Hear it now: "The US rushed the trial and execution before the truth came out. Then they put a sack over Saddam's head and then he was switched out with a stooge, and the CIA carted 'their guy Saddam' away."
Conspiracy wackos commence.
Posted on 12/28/2006 8:00:50 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
U.S. preparing for Saddam's execution
By LAUREN FRAYER, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago
As Saddam Hussein's lawyer made a last-ditch effort to impede his execution Thursday, the White House was preparing for the ousted dictator to be hanged as early as this weekend, a senior administration official said. The timetable was based on information that U.S. officials in Baghdad received from the Iraqi government. But, there were differing accounts.
Iraq's deputy justice minister, Bosho Ibrahim, said Saddam shouldn't be hanged for another few weeks. "The law does not say within 30 days, it says after the lapse of 30 days," Ibrahim said.
He did not explain the discrepancy between his interpretation and the court's, nor could he give a specific execution date.
With at least 72 more Iraqis killed in sectarian violence, U.S. officials and Iraqis expressed concern about the potential for even worse bloodshed following Saddam's execution. His lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said transferring Saddam to Iraqi authorities could be the trigger.
"If the American administration insists in handing the president to the Iraqis, it would commit a great strategic mistake which would lead to the escalation of the violence in Iraq and the eruption of a destructive civil war," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Iraq's highest court on Tuesday rejected Saddam's appeal against his conviction and death sentence for the killing of 148 Shiites in the northern city of Dujail in 1982. The court said the former president should be hanged within 30 days.
Al-Dulaimi, Saddam's lawyer, said the ousted leader should enjoy protection from his enemies as a "prisoner of war" and remain in U.S. custody.
"According to the international conventions, it is forbidden to hand a prisoner of war to his adversary," al-Dulaimi said.
"I urge all the international and legal organizations, the United Nations secretary-general, the Arab League and all the leaders of the world to rapidly prevent the American administration from handing the president to the Iraqi authorities," al-Dulaimi said.
An official close to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said Saddam would remain in a U.S. military prison until he is delivered to Iraqi authorities on the day of his execution. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Iraqi government offices shut down ahead of an Islamic holiday this weekend, and there was confusion over when Saddam would be executed and whether President Jalal Talabani was required to approve such action.
Raed Juhi, a spokesman for the High Tribunal that convicted Saddam, said that with approval from Talabani, Saddam could be put to death within 30 days. Otherwise, the execution would be held after that period, he said.
But Hiwa Osman, a spokesman for Talabani, has said the execution might not need the president's signature.
International reaction to the denial of Saddam's appeal has been relatively muted.
Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI's top prelate for justice issues and a former Vatican envoy to the U.N., condemned the death sentence in a newspaper interview published Thursday, saying capital punishment goes against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
After Saddam's death sentence was handed down last month, Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, urged Iraq to ensure a fair appeals process and to refrain from executing Saddam even if the sentence is upheld.
Some international legal observers and human rights groups have also called Saddam's trial unfair because of alleged interference by the Shiite-dominated government.
But State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said Thursday the Bush administration believes the trial was held in accordance with international and Iraqi laws.
"(The Iraqis) carried out their work in a transparent and open manner and they arrived at a verdict based on the facts in the case," Casey said.
In Dujail, home to the 148 victims of the 1982 killings, townspeople were divided over Saddam's execution.
"America is using him to increase sedition among Iraqis, but we are thinking only of how Iraq can get rid of its problems and achieve security," said Hussein Abases, a Shiite farmer.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman acknowledged there was concern about a possible surge of violence after the execution. "I'm sure the Iraqi government is thinking through that and working with the coalition in terms of the impact that could have," he said in Washington.
At least 30 Iraqis died Thursday in bombings and shootings, including a suicide bombing in a crowd of people waiting to buy kerosene near a stadium in Baghdad that killed 10, according to police. Police also said 42 bodies of tortured men were found dumped in the Iraqi capital Thursday.
The U.S. military announced five more American troop deaths: four soldiers hit by roadside bombs on patrol and a Marine killed in combat in volatile western Iraq. That raises U.S. troop deaths this month to 100, second only to the 105 service members who died in October.
At least 2,988 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an AP count.
The al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader allegedly responsible for the deaths of two of the servicemen was arrested Tuesday in a raid south of Baghdad, the military said. Al-Qaida in Iraq had claimed it killed the two U.S. soldiers found dead in June — Pfc. Kristian Menchaca of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker of Madras, Ore. Their bodies were recovered after a search by 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers, dubbed Operation Fallen Eagle.
THAT would be a GREAT way to start 2007!!!!
Over 5 years of war and we are only now reaching the death toll that the Islamofascists inflicted on us in a single day on 9/11/2001.
One can only imagine how many more Americans would have been killed by the terrorists had we not been killing them over there all these years.
That mean Saddam is number one draft pick on 2007 dead pool RIGHT????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3CX39mm1GM&mode=related&search=
Hear it now: "The US rushed the trial and execution before the truth came out. Then they put a sack over Saddam's head and then he was switched out with a stooge, and the CIA carted 'their guy Saddam' away."
Conspiracy wackos commence.
They should let him give a press conference rant on a tall podium outside the Green Zone (to prove his credentials) and then pull down the bullet proof glass.
As the ladies of the White Elephant Club used to say, "Nevvuh hoppen, GI!"
Hehehehe
Got Rope,?...bump...;0)
They're not going to get the chance. The Baathists and Sunnis are going to try to bust Saddam out after the US transfers him to Iraqi custody for the execution. I will truly be surprised if he hangs.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
The transfer will be mostly administrative. The execution is scheduled for the same facility where Saddam is being held. A US occupied and operated facility.
They are welcome to try to break him out, so we can kill piles and piles of them. Their call.
The original headline for this story from this same "author" for the AP was "Saddam lawyer seeks mercy; 5 troops die".
But.....but.....we TORTURE prisoners!!!
Indeed, but I think that at this point, Saddam would rather have panties put over his head than a hangman's hood.
.
either way
it'll make great conversation during idle moments at the hajj
Agree.....changing of the Guard.
Conspiracy wackos commence.
Can anyone explain the logic of that statement to me?
Is there any?
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