Should auld acquaintence be forgot...

And so we draw to an end of the year 2006, the dawning of 2007 upon us.

A new year, a new start, a new outlook.

A fresh start.

That is how we look upon the dawning of a new year, I think. A chance to wipe the slate clean of old things, to resolve to do things left undone in the year before. A passing of the old, leaving it behind, not necessarily forgotten, but in the past, to be looked upon with memory and retrospect. A chance to make things right again, and to put things back where they belong...

Let us all, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Conservative, Liberal, et al, look ahead to the new year as a time for working not at odds with each other, but in conjunction and cooperation with each other. Ours IS a great nation, and can be made even more so by taking a moment to reflect upon where we come from, as a people; a people made one nation of many nations. That is our mutual heritage, our mutual destiny AS Americans. Let us make the new year a good one.

Happy New Year everyone!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes
And pou'd the gowans fine.
We've wandered mony a weary foot,
Sin' auld lang syne.

We twa hae sported i' the burn,
From morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roared
Sin' auld lang syne.

And ther's a hand, my trusty friend,
And gie's a hand o' thine;
We'll tak' a right good willie-waught,,
For auld lang syne.

-Robert Burns

Lies from the Left

We keep hearing a litany of allegations from the left about how we went to war with Iraq only because of WMD's, but after 9/11/01, the president of the United States of America, with members of both the Republican party AND the Democratic party standing beside him, made a speech where he said:

From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime. Our nation has been put on notice, we're not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans. Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security.

Those on the left would like to forget that nations that harbor or support terrorism are part of the war on terror.

They cry out, but Saddam Hussein did not have anything to do with 9/11.... I say, prove it.

There is plenty of proof showing Saddam Hussein and Iraq did indeed "harbor" and "support" terrorism, and further "proof" that he also aided members of al-Qaeda. These are called facts, provable fact, those pesky little things members on the left hate. (Hat Tip to Gateway Pundit for the link)

Those same members on the left, when faced with the actual proof, would rather act like children, put there fingers in their ears and sing la la la la la la la, so as to not have to admit those facts are there. Well they are there and denying it simply makes you look foolish and uneducated.

Have they found WMD's in Iraq yet? NO. Have they searched more than 10% of the suspected sites yet? NO. Has this administration made mistakes in Iraq? YES. Does that negate the facts that Saddam Hussein was a monster and provided aid, money, medical attention and sponsored terror. NO.

Below I will list excerpts from the page linked to above.

Let’s start with money. At a minimum, we know that Saddam Hussein’s government supported terrorism by paying "bonuses" of up to $25,000 to the families of Palestinian homicide bombers. How do we know this? Tariq Aziz, Hussein's own deputy prime minister, was stunningly candid about the Baathist government’s underwriting of terrorist killings in Israel.

“President Saddam Hussein has recently told the head of the Palestinian political office, Faroq al-Kaddoumi, his decision to raise the sum granted to each family of the martyrs of the Palestinian uprising to $25,000 instead of $10,000,” Aziz, announced at a Baghdad meeting of Arab politicians and businessmen on March 11, 2002, Reuters reported the next day.

The linked page above also has pictures of those checks to pay for the "terrorism".

"Nations that harbor or support terrorism". Iraq continually provided safe harbor for terrorists.

Beyond cash and diplomatic help, Saddam Hussein was the Conrad Hilton of the terrorist world. He provided a place for terrorists to kick back, relax, and reflect after killing people for a living.

After escaping Italian police in October 1985 following the Achille Lauro hijacking (thanks to his Iraqi diplomatic passport), Abu Abbas finally ended up in Baghdad in 1994, where he lived comfortably as one of Saddam Hussein’s guests. U.S. soldiers caught Abbas in Iraq in April 2003. This time, he did not get away. He died last March 9, in American custody, reportedly of natural causes.

Abbas' Baghdad sojourn was not an isolated incident. Saddam Hussein granted avowed international terrorists refuge in Baathist Iraq. Terror mastermind Abu Nidal also enjoyed his hospitality.

Nidal lived comfortably in Iraq between 1999 and August 2002. As the Associated Press reported on August 21, 2002, Nidal’s Beirut office said he entered Iraq “with the full knowledge and preparations of the Iraqi authorities.” 13 Prior to his relocation, he ran the eponymous Abu Nidal Organization — a Palestinian terror network behind attacks in 20 countries, at least 407 confirmed murders, and some 788 other terror-related injuries. Among other savage acts, Nidal’s group used guns and grenades to attack a ticket counter at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport on December 27, 1985. Another cell in Austria simultaneously assaulted Vienna’s airport, killing 19 people.

Among the five Americans that Abu Nidal murdered that day was John Buonocore III, a 20-year-old Fairleigh Dickinson College student who had studied in Rome that fall semester. Buonocore was shot in the back while checking in for his flight home. He had hoped to return to Wilmington, Delaware to help his father celebrate his 50th birthday.

We then move on to debunk the lefts outright lies or lack of eduaction with the question:

But is there any evidence that Iraq sheltered those responsible for attacks on America? SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad you asked!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enter Abdul Rahman Yasin, pictured below in a U.S. State Department "Wanted" poster.

This Indiana-born, Iraqi-reared terrorist remains wanted by the FBI for his role in the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center attack. President Bill Clinton's Justice Department indicted Yasin for mixing the chemicals in the bomb that exploded in the parking garage beneath the Twin Towers, killing six and injuring 1,042 people in New York.

Soon after the smoke cleared, Yasin returned to Iraq. Coalition forces have discovered documents that show he enjoyed housing and a monthly government salary.

The site I linked to above also goes on to show further proof, showing how Abu Musab al Zarqawi ran to Iraq and received medical attention, then again we already know, as facts, that Abu Musab al Zarqawi was there.....it is where we killed him.

The site also goes on to point out the training camps where terrorists were trained.

Sabah Khodada, a former Iraqi army captain who once worked at Salman Pak. On October 14, 2001, Khodada granted an interview to PBS television program “Frontline,” stating, “This camp is specialized in exporting terrorism to the whole world.”

He added: “Training includes hijacking and kidnapping of airplanes, trains, public buses, and planting explosives in cities ... how to prepare for suicidal operations.”

He continued: “We saw people getting trained to hijack airplanes...They are even trained how to use utensils for food, like forks and knives provided in the plane.”

As they point out, sounds familiar huh?

Finish reading, there is quite a bit I did not touch on here, read it there.

I have no doubt that members of the left will not dare go read, search and find all the links that Saddam held with terror and terrorists, because their ability to deny the truth is based on the fact that they do not SEE it. In their warped view, if they close their eyes and cannot see something, it must not BE THERE. Yeah, thats the ticket!!!!! (I wonder if that will work on the extra couple pounds on my ass.)

But for those that do wish to see the truth, it is out there, facts, figures, documentation and testimony. Read it, learn it, because knowing who our enemies are, might just be what saves us in the end.

To President Bush.... you said you would go after terror and states that sponsor terror, you did. Thank you Mr. President, for keeping your word and for not following in the other politicians footsteps in changing your mind as the polls change.

Jules Crittenden has a good piece called "Next Order of Business", it is definitely a must read as well as his Boston Herald column.


Tracked back by:
Response to latest post from Thinkin'bout Stuff...

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Missing the Point Entirely

After reading through more blogs, more news reports, more information sources and outlets, it still amazes me how so few people understand that this situation in the middle east crosses borders because so many of the people FROM that region never KNEW borders until the end of the European colonial period after World War II.

We, Americans and western Europeans alike, are trying to view this entire conflict in terms of taking on this country or that country, Iraq or Afghanistan. The cry "Bush has FORGETTEN Afghanistan" is such a rampant thing that it's disgusting. Bush hasn't forgotten Afghanistan, Africa, or any place else in the world, the dinosaur media has. Bush has even stepped UP funding to Africa. The dinosaur media deliberately have chosen to ignore Afghanistan in their reporting, and then try to paint the President as having turned his back on the area and the rest of the world to focus ONLY of Iraq. A great trick, worthy of a Copperfield or a Henning, but, unfortunately, so many American's have fallen for it that they actually BELIEVE the President has forgotten Afghanistan. A helping hand from the leftist Clintonista's in the Congress doesn't hurt anything in that regard; the dem's are right there at the forefront of the propoganda scandal in trying to blame Bush for forgetting about Afghanistan to focus only on Iraq. This coming week, others will be citing examples of how we are still involved in Afghanistan, just as much as we are in Iraq. We haven't abandoned nor have we forgotten Afghanistan. The media has. And I charge that they did so deliberately, setting the stage to blame the President for having lost focus.

My proof? My proof is the LACK of evidence seen in the news media in regards to our activities in Afghanistan. We are there, boots on the ground as the saying goes, although I have to say, this old combat engineer never HEARD that phrase until this go around. We are running missions, operations, encountering the al Quida on a weekly basis. Yet it goes ignored by the dinosaur media.

Case in point, from CENTCOM:

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. and Afghan noncommissioned officers toured the Pakistan Army’s Junior Leader Academy in Shinkiari, Pakistan, Dec. 28 during the second day of an exchange program tour.

Pakistan officers and NCOs briefed the team on training procedures and processes in an effort to strengthen the ties between the Afghan National Army and the Pakistan military.

“We came to learn,” said Sgt. Maj. Mahmodi Shamsudine, the command sergeant major of the ANA’s 201st Corps, after asking several questions about the training curriculum and format.

He was one of three Afghan Senior NCOs who traveled to Pakistan hoping to take back information that will help them develop their 4-year-old army.

“This was very good for (the Afghans) because they discussed training strategies, schools, doctrines, techniques and procedures that can be shared between the two armies,” said Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood, command sergeant major for Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan.

Staff members from the JLA took the team to a field training area and watched students conduct mission planning. They were also shown classrooms and sat in on a class discussing tactics.

“This visit was very good for our countries,” said Sgt. Usman, JLA instructor. “Our door is open and we want to help the Afghan army because we want peace in Afghanistan.”

Wood called the meeting a ”very successful engagement with the military of Pakistan.” He contributed the success to the ”non-threatening and non-political environment” between the NCOs.

“The (Afghans) are very excited about the information they heard,” Wood added. “They are excited to hear about the focus on counter-terrorism and the amount of effort and attention that they are putting on training. They want to go back and try to put more of a counter-terrorism focus in their own training.”

The visit also gave the U.S. and Afghan NCOs an opportunity to share information about the progress and accomplishments of the ANA.

“People from the Pakistan military and Frontier Corps did not realize how far ahead the ANA were – they were very surprised and it made them feel more secure,” Wood said.

During a meeting with Col. Rehman, the JLA deputy commandant, he explained that Pakistani Soldiers were “giving (their) life to help Afghanistan.

“The world is a global village, and the sooner we have peace, the better it is for the world,” he said.

Sgt. Major Ahmad Fazel, the command sergeant major for the ANA’s 203rd Corps, agreed, saying, “If we work together we will be successful because we have the same goal and the same enemy.”

Plans are underway for the next program to take place at Fort Benning, Ga., in the U.S.

For more information, contact the press center at Kabul-Presscenter@cfc-a.centcom.mil.

Back to the point here. The only reason there are established and recognized borders in the Middle East is for one reason: European Colonization. The same is the case for most of central Africa. Once the Europeans pulled out and went back home, old tribal and regional differences flared back up again, hence the period of civil wars (the mercenary war era) in Africa and the reintroduction of a Jewish state into the Middle East. The Jews were merely allowed, after a couple of thousand years, to return home, folks. If anyone has any dispute with that concept, pick up a Bible, a Torah, the Talmud, and various and other sundry histories of the ancient world that DON'T have to do with religious influence and belief. But as I have been trying to say, the concept of a border is a foreign notion to the Arabic mind. Regionalism? That concept they understand. Borders created by European cartogrophers? They could care less. Hence the ease at which the terrorist networks pass from one country to another in the Middle East, welcomed with open arms by supporters across various old caravan trade routes from one city to the other. The concept of the city-state is still very much alive and well in the Muslim world. In case you haven't really grasped this notion yet, ask yourself this: how many Baptists have ever set foot in Mecca? How many Methodists? Has the Pope ever held Mass there?

As the TITLE of this site says, WAKE UP, AMERICA. This war, this military action, is NOT about one country versus another. It's about our nation fighting an enemy that transcends borders, a concept of hatred that would see both us and Israel cleared from the map in the name of the Jihad. This is a war to stop radical Muslim Imperialism, a notion that, if it comes to pass, will strike away the freedom of the individual. All of the work done by many liberal organizations will be gone. That in itself should bring the left on board with this. NOW would be outlawed. ACTUP would be outlawed. The NAACP would be changed radically. Dissidents and "free thinkers" would be labeled as outlaws and infidels. Women in the US think that they're still under male subjegation today? Imagine how it will be if the terrorists WIN.

The bikini would become a thing of the past, A horrible concept, in my opinion. The world is a MUCH better place since the introduction of the bikini, especially the thong bikini. Welcome to the age of the burkah...

Think outside our borders, learn how the rest of the world sees us, and how they know that we see them. We have GOT to stop bickering, fighting amongst ourselves over penny anty issues that don't amount to a hill of beans. We have GOT to maintain our focus on the ENTIRE Middle East to hunt these terrorist groups down, keeping a watchful eye on Korea.

We also HAVE to do something about the number of illegal immigrants coming into this country across the Mexican border, but that is another story...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The Dead Dictator: Saddam Hussein

In today's tumultuous world climate it isn't always clear how to be Patriotic.
But Flying an American Flag can still fill us with pride. Find American Flags as well as other Country Flags to represent patriotism and diversity.

I am not celebrating, although I fully understand those that are. I am not going to show the video, although I understand those that are and will link to those showing it for my readers, if they wish to see it. (That link is to Flopping Aces, he has the WHOLE video of Saddam hanging and dead) I am not going to get into the debate about the death sentence and executions, there are many pros and cons for each argument and I personally believe each case should be judged individually.

[UPDATE] 12/31/06- Due to a couple of questions I have received, let me clarify. I think that anyone that wants to show the Saddam hanging video should, anyone who wishes to watch it, should. I believe justice was served for many Iraqi's and have no moral problem with the video being shown.

My personal preference to not show the actual video here, but to link to it instead, is exactly that, "a personal preference". I have seen too many people in the throes of death and it affects me personally. I can and will continue to show pictures of the dead from the holocaust, Saddam's victims, etc... because it needs to be seen to prevent it from being repeated. People need to see things for themselves sometimes to understand them.

As to not having it on my site, the reason is simple and selfish, I do not wish to have to watch it every time I open my site to update, add trackbacks or any other reason that would force me to watch it over and over again. It is that simple. [End Update]

What I am going to do, is what Jules Crittenden suggests and lift my glass and have a drink (I do not drink much, so one is plenty for me) and hope that the families of those killed by Saddam Hussein will have some closure.

President Bush's statement on the execution of Saddam Hussein:

Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime.

Fair trials were unimaginable under Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule. 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.

Saddam Hussein's execution comes at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops. Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror.

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.

Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead. Yet the safety and security of the American people require that we not relent in ensuring that Iraq's young democracy continues to progress.

I am not going to criticize Iraq's trial of Saddam because each country has there own judicial processes and it is not up to us, here in America, to be the judges of whether a trial by the Iraqi's was "fair". They had a trial, facing almost insumountable conditions, they continued the trial despite threats, fear and murders trying to stop it. They did the best they could. Considering OUR judicial system and all of its flaws, we really are in no position to criticize any one elses.

Captain's Quarters states it very well:

The dictator has met his end, at the hands of the people he tormented for decades. He received more justice in a single day of his trial than he ever gave anyone during his reign of terror. Yet the American media covered that trial as if it were the Saddam show, rather than provide coverage of the many witnesses to his genocides and crimes against humanity. This was the most consequential and historic trial of a mass murderer since Nuremberg, and the only points of interest to the American media were the self-serving disruptions of the defendants -- and they questioned the fairness of the trial because the monsters tried turning the trial into a circus.

What I am going to do is a roundup of reactions, those I agree with and those I do not, and show the life, the cruelty, the mass murders and the monster that was known as the Butcher of Baghdad, as well as show you the obits written for Saddam Hussein.

Fair warning here, some of the pictures that will be shown are graphic, but in them, we will see the cruelty that was Saddam and give those that might have pity for this monster a better understanding of why those that are celebrating his death, are doing so. End of warning.

I will start with the Anfal Campaign in which Saddam and his regime murdered approximately 182,000 people.

Officially from February 23 to September 6, 1988 (but often thought to extend from March 1987 to May 1989), Saddam Hussein's regime carried out the Anfal (Arabic for "spoils") campaign against the large Kurdish population in northern Iraq. The purpose of the campaign was ostensibly to reassert Iraqi control over the area; however, the real goal was to permanently eliminate the Kurdish problem.

The campaign consisted of eight stages of assault, where up to 200,000 Iraqi troops attacked the area, rounded up civilians, and razed villages. Once rounded up, the civilians were divided into two groups: men from ages of about 13 to 70 and women, children, and elderly men. The men were then shot and buried in mass graves. The women, children, and elderly were taken to relocation camps where conditions were deplorable. In a few areas, especially areas that put up even a little resistance, everyone was killed.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled the area, yet it is estimated that up to 182,000 were killed during the Anfal campaign. Many people consider the Anfal campaign an attempt at genocide.


Since the Saddam Hussein regime was overthrown in May, 270 mass graves have been reported. By mid-January, 2004, the number of confirmed sites climbed to fifty-three. Some graves hold a few dozen bodies—their arms lashed together and the bullet holes in the backs of skulls testimony to their execution. Other graves go on for hundreds of meters, densely packed with thousands of bodies.

"We've already discovered just so far the remains of 400,000 people in mass graves," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair on November 20 in London. The United Nations, the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch (HRW) all estimate that Saddam Hussein's regime murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent people. "Human Rights Watch estimates that as many as 290,000 Iraqis have been 'disappeared' by the Iraqi government over the past two decades," said the group in a statement in May. "Many of these 'disappeared' are those whose remains are now being unearthed in mass graves all over Iraq."

If these numbers prove accurate, they represent a crime against humanity surpassed only by the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Pol Pot's Cambodian killing fields in the 1970s, and the Nazi Holocaust of World War II. (Source)

Next I will point out the Chemical Weapons attacks used against the Kurds in Iraq. (Click here for video shown at Saddam Hussein's trial)

As early as April 1987, the Iraqis used chemical weapons to remove Kurds from their villages in northern Iraq during the Anfal campaign. It is estimated that chemical weapons were used on approximately 40 Kurdish villages, with the largest of these attacks occurring on March 16, 1988 against the Kurdish town of Halabja.

Beginning in the morning on March 16, 1988 and continuing all night, the Iraqis rained down volley after volley of bombs filled with a deadly mixture of mustard gas and nerve agents on Halabja. Immediate effects of the chemicals included blindness, vomiting, blisters, convulsions, and asphyxiation. Approximately 5,000 women, men, and children died within days of the attacks. Long-term effects included permanent blindness, cancer, and birth defects. An estimated 10,000 lived, but live daily with the disfigurement and sicknesses from the chemical weapons.

Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid was directly in charge of the chemical attacks against the Kurds, earning him the epithet, "Chemical Ali."


These are some of the victims of Saddam Hussein. Innocent men, women and children died at his and his regimes hands, by his order. (Source)

So, if you are against the death penalty, or feel sorry for Saddam in any way, shape or form, save your pity for his family, or for those in OUR justice system that have been convicted falsely and instead of crying and moaning about the injustice, donate your time or your money to help get DNA tests done for some on death row that may be innocent but do not have the money or resources to prove it.

Do not waste your compassion on a man who did not know the meaning of the word.

The blogosphere as well as the news organizations are all weighing in on Saddam Husseins life, trial and death.

Hot Air kept us fully up to date on a death watch last night with news stories as they came out and has the Fox video of the moments leading up to Saddam's hanging. You Tube also has the video, I am not posting the actual Video, but for those that wish to see it, click here.

Faultline USA has a roundup of their own and it is an open trackback, the first of many I hope!!!

In a NewsWeek exclusive, Ali Al Massedy was 3 feet away from Saddam Hussein when he died. The 38 year old, normally Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's official videographer, was the man responsible for filming the late dictator's execution at dawn on Saturday. "I saw fear, he was afraid," Ali told NEWSWEEK minutes after returning from the execution. (The rest of the story here)

Salon seems to think this was not about Justice but about Revenge. I would have to disagree there. If they had turned Saddam over to the Kurds to allow THEM to extract justice in their own way, it would be a different story, but they DID have a trial, produced eye witnesses, documented Saddam's crimes against humanity and as I pointed out earlier, our system is not without flaws and the Iraqi's did the best they could and no one has the right NOR the moral superiority to lay judgment on Iraqi's processes.

I will not be linking to the AP articles, it is part of my New Years Resolution not link directly to an AP page. Other sources use AP, such as the NYT, so some links will go their stories, but only those that are on a site other than AP's direct site. (My little, tiny personal flip off to an organization that spreads enemy propaganda, lies, distorts, then changes thier stories without issuing corrections) The link is to my posts on one page dealing with the AP's credibility issues.

The NYT is barely worth mentioning because in their typical fashion the take yet another opportunity to use Saddam's execution to bash Bush, nothing unusual there, in fact, you will see many on the left that cannot separate the politics from the issue of this monster finally meeting his maker. Bush bashers have become very predictable. If it rains, it is Bush's fault, if there kid falls and scrapes their knee it is Bush's fault and if the lightening hits them, it is Bush's fault. Predictable. No surprises there. One NYT article actually says they "pitied" Saddam. They would. Bet they wouldn't be pitying him if it was THEIR mother, father, son or family member that was gassed and tossed into a mass grave.

Gateway Pundit shows some examples of the what he calls "the lefts insanity."

I found a few examples of the lefts insanity myself over at Tennessee Guerilla Women, Brilliant at Breakfast, the talking dog, Greenwald, always certifiable insanity at Huffington Post, Crooks and liars. The list could go on and on, but this is representative of the insanity shown on the far left.

Dr. Sanity explains this phenomenon and insanity.

To be fair, not ALL on the left is showing this same insanity, some actually are capable of admitting that Saddam was a horrible, mass murdering, genocidal tyrant that deserved his fate. Some did not try to turn this into a Bush bashing party. Kudos to those that were able to separate American politics from the execution of Saddam Hussein.

Then of course you have the crazies coming out with conspiracy theories. ( I wonder if they think Elvis or maybe those little gray men at area 51 were the ones in the ski masks that took Saddam to the gallows)

Wapo actually did a good job of covering the facts rather than using Saddam Hussein's death as yet another Bush Bashing event. I am always very critical of Wapo articles and it is only fair to point out when one of their writers actually do their job instead using their job to shape political agendas.

Now on to some more of the reactions throughout the blogosphere.

The News Buckit kept it short and sweet:

The former Iraqi dictator was executed by hanging minutes ago.

Bob Dole, one of my heroes, said this about Saddam in April 2003:

We have liberated the people of Iraq from a strutting psychopath. The statues are coming down. No more torture chambers. No more acid baths. I'd call Saddam's a gangster regime -- but that would be an insult to gangsters. For decades Saddam Hussein made Iraq a living Hell.

We don't know whether Saddam is still living, but we know he has a place reserved in Hell.

That place is now occupied. Goodbye, Saddam.

Pretty much says all that needs saying.

Don Surber also notes the NYT once again showing their true colors in mourning a monster such as Saddam Hussein.

After its ridiculous “The Rush to Hang Saddam Hussein” editorial on Friday, I thought the NY Times would be wise enough to hide its love and compassion for Saddam Hussein.

But I was wrong.

Don, is it any wonder that their profits keep dropping? They are following in the footsteps of Air America and will end up being a shell of what they once were.

Blogs of War has an excellent roundup of Iraqi bloggers and their reactions. One he showed really said quite a bit and shows something that our media refuses to.

Iraqi Mojo: This is a nice British documentary (each part is ten minutes long) that shows how Iraq was making great progress in the 1950s, without the aid of a tyrant. People like to talk about how much better life was before Saddam’s fall. This documentary shows how great life was before the rise of Saddam and his Baath party.

Some people in Iraq remember what life was like before Saddam Hussein. Go to Iraqi Mojo's site and take 20 minutes out of your life to watch the two videos. It is WELL worth the time.

The Mudville Gazette points us to Michael Yon, in Kuwait who says:

This war is strange. I never hear soldiers worried about their own morale sagging. Contrary, the war-fighters here are more concerned to bolster the morale of the people at home. Here in Kuwait, where the dining facilities are bedecked in Christmas decorations, soldiers stream in from Iraq on convoys and stream back north along those bomb-laden roads. The service members here are not all rear-echelon people who never see fighting or blood. Yet their overall morale obviously is high. Few of them know I am a writer, and so they speak freely at the tables around me. In Qatar, from which I’d just departed, I spoke with troops taking four-day R&R passes, some having just returned from the most dangerous parts of Iraq, and others heading straight back, and their overall morale was also very high. The morale at war is higher than I have ever seen it at home; makes me wonder what they know that most Americans seem to be missing.

Most Americans are getting their enemy propaganda from MSM like the AP, CNN and NYT. THAT should answer Michael Yon's question right there.

There are too many reactions to list all of them, so visit memeorandum for a full roundup of reactions around the world. Another memeorandum link here.

Times online from the uk did fabulous job on an obituary for Saddam Hussein and Fox also has one up.

Cheat Seeking Missles has a good commentary on the Times obit.



Open trackback weekend here at Wake up America.

Trackposted to Perri Nelson's Website, Don Surber, Adam's Blog, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, The Bullwinkle Blog, Conservative Cat, Rightwing Guy, 123 Beta, Pet's Garden Blog, The HILL Chronicles, Faultline USA, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, stikNstein... has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox News, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Tracked back by:
A reminder of just who Saddam’s victims were from The HILL Chronicles...
Saddam Round Up... Literally! from Dumb Ox News...
Authentic footage of Saddam’s Execution from The HILL Chronicles...
Wii kicks PS3's Butt from Planck's Constant...
“Moderate” Muzlim?..ha from Woman Honor Thyself...
Salena Zito: A tale of 2 women from The HILL Chronicles...
Happy New Year Open Trackback Weekend from 123beta...
Boxer Rescinds CAIR Recipient Award: Open TB Weeke from Faultline USA...
The Knucklehead of the Year award from The Florida Masochist...
Last Open Trackback of the Year from The Right Nation...
Happy New Year 2007 from Planck's Constant...
The Seahawks Enter the Postseason with a Win from Perri Nelson's Website...
Happy New Year from The HILL Chronicles...
Am I Worth Dying For? from Blue Star Chronicles...
Layla from The HILL Chronicles...
(MOGS) Holy Hugh Hewitt Batman! from Diary of the Mad Pigeon...
My thoughts on Gerald Ford from The HILL Chronicles...
NY Times screws its readers from Mark My Words...
A silly mistake by CNN from Mark My Words...
Blogger Halo Award from The HILL Chronicles...
What's that giant sucking sound? from Mark My Words...
Anti-Islamofascist Blogger Censored from Faultline USA...


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The Death of a Dictator [UPDATED]

[UPDATE #8 BUMPED TO TOP] Al Arabiya TV Reports Saddam Hussein Has Been Executed, more as I see it.
Saddam Hussein Executed by Hanging in Iraq

More at Hot Air.

[UPDATE] JUST announced, I will try to get ou a link when it shows up, but Fox is reporting that it has been confirmed that Saddam Hussein will be handed over TODAY, within the next 24 hrs to Iraqi authorities for execution. [End Update]

[UPDATE #2] 8:57 am- CNN is reporting that Saddams Lawyers have been asked to make arrangements to have his personal effects picked up.[End Update #2]

[UPDATE #3] 11:06 am- Saddam Hussein has been handed over to the Iraqi's for execution and the Judge states he will be executed by Saturday.[End Update]

[UPDATE #4] 12:42 pm- Now Fox is reporting that "some" official has stated Saddam is officially still in US custody. (I am beginning to think that this conflicting information is coming to us purposely. If no one is SURE exactly where Saddam Hussein is, it will be harder for his sympathizers to try to stage some sort of protest or jailbreak.) [End Update]

[UPDATE #5] This time the word is that Saddam meets his fate 9 pm central time.

[UPDATE #6] IRAQ the Model is updating as this unfolds. (6:07pm)Fox is reporting that the official witnesses are all gathering.


MSNBC is announcing that Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday.

The hanging could take place as early as Friday, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.

The U.S. military received a formal request from the Iraqi government to transfer Saddam to Iraqi authorities, NBC reported on Thursday, which is one of the final steps required before his execution. His sentence, handed down last month, ordered that he be hanged within 30 days.

Hot Air points out that there are few reports that are conflicting with the MSNBC report.

Then we have a completely ridiculous piece of opinion from the NYT claiming that there is a rush to hang Saddam.

My personal feelings on death sentences aside, it is three years, I would hardly call that a rush. Iraqi law states, from what we have been told so far, that a death sentence must be carried out within 30 days. To further complicate the situation there are sever security issues for the US, who is holding Saddam and the Iraqi's in carrying out this sentence.

Other wish to claim the trial was not fair...I ask why? Because it is not how we conduct a trial? Does bringing democracy to Iraq mean that they must run their country EXACTLY the way we run ours? Or is it simply bringing a level of civility to a country that has lived under a tyrant for so long?

This trial was conducted under some very harsh circumstances, difficult for those actively participating in the trial. One example was the judge who had his brother in law killed. These people managed to hold a trial, produce a verdict and plan to carry out the sentence. Kudos to them for that!

People have been debating the issue of death sentences for years, all around the world and I am sure we will continue to do so. So be it.

I do believe, putting my own issues with any death penalty aside, that for some Iraqi's this will give them a sense of closure that nothing else could. These people lived under Saddam's rule from July 16, 1979 until April 9, 2003. That is a long time to live under the conditions that they were forced to live under... Just ask the Kurds.

Jules Crittenden has a great piece that shoud be read where he talks about what it was like for him in Iraq.

It's an odd thing, to be in your 40s, and yet to feel as though you've only just been born. Into this world of war. Saddam means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, Saddam will always be tied to that kid in the ditch among the date palms at al-Hindiyah. A young soldier with a bullet through the side of his face, his eyes open, staring at nothing.

They were Tikritis, the Nebuchadnazzer Division of the Republican Guard, and they died for Saddam. Saddam didn't have the decency to die for them, when he crawled out of his hole in December 2003, proclaiming himself the President of Iraq.

This is a monster, if there is, in fact, evil in this world, Saddam represents it in its harshest form. I find it hard to celebrate any death, but Iraq needs a sense of closure and perhaps this will be the start.

We may see some extreme violence from Saddam's supporters at first, but I believe that after the initial temper tantrums, Iraq will be better off knowing that Saddam is gone and will not somehow pop back up and violently rule again.

For almost 24 years the iraq's were ruled with violence, genocide and had chemical warfare waged on them from their own ruler. Is it any wonder that it is taking more than a few years to counter this and teach them that their is life without tyranny?

I said once that you cannot just hand people that have been under a dictators rule for 20+ years, freedom, and expect them to know what to do with it. They need to be taught and some are learning. Maybe not fast enough for some people but it IS happening.

Captain's Quarters reaction:

As I am opposed to the death penalty in civilian courts, Saddam's execution presents an interesting challenge. Michael Stickings says he cannot support the death penalty under any circumstances, but I think there is a large distinction between civil death sentences and those under wartime and genocidal conditions. The execution of spies and saboteurs, for instance, offers a deterrence to those who would commit those acts during wartime, and the elimination of that as an assured result of capture would create a flood of saboteurs and spies, especially if they received the same treatment as POWs. Similarly, genocidal tyrants tried by their own people and executed for their crimes serve as an example for other tyrants to fear -- and it removes the jailed tyrant as a focus for restoration, a situation that history has proven to be dangerous to recovering societies.

That is what I am hoping. If any good can come from any execution, I would say this is the one.

Goodbye Saddam and good riddance to bad rubbish.

Lieberman Pisses off the Dems

Joe Lieberman, the Democratic senator turned independent has an op-ed piece at Wapo where he explains his position on having more troops sent to Iraq. This is after he just spent 10 days there talking to the military.

Jolting Joe did the unforgivable though, in the eyes of the far left and the anti-war, anti-military Democrats... He used the words "win" and "victory" in regards to Iraq. OMG. The world is upside down and the Dems/far left are having a hissy fit over it. The other "crime" of Lieberman's in the eyes of the left/Dems is that he DARED acknowledge the threat Iran poses. This seems to have infuriated them to no end.

I've just spent 10 days traveling in the Middle East and speaking to leaders there, all of which has made one thing clearer to me than ever: While we are naturally focused on Iraq, a larger war is emerging. On one side are extremists and terrorists led and sponsored by Iran, on the other moderates and democrats supported by the United States. Iraq is the most deadly battlefield on which that conflict is being fought. How we end the struggle there will affect not only the region but the worldwide war against the extremists who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001.

Because of the bravery of many Iraqi and coalition military personnel and the recent coming together of moderate political forces in Baghdad, the war is winnable. We and our Iraqi allies must do what is necessary to win it.

[...]

To turn around the crisis we need to send more American troops while we also train more Iraqi troops and strengthen the moderate political forces in the national government. After speaking with our military commanders and soldiers there, I strongly believe that additional U.S. troops must be deployed to Baghdad and Anbar province -- an increase that will at last allow us to establish security throughout the Iraqi capital, hold critical central neighborhoods in the city, clamp down on the insurgency and defeat al-Qaeda in that province.

In Baghdad and Ramadi, I found that it was the American colonels, even more than the generals, who were asking for more troops. In both places these soldiers showed a strong commitment to the cause of stopping the extremists. One colonel followed me out of the meeting with our military leaders in Ramadi and said with great emotion, "Sir, I regret that I did not have the chance to speak in the meeting, but I want you to know on behalf of the soldiers in my unit and myself that we believe in why we are fighting here and we want to finish this fight. We know we can win it."

[...]

In Iraq today we have a responsibility to do what is strategically and morally right for our nation over the long term -- not what appears easier in the short term. The daily scenes of death and destruction are heartbreaking and infuriating. But there is no better strategic and moral alternative for America than standing with the moderate Iraqis until the country is stable and they can take over their security. Rather than engaging in hand-wringing, carping or calls for withdrawal, we must summon the vision, will and courage to take the difficult and decisive steps needed for success and, yes, victory in Iraq. That will greatly advance the cause of moderation and freedom throughout the Middle East and protect our security at home.

How DARE Lieberman even suggest that Iraq is "winnable" and victory can be achieved??!!!!

How DARE Lieberman call Iran a threat...my god, can't you see they are simply "misunderstood"?

This is not what they want to hear, they cannot stand to hear the word victory when speaking of Iraq, or winnable or success. It literally sends them into a tailspin as if their heads are going to explode.

That seems to be the prevailing attitude from the left about this article.

Remember folks... Don't annoy Lieberman TOO much, he IS the only vote giving the Dems the majority in the senate and when it comes to the issue of Iraq, his vote being for success in Iraq, puts the board at 50-50 on that specific issue. So be nice nice to Lieberman!!!!!

A few reactions from the left.

From Huffington Post:

Many critics of this war -- including this blogger -- always worried that our engagement would trigger a regional conflagration and that removing Iran's "balancer" would have huge effects throughout the Middle East and fuel Iran's pretensions as a hegemonic force. Where is Lieberman's confession that he and others were warned of this and didn't see it coming?

And what really irritates is his depiction of the extremists, who he inappropriately ties to Iran. The extremists in many cases are angry Sunnis who want their place back in society, who despise Iran and now the Shiites as well as us.

For the record,in case the author of that Huffington piece missed the news flash, it is IRANIAN weapons that are arming the Iraq militias. I would ask that same author exactly how many times he, himself, has been to Iraq to form these "expert" opinions?

The rest of the Huffington post runs along in the same manner.

Greenwald seems to take offense at the fact that Lieberman included Iran in his op-ed piece....I guess Greenwald also missed the newsflash that by supplying weapons to the Iraqi militias, Iran is in effect already KILLING AMERICAN SOLDIERS, as they have done in the past. Not to mention Iran's most recent comments about "Death to America", then again, why bother mentioning things that "support" Lieberman's article when you are mad at him for daring have a mind of his own and an opinion after visitng Iraq for 10 days. No, by all means, lets not speak to the FACTS, lets just vent because Lieberman isn't walking lockstep with the other Democrats and repeating their rhetoric as if he believed it. HOW DARE LIEBERMAN??????

Reaction from Daily Kos, which I rarely ever visit but decided to since I was showing the far left reactions, we find this:

Today, that manifests itself in his stance on the war. He's the Democrat who'll bash Democrats, and provides the "bi" fig leaf in "bipartisanship," when that fig leaf becomes necessary to sell outlandish idiocies like escalating the Iraq war in the face of 89% public opposition.

I have to wonder how many of that 89% that Kos quotes has actually BEEN to Iraq, have actually spoken to the Colonels and how many have gotten their opinions by reading the NYT, AP articles or watching CNN, which by the way, to the left wing lunatics that are reading this...did ya know that CNN is now offering the "sniper video" (enemy propagnada) on CNN on Demand?

You should run right out and order it, quickly, to help CNN make MONEY off of a video showing snipers taking out our military. Right up your alley I bet.

Legal Fiction follows along in the same vein:

Not to get lost in the trees, the point here is that Lieberman is consciously misleading people to advocate a failed policy that will get more people killed. If someone wants to make an honest case about how escalation can help in light of inter-and-intra-ethnic civil war, fine. I will disagree but we can debate it. But to advocate for it by transforming Iraq into a fairy tale morality play with Iran as villain should not be tolerated.

See a pattern here? It seems ALL of the far left missed the newsflash about iran supplying weapons to the Iraqi militia!! Do we really believe they missed it? Or is it more likely, they cannot admit it, because to admit the fact of the danger Iran poses would not fit in with their "political message", now would it?

Last but not least we have Matthew Yglesias who is following the same pattern as the rest:

And what about al-Qaeda? Lieberman appears to be arguing later in the article that Iran and al-Qaeda are collaborating in Iraq since otherwise it's hard to make sense of the claim that "If Iraq descends into full-scale civil war, it will be a tremendous battlefield victory for al-Qaeda and Iran. Iraq is the central front in the global and regional war against Islamic extremism." Needless to say, he's backing the Bush/McCain escalation plan.

Here are a few posts showing exactly HOW dangerous Iran is, on one page.

All in all the basic theme is that no one on the other side of the aisle has any clue how to achieve success, and they surely never will because all they want to do is admit defeat, see America defeated.

The right side of the aisle has made mistakes and will continue to make them, because this is war and mistakes have been made in every war in our history: Example- World WarII, but at least people like Lieberman understand the ramifications of losing this battle. The left/Dems, might understand those ramifications, if they do.....they simply do not care, otherwise they wouldn't be so quick to suggest we tuck our tail between our legs and run away crying.

Reactions from the right side of the aisle, the conservatives and even moderates.

The Raw Story:

"On one side are extremists and terrorists led and sponsored by Iran, on the other moderates and democrats supported by the United States," the Senator continues. "Iraq is the most deadly battlefield on which that conflict is being fought. How we end the struggle there will affect not only the region but the worldwide war against the extremists who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001."

In August 2006, Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary to challenger Ned Lamont but defeated him in the general election, criticized Lamont's Iraq exit strategy by saying, "If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do ... it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England." Lamont responded, "That comment sounds an awful lot like Vice President Cheney's comment... Both of them believe our invasion of Iraq has a lot to do with 9/11."

Seems the word winnable doesn't make heads explode on the other side of the aisle. In fact, just the opposite....we believe victory IS attainable and we understand the dangers that Iran poses, not just to Israel, not just to us, but to the Middle East and to the world.

From Lebanon to Iraq, Iran has their hands in things, stirring up chaos and some people would rather close their eyes to that threat than to acknowledge it.

The Moderate Voice wishes to win:

Yes this war has been mismanaged, it is inconvenient, and it is expensive. And yes we may lose it still. But I can't support abandoning so many millions of people that WE put in harms way by surrendering them to ethnic cleansing. I feel shame when the most powerful society in history abandoned so many freedom loving southeast Asians after the Vietnam War, when we ignore those in Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia and other killing fields.

I would be willing to pay higher taxes and volunteer once a week in a military base to allow trained soldiers to go over there, because I believe this is necessary and worth the sacrifice.

Good for him!!!

Ankle Biting Pundits "gets it":

No opening paragraph of any Op-Ed I have ever read better represents my exact thinking on any issue than the lead of Sen. Joe Lieberman’s piece in this morning’s WaPo titled, “Why We Need More Troops in Iraq”:

I’ve just spent 10 days traveling in the Middle East and speaking to leaders there, all of which has made one thing clearer to me than ever: While we are naturally focused on Iraq, a larger war is emerging. On one side are extremists and terrorists led and sponsored by Iran, on the other moderates and democrats supported by the United States. Iraq is the most deadly battlefield on which that conflict is being fought. How we end the struggle there will affect not only the region but the worldwide war against the extremists who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001.

There are very few politicians in Washington—especially among Democrats, which Lieberman remains at heart—who get it like this guy does. Lieberman wants more troops in Baghdad and Anbar province to establish security, which, in turn, will help the fledgling democracy in Iraq flower. He is spot on.

Op For wins Title of the day for hs post: "Sen Lieberman on Iraq: Lets fight to win."

There are a few points I take issue with, but on the whole it says much of what needs to be said, and it comes at a particularly critical moment in our history, as we change parties in Congress. It talks of victory, and of the need for courage and steadfastness.

I leave you with this, which needs to be echoed and trumpeted throughout the country and especially in DC, "In Iraq today we have a responsibility to do what is strategically and morally right for our nation over the long term -- not what appears easier in the short term. The daily scenes of death and destruction are heartbreaking and infuriating. But there is no better strategic and moral alternative for America than standing with the moderate Iraqis until the country is stable and they can take over their security. Rather than engaging in hand-wringing, carping or calls for withdrawal, we must summon the vision, will and courage to take the difficult and decisive steps needed for success and, yes, victory in Iraq. That will greatly advance the cause of moderation and freedom throughout the Middle East and protect our security at home."

Well said!!!

Protein Wisdom pretty much sums up my feelings on what I am seeing from the left today:

In his opinion piece in the WaPo today, Independent Senator from Connecticut Joe Lieberman says the *gasp!* V-Word! He’s so over the line he’s, he’s . . . why, he’s trans-neoconic! If you’ve no better source of entertainment today, you can watch the sinistrosphere go ballistic over the temerity of the man.

Nothing about Iraq is amusing,well other than the soldiers incredible sense of humor with that picture that went viral after Kerry's supposed "botched" joke, but the lefts reactions here are so predictable, it IS kinda funny.

Blue crab Boulevard:

Read the whole thing. My son and I were talking the other day about troop levels. Frankly, there should have been more on the ground sooner. That is looking back with 20/20 hindsight, of course. It is vital right now not to simply abandon the Middle East to Iran's ambitions. Yet that is what some want to do.

What I do not understand and perhaps never will, is there should be a couple things that both sides of the aisle agree on, yet it seems they don't. Conservatives understand that Iran is perhaps one of the worse threats in todays world and that victory in Iraq is essential.

The Liberals HAVE to know who and what Iran is and how dangerous they are, yet they refuse to admit it. I wonder if it is just their readers they are telling lies to or if they actually, really, think that Iran is not a threat.

They also cannot fathom the thought that Bush has certainly made mistakes in this war on terror, but it IS winnable.

What is it about liberals that they cannot stand the thought of America actually WINNING the war on terror. Would they rather sit back and wait for another attack like 9/11.

Iraq did not attack us on 9/11, but facts show that Iraq DID offer protection to al-Qaeda members in the years before 9/11....if that isn't the bottomline in "states that sponsor or aid terror", what is?

Keep up with the discussions over at memeorandum.

Open Trackback Weekend.


Trackposted to Pet's Garden Blog, Rightwing Guy, Perri Nelson's Website, The HILL Chronicles, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Don Surber, Adam's Blog, stikNstein... has no mercy, Pirate's Cove, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, The Bullwinkle Blog, and Dumb Ox News, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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The Death of a Dictator

[UPDATE] JUST announced, I will try to get ou a link when it shows up, but Fox is reporting that it has been confirmed that Saddam Hussein will be handed over TODAY, within the next 24 hrs to Iraqi authorities for execution. [End Update]

[UPDATE #2] 8:57 am- CNN is reporting that Saddams Lawyers have been asked to make arrangements to have his personal effects picked up.[End Update #2]

[UPDATE #3] 11:06 am- Saddam Hussein has been handed over to the Iraqi's for execution and the Judge states he will be executed by Saturday.[End Update]

[UPDATE #4] 12:42 pm- Now Fox is reporting that "some" official has stated Saddam is officially still in US custody. (I am beginning to think that this conflicting information is coming to us purposely. If no one is SURE exactly where Saddam Hussein is, it will be harder for his sympathizers to try to stage some sort of protest or jailbreak.) [End Update]

[UPDATE #5] This time the word is that Saddam meets his fate 9 pm central time.

[UPDATE #6] IRAQ the Model is updating as this unfolds. (6:07pm)Fox is reporting that the official witnesses are all gathering.

[UPDATE #7] 8:45pm-

"Petitioner Hussein's application for immediate, temporary stay of execution is denied," U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said after a hearing over the telephone with attorneys.

Click here to read the request.

Hussein's lawyers filed the court challenge late Friday night, giving the judge just hours to act before the execution was expected to be carried out. [End UPDATE]

MSNBC is announcing that Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday.

The hanging could take place as early as Friday, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.

The U.S. military received a formal request from the Iraqi government to transfer Saddam to Iraqi authorities, NBC reported on Thursday, which is one of the final steps required before his execution. His sentence, handed down last month, ordered that he be hanged within 30 days.

Hot Air points out that there are few reports that are conflicting with the MSNBC report.

Then we have a completely ridiculous piece of opinion from the NYT claiming that there is a rush to hang Saddam.

My personal feelings on death sentences aside, it is three years, I would hardly call that a rush. Iraqi law states, from what we have been told so far, that a death sentence must be carried out within 30 days. To further complicate the situation there are sever security issues for the US, who is holding Saddam and the Iraqi's in carrying out this sentence.

Other wish to claim the trial was not fair...I ask why? Because it is not how we conduct a trial? Does bringing democracy to Iraq mean that they must run their country EXACTLY the way we run ours? Or is it simply bringing a level of civility to a country that has lived under a tyrant for so long?

This trial was conducted under some very harsh circumstances, difficult for those actively participating in the trial. One example was the judge who had his brother in law killed. These people managed to hold a trial, produce a verdict and plan to carry out the sentence. Kudos to them for that!

People have been debating the issue of death sentences for years, all around the world and I am sure we will continue to do so. So be it.

I do believe, putting my own issues with any death penalty aside, that for some Iraqi's this will give them a sense of closure that nothing else could. These people lived under Saddam's rule from July 16, 1979 until April 9, 2003. That is a long time to live under the conditions that they were forced to live under... Just ask the Kurds.

Jules Crittenden has a great piece that shoud be read where he talks about what it was like for him in Iraq.

It's an odd thing, to be in your 40s, and yet to feel as though you've only just been born. Into this world of war. Saddam means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, Saddam will always be tied to that kid in the ditch among the date palms at al-Hindiyah. A young soldier with a bullet through the side of his face, his eyes open, staring at nothing.

They were Tikritis, the Nebuchadnazzer Division of the Republican Guard, and they died for Saddam. Saddam didn't have the decency to die for them, when he crawled out of his hole in December 2003, proclaiming himself the President of Iraq.

This is a monster, if there is, in fact, evil in this world, Saddam represents it in its harshest form. I find it hard to celebrate any death, but Iraq needs a sense of closure and perhaps this will be the start.

We may see some extreme violence from Saddam's supporters at first, but I believe that after the initial temper tantrums, Iraq will be better off knowing that Saddam is gone and will not somehow pop back up and violently rule again.

For almost 24 years the iraq's were ruled with violence, genocide and had chemical warfare waged on them from their own ruler. Is it any wonder that it is taking more than a few years to counter this and teach them that their is life without tyranny?

I said once that you cannot just hand people that have been under a dictators rule for 20+ years, freedom, and expect them to know what to do with it. They need to be taught and some are learning. Maybe not fast enough for some people but it IS happening.

Captain's Quarters reaction:

As I am opposed to the death penalty in civilian courts, Saddam's execution presents an interesting challenge. Michael Stickings says he cannot support the death penalty under any circumstances, but I think there is a large distinction between civil death sentences and those under wartime and genocidal conditions. The execution of spies and saboteurs, for instance, offers a deterrence to those who would commit those acts during wartime, and the elimination of that as an assured result of capture would create a flood of saboteurs and spies, especially if they received the same treatment as POWs. Similarly, genocidal tyrants tried by their own people and executed for their crimes serve as an example for other tyrants to fear -- and it removes the jailed tyrant as a focus for restoration, a situation that history has proven to be dangerous to recovering societies.

That is what I am hoping. If any good can come from any execution, I would say this is the one.

Goodbye Saddam and good riddance to bad rubbish.

Others discussing this:
bRight & Early, GINA COBB, QandO, Blue Crab Boulevard, TalkLeft, Wizbang, Hot Air, Macsmind, A Blog For All, Pam's House Blend, Daily Pundit and Bill's Bites

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Pissed off is an understatement...

CNN, the Communist News Network, has done it yet again. They have slapped the United States military in the face.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin and Return of the Conservatives for this one.

I tend to try to maintain a civil tongue when I do my writings. This time, fuck it.

What in the HELL does CNN think they are doing putting their "sniper video" up for video on demand? Do they have that little respect for our troops and their families? I don't know which commie kissing asshole over there is responsible for this, but by GOD I'd love to see an airplane wheel fall on them right about now.



Due to a technical problem on my end,the graphic might not show here so click here to see the snapshot of the CNN on Demand sniper video offerings.



Chase Bank is sponsoring this atrocity. Call them and tell them what you think of this bullshit at (212) 270-6000.

Contact CNN CNN [(404) 827-1500] or use their contact form at http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?4 or http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4a.html?1 and tell them to take this OFF of their on Demand.



What utter disrespect and contempt they show. Bastards.

Once and always, an American Fighting Man (and with shit like this going on, you can see why I still am...)

[UPDATE] - I have been thinking lately that with all the conservative blogs that link to CNN and AP stories, even to point out their distortions, they are recieving quite a number of hits/traffic JUST from us. Considering how many different venues of media there are, it would definitely hit them and their sponsors if NO ONE linked to them or their stories at all, but used alternate sources for our posts. Remember, they COUNT on traffic to click on their sponsor links for additional monies to the companies.

Just something to think on. [End update]

OPEN TRACKBACK WEEKEND @ Wake up America.


Trackposted to Pet's Garden Blog, Rightwing Guy, Perri Nelson's Website, The HILL Chronicles, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Don Surber, Pirate's Cove, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, The Bullwinkle Blog, and Dumb Ox News, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.


Previously:
Communist News Network (CNN)
Enemy Propaganda from our media.


Tracked back by:
Somali Capitol Of Mogadishu Falls from Rightwing Guy...
The Knucklehead of the Year award- Academia.... from The Florida Masochist...
Girl Power! Christmas is about Mary, too... Dumb from Dumb Ox News...
Newsflash: Saddam Receives Suspended Sentence from Blue Star Chronicles...
Russell's Paradox and the Execution of Saddam Huss from Planck's Constant...
HappY NeW YeaR OpenTrackback Weekend from Woman Honor Thyself...
Time is ticking away for Saddam from The HILL Chronicles...
Another Kremlin Critic in the Litvinenko Mess from Perri Nelson's Website...
Saddam will soon be dead from Mark My Words...
The Butcher is Dead from Perri Nelson's Website...
Saddam executed for crimes against humanity from The HILL Chronicles...
Swingin'... from The World According To Carl...
What a journalism degree gets you from Mark My Words...
Why I Will Fight from Rightwing Guy...
The Knucklehead of the Day award from The Florida Masochist...
The Knucklehead of the Year award- Law Enforcement from The Florida Masochist...
Another Madrid bombing from The Florida Masochist...
Last Open Trackback of the Year from The Right Nation...


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2004 or 2006? Woodward or DeFrank?

In an interesting article from New York Daily News, Thomas DeFrank tells of his last meeting with Gerald Ford and their discussion on Iraq.

Ford was a few weeks shy of his 93rd birthday as we chatted for about 45 minutes. He'd been visited by President Bush three weeks earlier and said he'd told Bush he supported the war in Iraq but that the 43rd President had erred by staking the invasion on weapons of mass destruction.

"Saddam Hussein was an evil person and there was justification to get rid of him," he observed, "but we shouldn't have put the basis on weapons of mass destruction. That was a bad mistake. Where does [Bush] get his advice?"

This account from 2006 differs quite a bit from Woodward's claims and reporting on his talk with Gerald Ford back in 2004.

First though the headline of the article states: Ford Disagreed with Bush about Invading Iraq. Then IN the article it states that Ford did not agree with the "justification" that was given for going into Iraq and that he wouldn't have done it had he been president.

What it then comes to is credibility. I did a piece on Woodward once before showing his lack of integrity, long before this article and this issue.

In it it shows that Woodward will go to any lengths to promote book sales, even if distortions are part of that bargain.

As I stated in my previous piece:

Let us not forget Woodward's role in the Plame scandal.

Woodward emerged as central figure in the leak of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson in November. For the better part of two years, Woodward had publicly discounted the importance of the Plame Wilson leak and had referred to Fitzgerald as a "junkyard dog" prosecutor in interviews during the course of the investigation. He then revealed in November that he had been told about Plame Wilson's CIA employment in June 2003 - before any other journalist.

News of his deposition sparked the latest round of debate about his status at the Post. One reporter described Woodward on an internal Post message board as the “800-pound elephant among us,” adding: ‚“I admire the hell out of Bob, but this looks awful.

Other credibility issues that has followed Woodward around are easy enough to find:

The narrative, reporting-driven style of Woodward's books also draws criticism for rarely making conclusions or passing judgment on the characters and actions that he recounts in such detail. Didion concluded that Woodward writes "books in which measurable cerebral activity is virtually absent," and finds the books marked by "a scrupulous passivity, an agreement to cover the story not as it is occurring but as it is presented, which is to say as it is manufactured."

Brad DeLong has also noticed strong inconsistencies between the accounts of the making of Clinton economic policy described both in Woodward's book Maestro and his book The Agenda. Didion, meanwhile, complains about inconsistencies even within the same book. On page 16 of The Choice, she notes, Clinton complains about Dole using the Whitewater scandal to attack him the day after his mother passed away. But on page 346, Dole says "he had never used Whitewater to attack the president personally."

Woodward has credibility issues, old ones and newer ones and to use the words of Ford in any way he chooses to spin them, when Ford is not around anymore to verify OR correct him, is a new low, even for Woodward.

Now as to DeFrank's interview, which I will repeat was done in 2006, I can fully understand Ford's comments about the WMD's. With the amount of sanctions on Iraq and Hussein, the genocidal activities Saddam Hussein ordered, which now he will be hanged for, among a dozen other things, were reason enough to go in and take him down. WMD's did not have to be part of that.

With that said, we know that only 10% of the WMD suspected sites have been searched, so although many would like to claim there are no WMD's in Iraq, is patantly false, just as if someone claimed there were definitely WMD's in Iraq, that too would be patantly false.

Until ALL the suspected sites have been searched, neither side can prove either allegation.

I will leave you with the end of the interview that DeFrank had with Gerald Ford, because at this juncture it should be Ford's words, thoughts and feelings as well as his career that should be talked about.....time later for the rest, for now let us show a little respect for a good and kind man.

Toward the end, Ford showed a sentimentality I'd rarely seen in him. We reminisced a lot about the Air Force Two days, when just five reporters and a vice president desperate to hold his beloved Republican Party together amid the wreckage of Watergate hurtled around the country in a twin-engine Convair propjet so slow we dubbed it Slingshot Airways.

He talked about how he regretted that his "magnificent" mother hadn't lived to see her son Leslie King become the 38th President. He misted over when he remembered how much he loved his adoptive father, so much that he took his name, Gerald R. Ford.

"When I wake up at night and can't sleep," he mused in a voice suddenly far away, "I remember Grand Rapids."

Suddenly, the hairs on my arms stood on edge, as they have done again each time I remember that powerful moment. Now I knew why he'd finally invited me to lunch.

In his typically gentle, understated way, Jerry Ford was telling me goodbye.

Good bye Mr. President, as I said yesterday, may you rest in peace.

Others discussing this:
Power Line, Captain's Quarters, Sister Toldjah, Right Wing Nut House, On Deadline, The Sundries Shack, Washington Post, Sweetness & Light, Macsmind, jules crittenden, Ed Driscoll.com, PrairiePundit and Don Surber

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