Krauthammer: On Killing the King

Washington Post ^ | 08/01/03 | Charles Krauthammer

[hocndoc]

If you don't want to mess with excerpts and the Post, you can access Dr. Krauthammer at TownHall.com
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/charleskrauthammer/archive.shtml
and
Jewish World Review
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/

(since he's on the President's Bioethics Council and makes his living writing an opinion column, Dr. Krauthammer's one of my heroes)

[MHT]

As usual, the man's intellect is awesome!

[dennisw]

When the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in 1958, Prime Minister Nuri Said, fleeing disguised as a woman, was caught, castrated and hacked to pieces by a crowd. When the strongman who took power, Abdul Karim Kassem, was overthrown five years later, he was shot and his body displayed on television. When Najibullah, deposed dictator of Afghanistan, was killed by the Taliban in 1996, he too was castrated, shot and hung, still alive, from a lamppost.

Now that's what you call a tough crowd to work.

[MeekOneGOP]

Excellent !!! Thanks.

But the most important reason remained unstated: We had no wish to take Uday and Qusay alive. We did the correct thing in giving them one chance to surrender. But no more. The moment we captured them we would have been responsible for their care and feeding forever. They were in their thirties. It would have meant that for the next 50 years the Hussein dynasty would have been kept alive -- by us.

For a half-century, Iraqis would live in fear of a restoration. It was not for nothing that Richard III had his nephews killed in the Tower of London. We don't do that today. In fact, we leave unmolested Saddam Hussein's other offspring -- three daughters and a son. But when confronted with his designated heirs, world-class murderers who refused to surrender, the idea of waiting them out so that we could forever be custodians of their restoration is simply insane.

Which suggests a plan for when we finally find Saddam Hussein. We give him, oh, 30 seconds to contemplate his surrender -- after all, he has had about five months to mull it over -- and then we kill the monster. And the ghosts that still surround him.

Saddam sons killed in loo [bathroom]

$30 Million worth of trash

Uday Hussein, left, and Qusay Hussein

---

They're dead, Jim.

[MeekOneGOP]

[Akira]

bump (are you on this list yet?)

[Akira]

The moment we captured them we would have been responsible for their care and feeding forever. They were in their thirties. It would have meant that for the next 50 years the Hussein dynasty would have been kept alive -- by us.

Amen. Rot in hell.

[fish hawk]

Good read, Klinton got off too easy!!!!

[IGOTMINE]

The Hammer strikes again! Too bad he's antigun, though...

[TomHarkinIsNotFromIowa]

A scene from the godfather. Assad wakes up one morning and beside him in bed are the Hussein brothers. That would be cool.

[Gritty]

Take Saddam alive?...

How many years of O.J. lawyers and breathless cable coverage do we want to endure?

How many years with buildings full of hostages held by suicidal terrorists, with "non-negotiable" demands we release him await in our future?

How many intimidating years do decent Iraqis need to live, fearing his return?

How many years will dead-end holdouts kill our soldiers, knowing there is still hope?

How many more years will other terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Qeada take heart from our hesitation in executing this vicious killer?

How long do we agonize over turning him over to the UN Court in the Hague and wait for "justice", or do we turn him over to the Iraqis, or do we try him ourself?

How many years do we need to endure the whining of Liberals and anti-American politicians, demanding Saddam's "rights" and insisting on "better" treatment or even amnesty so we can "move on"?

We don't need to endure any of it. Saddam can, and should, ignominiously go down in a hail of gunfire - although the Taliban treatment sounds tempting.

America doesn't need him. Only America's enemies need him. They're the ones who want him kept alive for their own purposes. You can hear them louder and louder every day in the Media.

[blackie]

Good Stuff ... Bump!

The Truth Will Out!

[baseballmom]

Thanks for the ping.

These Hussein boys needed killing. And so does their father. That's all.

[CyberAnt]

Col. Hunt agrees with you. He was on FOX and they ask him what he would do if confronted by Saddam with his hands up. Col. Hunt never even hesitated he said, "I'd shoot him twice in the heart". There was dead silence!

But .. I agree with Col. Hunt!!

[dixiechick2000]

"But .. I agree with Col. Hunt!!"

And, I agree with you! ;o)

Col. Hunt is, by far, the best military analyst on any channel in your TV guide. Somehow, I get the feeling he would relish shooting him...twice...in the heart.

Earlier today, he was very upset that Saddam's daughter, Raghad (heh), was allowed out of the country, much less interviewed on TV. His thought was that, since she is still loyal to her dad, she could be doing Saddam's bidding. I don't remember everything he said, but he made some fine points, and I honestly couldn't disagree with him

[autoresponder]

You can see the wheels turning in his head when he speaks on TV.

No fluff; all bite.

[McGavin999]

SIGH! It's so nice to read someone who has a purpose in life. Charles lives to inform and he assumes the intelligence of his readers and addresses them that way.

[CyberAnt]

My mom was watching CNN - while I was fixing her her dinner. I wasn't paying that much attention, but somebody was interview both daughters. When that was done - some dark haired woman was going on and on about the daughters' statements about what a normal family they had (yeah right - like the head of the family always kills the son-in-laws), how kind he was to his daughters .. ad nauseum. The woman had this whiney, distraught look on her face and tone to her voice .. almost like she was in agony over the prospect that we might kill Saddam. It was just sickening.

Even my democrat mom was disgusted!

[dixiechick2000]

"...some dark haired woman was going on and on about the daughters' statements about what a normal family they had (yeah right - like the head of the family always kills the son-in-laws), how kind he was to his daughters .. ad nauseum."

I saw somewhere today that the daughters always put their father ahead of their husbands...I guess it's a cultural thing. However, to say that the Hussein family is "normal", in any culture, is over the top. It's very perplexing that the daughters would have anything to do with him after he killed their husbands, unless they are very fearful of him.

I'm just thankful we frown on killing the sons-in-law...;o)

[CyberAnt]

"very fearful of him"

I believe this is the key that the liberals have missed, as usual. Since the daughters probably know he's still alive, why would they say anything against him. Somehow this never occurs to the libs.