, Kim Jong Il. Anything that he says or does is not really taken seriously, and only hardens the attitude of those aligned against him, in short, he impresses not too many besides himself. And that is where we are. Nothing we do makes a difference, it only serves to stir the pot a bit more. The government that we favor appears to be something less than what we had hoped for, and its position is by no means secure.
As late as last friday, my opinion was that Iraq will be the focal point of the next cold war, much like Germany was for fifty years following the last world war, but I no longer believe that to be the case. Iraq, for our interests, is lost. If we get what we want in the region, they will only hate us in a slightly less malevolent manner, and will certainly not cut us any slack in any significant way, (you know, O * I * L). Today, I am not as sure, (not that I ever am), I think that the economic assetts of that country are about to fall under the influence of the regime to the east, and the rest of the country will become just another impoverished enclave.
Just so I am on the record, the best thing that could happen for that embittered and embattled country is for Saddam and his henchmen to be spared the gallows and allowed to live, in solitary confinement, in a public prison. The people that he oppressed should be able to view his cell and to express their outrage, around the clock. Wishing him a long life in those cisrcumstances would be as much justice as this world can muster. I know that won't happen, and I expect to see copious video of his long drop to the end of the short rope available on the 'net within 31 days.
I look back, not quite to 9/11, when the 'finish the job' fervor really took root in Washington, but to the day that Hussein was captured. He had a pistol at the time, but apparently not the nerve to save himself the anguish of a trial. It goes without saying that the marines that captured him were also armed, it is too bad that just one of them had not the foresight to shoot the man while he was resisting capture.
It would have saved us, and the Iraqi people, much.
posted by eccentric recluse at 2:58 PM
5 Comments:
"It would have saved us, and the Iraqi people, much."
I disagree ER. Remember Mission Accomplished? The death of Hussein anywhere along the line of US occupation of Iraq would have spared the Iraqi people nothing!
This administations utter failures from the very start of this occupation has been the undoing of the "mission(s)" IMHO.
JB
I do remember 'mission accomplished', and the scenario I presented would not have saved any of that, but it would have spared the world and Iraqi people the social drama and tension that his capture, incarceration and trial produced. That element served only the fanatic element, who managed to prosper and grow, in part, due to the rituals and proceedings that benefitted only the US administration in their effort to spin the news domestically.
E_R
It also would have helped if they (U.S.) didn't fool themselves into thinking the war was over after 'Mission Accomplished'.
"What is of the greatest importance in war is extraordinary speed: One cannot afford to neglect opportunity."
Yes we were fooled! The same media outlets are busy pushing more war in our name as I type this. One more little "surge" will do the trick.
Seems George Will said the other day that very thing. His thought was that ethnic cleansing would eventually really help calm things down in the region. So let's just let "them" kill each other a little longer and all will be well.
How many days before Bush is out of office???
JB
How many days before Bush is out of office???
Look here.
Roy
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