Should Saddam Be Tried With A Death Penalty Possible?

Annie

Diamond Member
Nov 22, 2003
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I think, YES.

Should he be tried by Iraqis? Again, I vote yes, agreeing with this:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/chi-0312150159dec15,1,3642376.story
History should guide the way in judging Hussein
John Kass

December 15, 2003

It was a great day for the United States and President Bush. The rat of Iraq has been found.

"In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over," the president said Sunday. "A hopeful day has arrived."

Saddam Hussein was discovered where rats go when they're afraid--in a hole, underground.

The bearded and puffy Hussein was dragged out of his hole. His hands fluttered weakly. He submissively opened his jaws wide for an examination.

Now, how do we judge him?

Should he be tried by an American tribunal and executed by American soldiers?

Should an international court at The Hague pass judgment on him?

Before we decide, we should consider history and how Alexander the Great dealt with a similar situation in the same region about 2,300 years ago.

It involved Bessus the Satrap.

I was thinking of Bessus as Hussein's humiliated face was shown in the military video after his capture.

Hussein's head was put against a wall and he opened wide and said "ahhh" for a doctor, his mass murderer's mouth as pink as a baby's.

As his matted scalp was searched for lice, the rat's hands fluttered briefly, touching his face, a gesture of helplessness and humiliation by a cruel and bloody man.

I wonder whether Bessus the Satrap fluttered his hands to his face, too, when he was finally captured after leading a deadly insurgency against the armies of the West.

And I'm offering Bessus today as a parallel to Hussein and as one possible answer as to what should be done with him.

Darius III, the king of all Asia, was defeated in the decisive battle at Gaugamela by Alexander's armies, in what is modern-day Kurdish-dominated northern Iraq.

When Darius realized that the battle was lost, he ran like a coward and left his wife and children defenseless.

Later, Darius was captured and murdered by his Persian henchman, Bessus. The murder gave Bessus the chance to set himself up as king of Asia, and he began to lead a violent insurgency against the Hellenic Western armies.

For months and months, Alexander chased Bessus. Alexander ordered his soldiers to dig out every rat hole looking for him. Alexander even crossed the Hindu Kush, a fantastic military accomplishment even by today's high-tech standards.

Through great adversity, Alexander employed his famous tactics and strategy. But his best weapon against Bessus was his indomitable will. What Bessus didn't understand was that Alexander meant business.

Alexander simply refused to quit. His companions and generals understood this, and so did his men. Eventually, his enemies also understood it.

After relentless pressure and many battles and sieges, the Persians and others who supported Bessus realized that they couldn't take the constant pounding.

They gave Bessus up. It is unknown if he was found in a rat hole, but he was found.

And then Bessus wasn't a leader of anything anymore.

He was stripped naked and he was bound. A wooden collar was put around his neck. He was left on the side of the road for Alexander's armies to pick up like so much garbage.

But he was alive.

Historians acknowledge that it was then that Alexander proved himself not only a great general and killer, but also a wise politician.

Rather than behead Bessus himself, rather than ship him back to Greece in a cage for the amusement of the folks back home, rather than tie him to horses and leave body parts for dogs and birds, Alexander did the smart political thing.

He turned Bessus over to the Persians.

His only instructions were that Bessus was to be tried and punished in accordance with Persian law for the crime of murdering their king.

And so the Persians humiliated Bessus. They scourged him in the Persian manner. They cut off his nose and earlobes in the Persian manner. Then they executed him in the Persian manner.

In turning Bessus over to the Persians for judgment, Alexander showed he was respectful of Persian customs. And so, through ceremony and blood, they bought into Alexander's rule.

I am by no means comparing a freely elected American president to Alexander, nor am I comparing the United States to the Hellenistic world empire of the day.

For one thing, Alexander never had to worry about the consequences of the growing Halliburton profiteering scandal in Iraq.

Bush did the right thing by pursing Hussein. He should take Hussein's capture as an opportunity to do the right thing by canceling Halliburton's contracts.

And I'm not advocating mutilation for Hussein. That's up to the Iraqis.

It shouldn't be up to The Hague. And American soldiers should not be ordered to pump his body full of lead.

Out of respect for the Iraqi people and their customs, let them be the ones to judge and punish Hussein.

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Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
 
The UN should do what they have done up to this point, stay the hell out of it. they did not want to have anything to do with the liberation of Iraq and its people.so why stick their nose in it now.. to try and save face with the rest of the world but I feel it will fall on deaf ears.the iraqi people will take very good cacre of their old friend saddam, right up till the time they seperate his body from his head!!! thge crimes committed were against his own people let them dish out the punishment.
 
Jon, when did the UN stay out of anything? Koffi is claiming that since capital punishment is not allowed on the 'international forum', we should not allow Iraq or God forbid the USA to try him with the possibility of a death sentence.

Personally, I favor the Iraqi solution. They may apply Islamic law to torture him, something missing from the US sentencing. :huh:
 
Dubya has already said that his punishment will be up to the Iraqis. I'd bet my last beer that he's got a date with the gallows or a bullet in his near future.

I think we'll glean as much intel from him as possible, and then hand him over. Then his real troubles will begin.

I really don't think the liberated Iraqis will give a rat's ass as to what the UN thinks, since the UN had nothing to do with their newfound freedom of a murderous tyrant - in fact, opposed it strongly.
 
I agree. Unfortunately it isn't just the Iraqi take that counts. We must remember the French, et al take on things...

NOT
 
If he doesn't get the death penalty, they better put him in solitary confinement for the rest of his life, I don't see him lasting too long in an Iraqi prison. Sure, he'll have supporters there, too, but those Middle Easterners don't muck around, he'll be dead as disco within a week.
 
Let he be subjected to any punishment that is deemed appropriate by Iraq's new judicial system. If the death penality is to be allowed, so be it, but let it be means be consistent and under fair trial. To lose one's humanity in face of tyranny is to become the tyrant ourselves.
 
To lose one's humanity in face of tyranny is to become the tyrant ourselves.
Call me a jerk if you want, I think you lose humanity once you consciously decide to end another person's life.
 
Originally posted by Dan
Call me a jerk if you want, I think you lose humanity once you consciously decide to end another person's life.

I won't call you a jerk at all! I would agree with you in most if not all instances, but not everyone believes what we believe, at we must respect that.
 
Originally posted by Isaac Brock
Let he be subjected to any punishment that is deemed appropriate by Iraq's new judicial system. If the death penality is to be allowed, so be it, but let it be means be consistent and under fair trial. To lose one's humanity in face of tyranny is to become the tyrant ourselves.

First off, I agree wholeheartedly.

Maybe dijetlo will chime in here, but he alluded to this in another thread. He states that the acting government is not properly recognized throughout the world and that they are there simply to schedule and hold elections for their government.

As I'm to understand it, the Iraqi's would like to have the process of putting Saddam on trial as soon as possible. What concerns/problems is this going to have with the international government if they don't recognize the Iraqi interim government as legitimate?

I'm curious what others think about the interim government, their ability to properly govern the situation with Saddam, and what role the international community will have in this process.
 
Originally posted by jimnyc
First off, I agree wholeheartedly.

Maybe dijetlo will chime in here, but he alluded to this in another thread. He states that the acting government is not properly recognized throughout the world and that they are there simply to schedule and hold elections for their government.

As I'm to understand it, the Iraqi's would like to have the process of putting Saddam on trial as soon as possible. What concerns/problems is this going to have with the international government if they don't recognize the Iraqi interim government as legitimate?

I'm curious what others think about the interim government, their ability to properly govern the situation with Saddam, and what role the international community will have in this process.

I wholeheartedly believe that the new government is not ready to deal justice to Saddam. While I wish that he could be put to justice immediately, I think they have waited more than 20 years to deal this man to justice, a few more years under a system that is wholey recognized as their own would be more than acceptable. Make sure that the judicial system is indeed recognized as valid first. It is important that justice not be reactionnary, but rather true to one's decided code of ethics.
 
Originally posted by Isaac Brock
I wholeheartedly believe that the new government is not ready to deal justice to Saddam. While I wish that he could be put to justice immediately, I think they have waited more than 20 years to deal this man to justice, a few more years under a system that is wholey recognized as their own would be more than acceptable. Make sure that the judicial system is indeed recognized as valid first. It is important that justice not be reactionnary, but rather true to one's decided code of ethics.

In that respect I can agree.

I think their acting government is legit, but should be solidified further and gain full support before making such decisions.

I think he should be locked up until such time he can be dealt with by THEIR full time government. I still think he's worth a bit of information to our military anyway, so let due process take it's course and give him heavy interogations in the meantime. He's already dead anyway, it's just a matter of time.

Maybe torture him a little bit until then :D
 
My own feelings are that the US should help the council to get up to speed to hold the trials ASAP. They took the first steps before the capture, so that should count.

The Iraqis are the ones who should try and hold him accountable, according to their own history. In the US he'll get death penalty. In ICC it's not allowed. Let the Iraqis decide his fate, which may carry Sharia law, which I DO NOT WANT TO SEE EXPANDED!
 
I won't call you a jerk at all! I would agree with you in most if not all instances, but not everyone believes what we believe, at we must respect that.

OK, I see what you're saying.

Personally, I think murderers, child abusers (real child abusers, not people who pop their kids in the grocery) and molestors, and rapists should get the death penalty. These are people that don't care about others at all.
 
Seems to me that Saddam killed indiscrimately, children, women, men, old, young, whatever. Those he didn't target, his sons did.

Two down, one to go.
 

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