The Day of Justice (Exclusive Iraqi-Blogger reaction on Saddam Verdict From Baghdad)

(before the verdict)

Baghdad is living tense hours awaiting the announcement of a verdict by the special tribunal against Saddam.

First, the defense ministry announced canceling all leaves and vacations for all personnel then the government declared a curfew for tomorrow in Baghdad, Salah Addin, Diyala and Anbar. Baghdad's international airport will also be closed from Sunday morning "until further notice" according to al-Iraqiya state TV.

Today, heavy presence of police forces is visible in Baghdad and a few districts like Adhamiya and Ghazaliya are, partially or completely, locked from the rest of the capital with roadblocks and checkpoint. However, the situation is relatively calm in general but the public is expecting an escalation in attacks by insurgents tomorrow. Households are preparing for the curfew and stashing extra amounts of fuel and food and there are particularly long lines of people at bakeries waiting for bread. This is all out of fear that the curfew would be extended for several days incase massive unrest break out.

I personally don't see this exaggerated anxiety necessary; of course an upsurge in violence is expected but that would be limited in duration and geographic distribution. Perhaps we will also see some armed demonstrations in certain places in Baghdad and Salah Addin where Saddam loyalists are abundant but this cannot lead to massive chaos because those Saddam loyalists are again limited in power and geographic distribution.

The overwhelming majority of Iraqis are looking forward to seeing justice be served tomorrow which will give the fascist dictator, who brutalized and abused millions of people and their homeland for decades, give him what he deserves. We have been dreaming for such a day to come and it will be a true turning point, not only for Iraq but for the middle east, for it will be the first time a ruler gets paid back for what he'd done by a court of law.

Saddam's trial is a trial for all tyrants who oppressed their peoples and a tough warning to whose who think they have the right to control nations with fire and steel and get away with it. It is just a one trial in a series of trials yet to come; there are many more criminals in our land and they will eventually meet the same fate as Saddam's.

This is the beginning to build the foundations for the state of law and accountability we're fighting to establish, and the verdict we expect to come tomorrow will only shake the thrones of other middle east tyrants but will also send a strong message to some of the current mini-Saddam's of Iraq who will also have their own days someday. I'm speaking about the leaders who try to hinder the process of building the nation of pluralism and rule of law; those are just as criminal as Saddam and even if we bore with them so far for one reason or another this patience will not last indefinitely.

We had waited for thirty years to see Saddam in the cage and we will wait again to see the rest of criminals meet the same just fate.

We had made the first step and we will go on….

Tonight is going to be a very, very long one for Saddam but that won't slow the ticking clock and tomorrow he will face the truth he's been avoiding.

Although I was long opposed to the death penalty but this time I must admit that can't wait to hear an execution statement. Let's turn the darkest page of Iraqi's history forever and let's bury with it the sick dreams of the crazy Baathist minions who still think they can seize power again.

It's not only me despise this pathetic, irrational "solution" of Saddam's orphans but that's a common attitude among Iraqis, in spite of our difficult situation most of us would like to hear the words "The accused was found guilty and will get the death penalty….".

After the verdict)

I was overwhelmed with joy and relief as I watched the criminals being read their verdicts. For the first time in our region tyrants are being punished for their crimes through a court of law.

Until this moment and while I’m typing these words I’m still receiving words of congratulations in emails, phone calls and text messages from friends inside and outside the country. These were our only means to share our happiness because of the curfew that limits our movement.

This is the day for Saddam’s lovers to weep and I expect their shock and grieve to be huge. They had always thought their master was immortal so let them live in their disappointment while we live for our future.

This is a day not only for Iraqis but a historic day for the whole region; today new basis for dealing between rulers and peoples are found.

No one is above the law anymore.

I was particularly pleased by the way Judge Raouf Rasheed handled the session; he was reading the court’s decision and at the same time chastising members of the current government for their misbehavior and threatened to throw them in custody regardless of their ranks!

We are living a new era where there’s much hope despite the difficulties…our sacrifices have a noble cause, that is to build a new model that obviously terrifies other tyrants.

I believe it wasn’t Saddam alone who was shaking and shouting in hysteria when the verdict was read; I can see hysteria takes over all of Saddam’s followers and apologists.

Today we had turned a page that was full of pain and ugly crimes that were committed by the same criminals who were shaking in the hands of Iraq’s new justice.

We were among the first to bring Saddam’s crimes in Dujail to the surface in this blog almost three years ago even before cases were chosen or a tribunal was formed.

I did that because one of my friends was a direct victim of that crime when he was thrown in prison in the middle of the desert when he was only 7 years old along with his mother and a younger sister and lost 30 members of his extended family over the years of that tragedy.

Some people back then questioned the credibility of my friend’s story and couldn’t believe the crimes of Saddam were that cruel and inhuman. But today that the truth is out there for the whole world to see, the criminals stand small and shaking while the families of the victims stand proud seeing justice served.

Right now volleys of bullets ring not far from where I sit, some are fired to express joy while others are fired in a desperate expression of denial but I have no doubt who is going to prevail. Although the road is long but we are walking forward and will not look back.

I salute the honorable special tribunal that challenged threats and risks and insisted on keeping up the work until the end, and today it brought back the pride of the land that wrote the world’s first laws.

I salute the witnesses who risked their lives to reveal the truth and expose the crimes of the dictator.

I salute the brave men and women of the coalition who came to this land and made this day possible.

Congratulations to all my Iraqi brothers and sisters on this glorious day.

omar note: (http://www.IraqTheModel.com)

Now, Saddam is officially going down the toilet!

I wish I could have live-blogged the proceedings and the announcement of the verdict but I was facing some technical difficulties.

Anyways, you can go over to Pajamas Media where you can find a good roundup of related news and opinion including Mohammed's first reaction.

Story by PajamasMedia.com, commentary by IraqTheModel.com

Let Freedom ring throughout the Middle East. The days of Islamic tyrants will slowly come to an end. GWB's simple words repeated many many times over the past five years are fundamentally sound. All people seek freedom. Those that are born into represive states but get wind of the outside world, still have a breathing soul inside that wants the freedom of choose. As more see it for what it is, UNDER THE RULE of just law, Islam can only further hide behind it's black mantle, and retreat.
Islam was born of the evil one. And cannot in it's twisted convoluted ways show a path to freedom of spirit and soul.
Islam is anti-axiomic of freedom. And as more Muslims experience for the first time in their lives a freedom of choice, and the freedom to vote for a party/leader, they shall seek new ways of altering their ancient cultural heritages to put off those things that dim the mind, just as tens of millions had done during the aftermath of the fall of communism in the Soviet Union.
GWB's words are simple, but imply something to many in the free world simply loose respect for being born in a state of freedom.

we need to email the media an insist they cover the comical but very relevant exchange between Saddam's lawyer and the judge.

The lawyer ranted at the judge about the verdict - and the judge came unglued over him. He threatened legal action against the lawyer and told him to get out of the court - and in case the lawyer didn't understand him in Arabic -the =judge repeated it in English, gesturing "Out! Out!"

And who is his lawyer - the HEAD lawyer of Saddam's team? John Kerry's partner in shame - Ramsey Clark. Clark, Kerry and Jane Fonda were hitched at the hip and led the antiwar rallies against the Viet Nam war and the troops.

Leopards don't change their spots. If we get the media to run the exchange between the Iraqi Judge and Clark - there will another layer of people that will make the connection especially if we remind the media. And the Kerry connection is relevant for mentioning thanks to Kerry's suicide last week.

It's also relevent as a counterpoint to the repeated reference to the Rats claim that we had control over the court and the timing of the verdict.

Remember, there are a lot of younger voters who have no reference to the Kerry/Clark/Fonda trinity in the 70's. They need to get a heads up.

There's a simple formula for getting a story covered...it's their own formula - and we have used it successfully.

Here it is.

(Copy/paste list to your files for quick find in future)

Media emails – the formula: if they hear from 40 to 45 people on a story, they will cover it.
CAUTION: do not mass email - they won’t look at it – email singly- also : Short and sweet or they wont look at it! Include a link, if you have one.

e.d.hill@foxnews.com

Brit.Hume@foxnews.com
Myword@foxnews.com John Gibson
Weekends: Bigstory-weekend@foxnews.com John Gibson
Cavuto@foxnews.com
Special@foxnews.com
Hannity@foxnews.com
Oreilly@foxnews.com
Special@foxnews.com (Brit Hume)
Studiob@foxnews.com (Shepard Smith)
writemalkin@gmail.com (Michelle Malkin)
hardball@msnbc.com
Drudge@drudgereport.com
captainsquartersblog.com
letters@canadafreepress.com Canada Free Press
hhewitt@hughhewitt.com
pundit@instapundit.com
Beltway@foxnews.com
Rush@eibnet.com
joe@msnbc.com

To get to FOX News direct – go to this link, BELOW - scroll down to small box on left = where it says Send news tip to FOXNews.com

Type your message and click submit…this might prove to be effective! (they don’t even request your name/email, etc)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,77538,00.html

and the Washington Times page with box for comments:
http://www.washtimes.com/contact-us/

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