Posted on 01/07/2007 12:45:17 PM PST by kiriath_jearim
Prime Minister Tony Blair believes that the way in which former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed was "completely wrong", his official spokesman at Downing Street has said.
The hanging, which was took place amid taunts and jeers from bystanders, "shouldn't have happened in that way", the spokesman said.
Mr Blair has come under growing pressure - including from Labour MPs - to comment publicly on the December 30 execution and the release of mobile phone footage of Saddam's final moments, but has so far stayed silent.
He is yet to make a personal statement on the hanging, however it is understood Mr Blair will make his view clear in public comments over the coming week. He is also expected to confirm his support for the Iraqi Government's investigation into how scenes of Saddam being taunted came to be filmed and broadcast.
The Downing Street spokesman would not confirm when Mr Blair would make his statement, but said: "He supports the inquiry by the Iraqi authorities. He does believe that the manner of execution was completely wrong, but this shouldn't lead us to forget the crimes that Saddam committed, including the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis."
The comments from Number 10 come after Chancellor Gordon Brown used a TV interview to denounce the manner of Saddam's death as "deplorable" and "completely unacceptable".
Mr Brown's denunciation of Saddam's hanging echoed the comments of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who last week said that the way it was done was "deplorable" and those responsible should be "ashamed".
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt also today added her voice to the criticisms of the conduct of those responsible, describing the treatment of Saddam before his hanging was "very shocking".
In an interview recorded yesterday, Mr Brown told BBC1's Sunday AM: "Now that we know the full picture of what happened, we can sum this up as a deplorable set of events.
"It is something, of course, which the Iraqi Government has now expressed its anxiety and shame at.
"It has done nothing to lessen tensions between the Shia and Sunni communities.
"Even those people, unlike me, who are in favour of capital punishment found this completely unacceptable and I am pleased that there is now an inquiry into this and I hope lessons in this area will be learnt, as we learn other lessons about what has happened in Iraq."
Mr Brown acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the handling of Iraq following the 2003 war, and did not rule out a future inquiry into what went wrong.
All of these back door second guessings and fence straddlings could have been avoided if Saddam had been shot in the head as soon as he was found in that spider hole. The long, protracted circus trial only offered further evidence that America keeps playing to crowds that already hate us and doesn't seem to have the will to do what is necessary to win a war that lasts more than 30 days.
The only thing "wrong" was that it took 3 years to hang the bugger.
Yeah..then it'd be stolen and offered up on eBay...cool. That'd really have the moo-people's sphincters a-flutterin'. har har. Make a great hood ornament on a Texas Caddy! License plate:"W".
Happy thoughts.
I would expect some of these comments from Kim Il Jong, not sissy boy Tony.
It worked good he's dead.
Frankly, I am sick of the whole subject. So cell phone video got out of Saddam's hanging. Big deal. I consider it a misdemeanor at most. It is not like they committed murder. They heckled Saddam, oh, boo hoo. While I think it was tacky and embarrassed the Iraqi government, I will not lose any sleep over it. I assume it is being taken care of. Enough already. Where is the compassion for Saddam's victims?
I agree, Saddam should have been capped off at the Spider hole and played a soccer match with his head but only after letting the capturers beat the Shiite out of him !
You are damn right. To hell with Sadddam, this is the point!
Regards.
Canard, a.k.a. "retreadtroll"
You were banned because you are a filthy Clown. period.
Good call, Mod.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.