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Saddam execution on Muslim Holy Day of Eid draws more insult than closure
The execution of Saddam Hussein Friday night received harsh criticism from all across the Middle East due to the fact that it landed on the holy day of Eid al-Adha, which not only marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca, but also commemorates the scriptural story when the prophet Abraham offers his only son Ishmael (Isaac is how he is known in Judaism and Christianity) to be sacrificed to God. Many skeptics say the timing reeks of American muscle, for the execution was pushed only days after his appeal failed in court. On Thursday representatives from the Vatican, the European Parliament and Human Rights Watch expressed their condemnation for the death sentence. Tariq Al-Hamied said in Iraq's Al-Sharq Al-Awsat:
"There is no question that Saddam was an absolute tyrant and deserved to be executed, but the timing of his execution was grossly inopportune, if not downright provocative, considering the special sanctity of the day chosen for it. The real problem with Saddam's hanging lies in the fact that its blatantly wrong timing stirs more controversies and is likely to deepen the abominable sectarian schism in Iraq and across the region in a way that has never been witnessed before."
"The true test of respect for human rights comes when the human rights of someone who has violated in unspeakable ways the human rights of many millions of people comes into play," said Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch. British Prime Minister Tony Blair also came out against the death penalty handed down on Saddam, however he concluded that, "decisions on whether the former dictator should be executed for his crimes were for the Iraqi courts to make." President Bush's reaction focused on the progress and "fair" justice the execution represented, yet he made no reference to the religious insult it perpetuated.
"It is a testament to the Iraqi people’s resolve to move forward after decades of oppression that, despite his terrible crimes against his own people, Saddam Hussein received a fair trial. This would not have been possible without the Iraqi people’s determination to create a society governed by the rule of law....We are reminded today of how far the Iraqi people have come since the end of Saddam Hussein’s rule — and that the progress they have made would not have been possible without the continued service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform."
What progress he is talking about no one knows, for even under the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, Iraqis never knew the violent instability and lack of vital infrastructure that the U.S. invasion and occupation has forced upon them. Saddam's tyrannical rule, as well as the deaths of his own people stained on his bloody hands, are far eclipsed by the modest estimation of more than 650,000 Iraqis dead and the complete destruction of a functional society at the hands of George W. Bush. The American Occupation will be a scar on the region that will far outlast those inflicted by Saddam.
As far as a far trial goes, there has been much criticism for the case of Saddam Hussein in which many agree it was neither fair nor just. His court proceedings were not the example of the American Democracy Bush has glorified in bringing to the Iraqi People, but rather it was the Old West meets the Middle East. It is no surprise that such a collapse of judicial jurisprudence occurred under watch of the American President who, while Governor of Texas, holds the record for overseeing the most state executions in U.S. history. Yes, Saddam Hussein was a man who wreaked insurmountable pain and suffering upon his own people, but if one is to genuinely talk about the Iraqi people's suffering, then when will we see those in the Bush Administration responsible for the annihilation of their entire country based on blatant false intelligence be brought before the courts? When will we see Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and all the other war criminals in Washington (especially the sneaky Alberto Gonzales who laid down their legal framework) be brought up on charges for torture, extraordianary rendition, holding prisoners without due process, unlawful spying, war profiteering, the tossing of habeus corpus and everything else they have exploited from the tragedy of 9/11? If we are going to talk about prosecuting one dictator in Iraq, we must not do so by neglecting the responsibility of the other. The following comment was published in EuroNews, "We condemn the execution of Saddam Hussein on Eid Day," said one protester in Karachi, Pakistan. "He should have been brought to an independent tribunal and given the chance of defence. It was America who installed Saddam Hussein in the Middle East and finally got rid of him when he had served US purposes."
To read more about the mixed reactions of those in the Arab media, the BBC has filed a report you can visit here. This is a quote that was featured in an editorial submitted to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Jumhuriyah:
"President Bush has offered Saddam's head as a new year's present to the American people in the hope it may compensate him for the lost victory in Iraq and make him forget the death of 3,000 American soldiers killed in the Iraqi swamp for the sake of illusions related to oil and world hegemony. Saddam committed crimes, but executing him in a way that contravenes international and humanitarian laws, and at this time, which reflects disdain for the sentiments of millions of Arabs and Muslims, is a crime whose perpetrators will be pursued by history with rage and shame."
