The World's Fastest Iraqi.
Posted on 12/29/2006 2:39:42 AM PST by TexKat
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's lawyers have been asked to pick up his personal effects but Iraq's Justice Ministry denied it had taken custody of the former president and dismissed a U.S. suggestion he would hang as early as Saturday.
One defense lawyer, who declined to be identified, said Saddam had been handed over by U.S. forces to Iraqi government custody. U.S. military spokesmen said they had nothing to add to a statement late on Thursday that he was still in their control.
Asked about comments from the defense lawyer that Saddam had been handed over, Deputy Justice Minister Bosho Ibrahim told Reuters: "This is not true. He is still with the Americans."
He also dismissed a remark by a senior U.S. official who said there were plans to send Saddam to the gallows as early as Saturday. The ministry, which is in charge of implementing court rulings, would not execute Saddam before January 26, he said.
Khalil al-Dulaimi, who led Saddam's defense team until he was sentenced on November 5, told Reuters: "The Americans called me and asked me to pick up the personal effects."
On Thursday, Saddam was allowed to see two of his half-brothers, who are also in detention at a U.S. base near Baghdad. A lawyer said the former president was in high spirits.
U.S. military and embassy spokesmen dealing with the issue said they had nothing to add to a statement late on Thursday which said Saddam was still in U.S. custody and stressed the need for secrecy over arrangements for security reasons.
Although legally in Iraqi custody, U.S. troops physically keep guard over Saddam. And although Iraqis will carry out the execution, U.S. and Iraqi officials say, it seems likely U.S. forces will stay on hand throughout for fear that opponents of the former leader could turn it into a public spectacle.
Iraqi officials backed away on Thursday from suggestions they would definitely hang him within a month, in line with a 30-deadline set out in the statues of the tribunal. A cabinet minister told Reuters a week-long religious holiday ending only on January 7 would stall any execution.
HAPPY TO BE A MARTYR
Saddam's lawyer said he bade farewell to two of his half brothers on Thursday in a rare prison meeting.
"He was in very high spirits and clearly readying himself," Badie Aref, a defense lawyer, told Reuters after the 69-year-old former leader met half-brothers Watban and Sabawi, who are also both held at the U.S. army's Camp Cropper near Baghdad airport.
"He told them he was happy he would meet his death at the hands of his enemies and be a martyr, not just languish in jail.
The novelty of the U.S.-sponsored process by which Saddam and his third half-brother Barzan, along with another senior member of the Baath party, were condemned on November 5 has left considerable room for wrangling over the timing of any execution among rival factions and between Washington and Baghdad.
"It's none of the Americans' business to decide when," one justice ministry official said on Friday.
Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had previously said he wanted Saddam hanged this year for the killings, torture and other crimes against fellow Shi'ites in the town of Dujail.
But some of Saddam's fellow Sunnis have warned this could reinforce their community's alienation and many ethnic Kurds want Saddam first convicted of genocide against them in a second trial that is still underway.
Saddam is due back in court in that trial on January 8.
Iraq's Saddam-era penal code bars executions on religious holidays. Eid al-Adha holiday, which follows the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca, runs until January 7 in Iraq.
Nonetheless, the U.S. official in the United States said Saddam could be hanged within days: "I've heard that it's going to be a couple more days, probably."
(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Dubai, Ibon Villelabeitia in Baghdad)
There was some discussion of that question on cable news, not sure if Fox or CNN this afternoon, I was more interested in my lunch than talking heads so I wasn't paying much attention.
For all I care they can feed the hogs, although that might be considered cruelty to animals. At least no one would be going near *that* "grave".
If the 'Rats in Congress get their way, and we cut and run, the Shiites, aided by the Iranians, will eat Al Qaida in Iraq alive, or rather dead.
Great! Let's get this Hussein family reunion rolling, ASAP. His sons are waiting. No more delays.
Kinda reminds me of how klinton used the Holy Bible as a prop coming out of church. Sheeesh, what a putz.
To paraphrase a popular song, "The execution will be televised". Can't wait to see it on YouTube or Ogrish.
Exactly.
Abso-F'in-lutely.
P.S. - You're safer too, whether or not you choose to appreciate it!
Happy New Year in mallowland.
What was that? A bag of Doritos and some hand sanitizer?
Ding dong, the bitch is dead (or will soon be, anyway).
-----Never again-----
It never meant anything to liberals, did it?
simply an old frail man right now...kept Iraq a somewhat peaceful country....as far as tribal conflicts.....
You have to be kidding!!!
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You are serious though? I'm not being obtuse, I'm asking a real question--he put victims in a freaking shredder?
Read the Amnesty Inernational report... He starved children to death in a cell next to their mothers, who were forced to watch them die.
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Michael Moore, is that you??
You know, one of the things I hate about Saddam is that he's is an arrogant prick.
Nasty personality trait, don't you think?
why am i feeling this way?
i am canadian
Ahhh...that's the answer.
The reality is something bad is going to happen.
Something bad has been happening and we live in a world of appeasers who will not stand up to it. Life is going to get a lot worse for all of Western civ. Not because this dictator died, but because leaders are appeasers.
i am thinking that i wish they would just keep him imprisoned for life instead
There is no such thing as a guarenteed life sentence.
Dead is better.
Thanks for ping. Just noticed in breaking news... he was hung.
Heck, that was one of his best qualities. :)
I have. The King James version is particularly descriptive and is an incredible piece of literature that should be taught in high schools.
But, since we have such an uneducated, uncultured society, Lord of the Rings is more identifiable with the insipid pop culture we have today.
I am sure you would agree with me on these points...
The King James Bible, no matter how some people deny it, is a perfectly valid and viable piece of literature that has historical and linguistic significance to our culture.
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