HANGING HYSTERIA MEDIA LIBERALS MISS MAIN STORY ON SADDAM

The New York Post ^ | January 7, 2007 | Kirsten Powers

[Former Dodger]

I DIDN'T support the Iraq war and I oppose the death penalty - but the nonstop outrage and criticism of the trial and execution of Saddam Hussein is puzzling. Somehow, most of our nation's newspapers and magazines overlooked the core of this story: An evil dictator was brought to justice - the people he tortured, murdered and oppressed turned around and put him on trial, then carried out the sentence. How often does this happen in our world? Pretty much never. Yet The New York Times (in news and opinion pages alike) has relentlessly criticized nearly every aspect of the process, only paying lip service Saddam's heinous crimes. USA Today's editorial board criticized the trial and execution and then assessed the whole episode as basically inconsequential. (Tell that to the millions of Iraqis who suffered under Saddam). Oddly, most of the complaints ignored the many problems with the death penalty. Instead, critics were consumed by how unfairly Saddam was allegedly treated. Particularly distressing to this crowd was the "taunting" of the Butcher of Baghdad. Huh? True, the trial and the execution were disorderly. And much of the trial's disorder was thanks to Saddam's narcissistic outbursts and the kidnapping and murders of witnesses and lawyers. Let's give Iraq's nascent democracy, which is struggling in the middle of a war, at least a little credit for managing to even hold a trial of their former dictator. To expect its justice system to function as ours at this point is wildly unreasonable. Critics complained that there was a "rush to justice." Saddam was captured three years ago and went through two trials. That's a rush? And he was guilty. Nobody denies this.

[Former Dodger]

Yeah, I know she used to work for Clinton but this is a good piece.

[pissant]

She makes more sense than a bunch of handwringers around here too.

[BlueAngel]

bump!

[sageb1]

I wish we could convert this lady.

[RobbyS]

The Iraqis treated this tyrant ther way that the Italians treated Mussolini. Rough justice in a rough world.

[Darkwolf377]

I love how the people who always begin their arguments against the war "I hate Hussein and am glad he's out of power, BUT..."
are so red in the face with hysteria over the horror of hanging someone who's responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Their ridiculous attacks on the war are made even more embarassing when they reveal once again their only idea about solving the world's problems: TALKING about them.

[pissant]

As well deserved as has ever been..

[libs_kma]

She's a stinking dim shill. But she's still right this time.

I like her better than the bug-eyed shill Kerry used to have, that could never offer facts or even a good argument, but could only shake her head and say "thats a lie", "thats a lie", when the swiftvets were kicking Jean Francois's butt....Jenny something...

[CAWats]

Nice read.

[syriacus]

It's true. The MSM has really gone "cuckoo."

[Paleo Conservative]

but the nonstop outrage and criticism of the trial and execution of Saddam Hussein is puzzling.

He was treated with kid gloves compared to Mussolini or Ceacesceau.

[CaptainK]

Being in the Fox studio appears to have raised her IQ a few points.

Resistance is futile.

[Blind Eye Jones]

Come on Darkwolf377, they want to talk because they themselves partake in that power which they believe has great power to change everything on the world stage.

[stm]

If you pay no attention to the the first half of the first sentence, this ia actually a well thought out and reasoned piece. Saddam was right up there on the hideous monster scale with Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. I saw that bastard and his mongrel son's handiwork first hand and believe me, hanging from his neck until his eyes glazed over was way too kind an end for him. He deserved to be placed on a medieval rack and stretched until he came unglued at the seams and then dragged behind a pickup truck until there was little left. And then what little was left was left for the dogs in the street. That's what he deserved.

Iraq will bear the scars of his murderous and treacherous regime for many generations. Entire generations grew up knowing nothing but the horrific violence and terror that characterized his stranglehold on that country. It will take another thirty or forty years before that country completely heals.

That thing that really irks the ever-loving crap out of me is that so many people think that 35 years of his terror can be undone in a couple of years. That kind of thinking belongs with the "dumb as a sack full of hammers" crowd over on the DU. This country, just like Germany, was litterally destroyed right down to the foundation by a cruel and evil dictatorship. Total economic and social devastation cannot be reversed overnight. An entire culture of fear, distrust, ignorance and illiteracy cannot be reversed with the snap of a finger. Most Iraqi people have no concept of what a "normal" existence even looks like.

[Former Dodger]

That's one of the nicer pics of "Il Duce". My uncle had one of Mussolini on the ground after the locals finished doing the Tarantella on his head...it was FLAT!

[Darkwolf377]

I think I'd take them more seriously if they weren't so eager to talk about putting Bush on trial, yet they can only manage a half sentence of condemnation of Hussein: "Of COURSE he was evil, BUT...Bush is..." blah blah blah.

[Brad from Tennessee]

The New York Times are a bunch of armchair hangmen.

[ozzymandus]

She's a RAT who's angling for a permanent job at FOX. I wouldn't trust her an inch.

[spinestein]

[...they can only manage a half sentence of condemnation of Hussein: "Of COURSE he was evil, BUT...Bush is..." blah blah blah.]



That's bothered me the most about their arguments as well, their virtually excusing Saddam Hussein's genocide of a million people with lame comments like "Well, at least he kept those people in line." Inherent in such comments is the belief that "those people" are not capable of self governance, as if they were only 300 years down from the trees and lack the mental capacity for such ideas; the only way they can survive at all is to live in perpetual slavery under a brutal theocracy.

They might as well say "I've got MY freedom, screw those donkey-riders on the other side of the globe."

[Blind Eye Jones]

Teachers use that tactic: "He's good at this and that BUT he needs to..." The first part before the BUT never needs to be addressed. The problem is always with the second half following the BUT. In this case evil is not a problem and what follows, i.e., Bush, is the problem.