Monday, January 15, 2007

What no Video?

From Ed Morrisey :

Two of the remaining men on the execution list in Iraq for crimes against humanity in the Saddam Hussein regime were executed overnight, ending speculation on when the Nouri al-Maliki government would proceed with the hangings. The Iraqis forced witnesses to pledge to behave themselves, but one of the defendants lost his head, literally:

American military officials, who had custody of Mr. Hussein, were particularly upset and pushed hard to ensure that the execution of his co-defendants, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former head of the Mukhabarat secret police and the younger half-brother of Mr. Hussein, and Awad Hamad al-Bandar, who was chief judge of the revolutionary court under Mr. Hussein, was carried out properly.

The government spokesman who announced the executions, which took place at 3 a.m., Bassam al-Husseini, said both the executioners and the witnesses had to sign statements promising to behave in a dignified manner.

In what government officials called a “rare incident,” the head of Mr. Tikriti was severed from his body by the noose as it snapped tight around his neck.

In rare cases, a hanging can turn into a decapitation, which apparently was what happened to Saddam's half-brother. The BBC reported that the news of the decapitation got released by the government in order to head off certain criticism over the incident, which no doubt would have multiplied exponentially if the Iraqis had tried to hide the incident. Barzan ran the Mukhabarat, the secret police that killed, maimed, and tortured hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to keep Saddam in power, and while the decapitation was a particularly gruesome manner in which to die, it shouldn't outweigh the despicable manner in which Barzan maintained his power.

Now the human rights groups will come out and complain about the fate of these men with a good deal more feeling than they ever complained about the fate of their many victims.

18 comments:

buddy larsen said...

"...news of the decapitation got released by the government in order to head off certain criticism...."

Haha--hope that criticism gets 'headed off' ok--

buddy larsen said...

good advice--i'll switch over to decap--i mean, decaf

chuck said...

Correspondents say the gruesome detail about Barzan's decapitation was probably made public in order to avoid it being leaked later with accompanying allegations of mistreatment.

So it is pure speculation. I suspect many Iraqis will see it as an "an act of God," as one official described it. No doubt the correspondents see it through western eyes.

buddy larsen said...

It's not that uncommon--search 'hanging' and read the wiki. Plus this bird was getting a little elderly. Anyone over 50 can tell ya, you ain't as firmly attached as you once wuz.

Charlie Martin said...

Dont think you're gonna rope me in on this one.

buddy larsen said...

Hey, where were you when Twilight Zone needed you?

buddy larsen said...

Ha--my speciality was Ed Sullivan. I can still do it--"Really big shew!"

buddy larsen said...

What about guy with the mouse puppet in the drawer--

"s'alright?"

"S'ALRIGHT!"

buddy larsen said...

that would have been Topo Gigio, and ventriloquist Señor Wences.

had to do it

Anonymous said...

You people should be ashamed yourselves. Have you no head? I mean heart.

buddy larsen said...

ok, back on topic: is a half-brother in two pieces two quarter-brothers?

Rick Ballard said...

Having been in Saddam's shadow for so long, I wonder if he ever imagined he'd turn out ahead?

buddy larsen said...

He was on his way, but they got him in the neck of time--

Rick Ballard said...

Well, yes - things certainly appear to have come to a head rather suddenly for him.

Charlie Martin said...

Sorta stretching things now, aren't you?

(Oh, and by the way, Señor Wences didn't do Topo Gigio. We never got to see what was in the box.)

Luther said...

No, Yes, kind of an explosive departure. But nonetheless, fitting.

Rick Ballard said...

Stretching things? As in "You can only stretch a man so far before he snaps."?

I suppose so.

buddy larsen said...

ok, you were right about Senor Wences and Topo Gigio--but can you do THIS:

"Tonight we have a reallybigshew!"

Heh heh--practiced for years--