I'm thinking there was a weight in the knot, to knock him out. The mooselimbs would have preferred a slow lift and a long hang, no doubt. Saddam died easier than he deserved, for sure.
It was a huge noose; no doubt about it. Notice the big area of abrasion on his left cheek--probably caused by the rope hitting him as he hit bottom. There's quite a bit of blood too, apparently, on the rope. I saw how loosely they fit the noose around his neck and thought there might be problems, but the knot tightened right up at the end. If his neck hadn't been broken he would have succumbed to strangulation within a few seconds.