Posted on 12/28/2006 5:37:50 AM PST by TexKat
BAGHDAD–Saddam Hussein urged Iraqis to embrace "brotherly coexistence" and not to hate U.S.-led foreign troops in a goodbye letter posted on a website yesterday, a day after Iraq's highest court upheld his death sentence and ordered him hanged within 30 days.
A top Iraqi government official, meanwhile, said Saddam's execution could proceed without the approval of Iraq's president, meaning there were no more legal obstacles to sending Saddam to the gallows.
One of Saddam's lawyers, Issam Ghazzawi, said the former dictator wrote the letter Nov. 5 – the day he was convicted by an Iraqi tribunal for ordering the 1982 killings of 148 Shiite Muslims in Dujail.
"I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking," said the letter, which was written in Arabic.
"I also call on you not to hate the people of the other countries that attacked us," it added, referring to the invasion that toppled his regime nearly four years ago.
Against the backdrop of sectarian killings that have dragged Sunni Arabs and Shiite Muslims into civil warfare over the past year, Saddam urged his countrymen to "remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly coexistence."
But he also voiced support for the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency, saying: "Long live jihad and the mujahedeen." He urged Iraqis to be patient and rely on God's help in fighting "against the unjust nations."
Saddam said he was giving his life for his country as part of that struggle. "Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if he wants, he will send it to heaven with the martyrs."
Despite his calls for conciliation among Iraqis, Saddam's legacy is brutal. He put suspected foes to death without trial, oppressed Kurds and Shiites, waged war on Iran and twice fought U.S.-led armies. He left an impoverished nation now gripped by sectarian bloodshed and an insurgency against the U.S. presence.
Violence struck Baghdad again yesterday, with a car bomb killing eight civilians and wounding 10 near an Iraqi army checkpoint. Four more civilians died in a mortar attack in a Shiite neighbourhood, and police found the bodies of 51 apparent victims of sectarian killings.
Questions had arisen about whether the appeal court's ruling needed to be approved by the Iraqi presidency, which customarily signs off on death sentences. But Busho Ibrahim, deputy justice minister, said approval wasn't necessary.
A spokesman for President Jalal Talabani acknowledged the legal argument that the execution could go ahead without ratification by the president, who has expressed opposition to the death penalty.
"Some people believe there is no need for his approval," spokesman Hiwa Osman said. "We still have to hear from the court as to how the procedure can be carried out."
An official from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa Party said "the government wants Saddam executed as soon as possible." Another official close to al-Maliki said the execution would take place before the end of the 30-day period.
Saddam will remain in a U.S. military prison near the airport, Camp Cropper, until the day of the execution, at which point he will be handed over to Iraqi authorities, the official said.
Ghazzawi, the defence lawyer, said Saddam's letter was published yesterday on the website of Saddam's former Baath Party.
The deposed leader said he was writing the letter because his lawyers had told him the Iraqi High Tribunal that tried his case would give him an opportunity to say a final word.
"But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence – dictated by the invaders – without presenting the evidence," Saddam wrote. "Dear faithful people," he added, "I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any honest believer."
Some Saddam loyalists threatened to retaliate if he is executed, warning in a posting on the same website that they would target U.S. interests.
"The Baath and the resistance are determined to retaliate, with all means and everywhere, to harm America and its interests if it commits this crime," the statement said, referring to Baath fighters as "the resistance." The Baath Party was disbanded after U.S.-led forces overthrew Saddam in 2003. The website is believed to be run from Yemen, where some exiled members of the party are based.
Saddam is in the midst of another trial, charged with genocide and other crimes during a 1987-88 military crackdown on Kurds in northern Iraq. An estimated 180,000 Kurds died during the operation. That trial was adjourned until Jan. 8, but experts have said the trial of Saddam's co-defendants is likely to continue even if he is executed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. command reported three American military deaths yesterday, bringing the U.S. death toll for December to 93 in one of the bloodiest months for U.S. troops this year.
Why this concern over a dignified death that will spare him being beaten to death in prison? My prayers are for his eternal soul; that Saddam will understand Christ's message of love and conscience, repentance and forgiveness; and that he will repent sincerely and completely before he dies so that when he comes face to face with his Maker, he will recognize Him and cry out, "Yeshua!", not "Allah."
Or this, from the Orange County Chapter of FR (click here):
"Saddam Hussein is now taking his rightful place alongside Hitler, Stalin, Lenin and Ceausescu in the pantheon of failed, brutal dictators and the Iraqi people are well on their way to freedom."
-- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Apr. 9, 2003.
Not trying to argue, either...I am just pointing out what my understanding is regarding why many of the officials of the RCC are against capital punishment. Also, I'm not trying to speak for them in any way. :-)
Hope you had a Merry Christmas and that you're lining up a great New Year, my FRiend! :-)
Saddam could be executed within days: U.S. official
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The Iraqi government has told U.S. officials that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein could be executed within the next few days, a senior Bush administration official said on Thursday.
"I've heard that it's going to be a couple more days, probably," the official said while Bush took a holiday break at his Texas ranch.
He said he had heard from U.S. officials in Baghdad that the execution would not be Thursday U.S. time or Friday Baghdad time. "It's going to be maybe another day or so," the official said.
He said the government of Iraq would most likely inform U.S. officials about the timing of the execution when it gets closer.
The U.S. official's comments were at odds with those of Iraqi officials who earlier backed away from suggestions Saddam would be hanged within a month. The officials said that the hanging would occur within 30 days only if Iraq's president issues a decree it takes place immediately, which seemed unlikely.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061228/wl_nm/iraq_usa_saddam_dc_3
How are you anonymoussierra? I will be waiting to hear from him.
Just finding it awfully difficult to believe old Saddam wrote that.
I am well. How is your dear son? I am happy you are well.
Thank you.
Be sure it is a final 'goodbye'.
Saddam Hussein urged Iraqis to embrace "brotherly coexistence" and not to hate U.S.-led foreign troops in a goodbye letter posted on a website yesterday, a day after Iraq's highest court upheld his death sentence and ordered him hanged within 30 days... But he also voiced support for the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency, saying: "Long live jihad and the mujahedeen." He urged Iraqis to be patient and rely on God's help in fighting "against the unjust nations."Yeah, that makes sense. Typical Moslem doubletalk.
Can we hang Abadabadoo too??
Pray for W and Our Troops
Hope your Christmas was Merry and Bright!
Obviously things have changed since the epoch of the Crusades and then remember WWII , when the Vatican sold itself out to placate fascism. Nothing has changed much since then, now the Vatican placates Islamofascists. The learning curve for this institution is at present, just a bit too steep.
Like the U.S. Marines have said, Saddam should have been shot in the hole where he was found, and the money for his trial distributed to those against whom genocide had been committed. But now the facts of his genocide hopefully will come to light as the trial on the genocide of the Kurds continues , of those who perpetrated the gassing of thousands. This is the activity that the Vatican sanctions by its ideology on the death penalty. They appear weak to those who live by the law of Sharia, and execute human beings at the drop of a hat, among them women who are guilty of nothing more than saying hello to a man who her family does not like.
I hope every Iraqui POS who was complicit in the genocide of the Kurds swings publicly, and that the photos of them swinging in the dry Iraqi wind be freely circulated among every Muslim community on the face of this earth, and a complete memorial addition of the same photos be presented to the Pope as a coffee table book.
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