bismi-lLahi-rRahmani-rRahiem
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
=== News Update ===
Hanging Saddam will only make him more popular
Khalid Taha
From the recent demonstrations against his death sentence, it has become very obvious that Saddam has an increasingly large number of supporters in the country despite his downfall, says Khalid Taha.
November 12, 2006
It is unbelievable how short sighted the US administration can be. Don’t advisers inform the President and his staff of the mess they have caused in Iraq and of the negative counter effect their policies are having on US interests?
Is it possible that their ambassador to Baghdad and their CIA men in Iraq are not telling them how dangerous the whole situation is on the ground? Shouldn’t the US take advice from Britain on Iraq instead of the other way round? After all, the British seem to know the country better and they are certainly facing less trouble in the south.
From the onset of the invasion, mistake followed mistake: the dismantling of the Iraqi army and ministries, the unnecessary destruction of the country’s infrastructure, the excessive bombings that killed innocent civilians and destroyed their houses – all of those actions had a strong effect on the reaction of the people of Iraq.
In dealing with the angry response of the Iraqi people, the US forces have committed further atrocities. Haphazard shootings at civilians, humiliating and terrorising arrests and detentions (mostly based on suspicions) and later torture, have all added further fuel to an already blazing situation.
These actions, followed by scandals like that of Abu Ghraib prison, have greatly dented the already vulnerable reputation of an invading country. It became hard to maintain that the United States is interested in the welfare of the Iraqi people and in the promotion of democracy.
Iraqis have seen worse days from the US forces in 3 years than what they had endured under Baath rule for 30 years. Many of them do not see justice in Saddam’s trial, where he is to be hanged for executing 128 Iraqis following an assassination attempt on his life, yet today’s Iraq, the Iraq of Prime Minister Al Malliki under foreign occupation, witnesses the death of around 300 people a day. In fact, many point out that at least those 128 people had some sort of a trial where as now people are getting killed in horrid ways without even knowing why.
In fact, many of those who once were fervent critics of Saddam Hussein are beginning to miss the 'good old days’ under his rule whenever comparisons with post-Saddam Iraq are made. Whatever their view of Saddam may be, almost all Iraqis agree that the situation now is incomparably worse than it was prior the US-led 2003 invasion. Never before did the people of Iraq face such a level of atrocities.
This has certainly brought great disillusionments to their 'freedom and democracy’ expectations. In post-2003 Iraq basic requirements like water and electricity have become very scarce. Even the slight superficial improvement in the economical situation could not be credited to the US; it was the US, after all, who pushed for severe UN sanctions against the country which only harmed the people of Iraq.
There is also a growing wide mistrust of the current Iraqi government who is perceived as ultra corrupt, an image which they share with their US backers. One day, they blame all misgivings on the insurgents, branding them as 'terrorists’, while the next day they are seen seeking negotiations with their representatives in Amman and elsewhere.
The fact there is such a strong resistance reflects the high level of rejection to the presence of foreign occupying powers. Not all of the ever increasing resistance is pro-Saddam, however the court’s handling of Saddam’s case will certainly increase sympathy towards him from ordinary people and insurgent groups that never originally liked him to begin with.
From the recent demonstrations against his death sentence, it has become very obvious that Saddam has an increasingly large number of supporters in the country despite his downfall. In fact, despite the Chalabi sponsored 'de-baathification’, Saddam’s party has remained strong even after being outlawed, and its followers are making a strong comeback to the scene.
There is no questioning the motives behind key governmental figures to insist on Saddam’s death penalty; they vary from taking personal vengeance to appearing to have a say in today’s Iraq. However, they all fail to see that by insisting on the death penalty, they are only increasing Saddam’s popularity inside and outside Iraq.
Khalid Issa Taha is Chairman of Lawyers Without Borders, and vice president of the British Iraqi Lawyers Association. He can be reached via e-mail at: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
source:
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m28207&hd=&size=1&l=e
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-muslim voice-
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BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW
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