WAR TIME WORDS "My name is Saddam Hussein and I approve this sentence."
Yesterday - November 4, 2006 - we were waiting to hear those words - an approximation of words which have plagued us during these days of our Mid Term Elections. Just about all day we were TV-teased with repeated promises that the promises of the sentencing following the plodding trial of the Butcher of Baghdad. Hour-after-hour the promised bulletin did not arrive but we were in undated with the election's "Blame Words" tag line, seemingly minute-by-minute.
I did not hear the decision until the next morning and, by that time, the story had been cut to just a few words printed among other headlines. It said that Saddam Husein was to die for his crimes by hanging. Concise, blunt and, some people, cruel. What do feel? Too little;too late? Or, too severe? There will be endless discussion on this and other points because the crimes covered by this trial were largely those related to the killing of Kurd citizens in northern section of Iraq in the early days of his despotic rule. The rest of the nation, which also suffered loss of life and property and many will be unsure of any punishment being handed out in their behalf. This would be a time when it would be good to know legal Latin terms for saying:"The body is gone!" (Corpus vamoose, maybe?)
There will be an appeal, you may be sure. Care was taken to to make this appear to be a legitimate court trial by Iraqi law books and not a hasty military operation. Goodness knows it was slow enough and many people in other judicial systems had legitimate reasons for expressing some doubt if it was as legal as it was claimed to have been. The method of operation - a day or so at work and several weeks in recess seemed, at times to mark the events as a charade. People here in the United State should try to find out what part American lawyers Ramsey Clark and friend played in this defense of a known enemy. One has difficulty in seeing how their membership helped Saddam to get where he is with one foot now placed rather firmly on the scaffold platform. Are they to play a role in the Appeals phase upcoming? I think we are going we are going to hear more than his duo in the near future.
It ain't over 'till the fat man swings.
Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 11-5-06 [c-430wds]
