Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Oct. 3, 2001 said to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio, Every Time We Do Something You Tell Me America Will Do This & Will Do That...I Want to Tell You Something Very Clearly: Dont Worry About American Pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish People, Control America, & the Americans Know It. U.S. on Saddam:"Would Have Done It Differently" By Claudia Parsons http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070103/ts_nm/iraq_dc_97 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces had no role in Saddam Hussein's hanging, but would have handled it differently, a U.S. general said on Wednesday, after a video of Iraqi officials taunting him on the gallows sparked outrage among Sunni Arabs. Major General William Caldwell also urged the Iraqi government to reach out to disillusioned Sunni Arabs, who have warned that the execution and video are a blow to the Shi'ite- led government's efforts to foster national reconciliation. A government committee has been set up to investigate who filmed and leaked the illicit video that has fueled sectarian tensions and sparked international condemnation. Caldwell said U.S. forces, who had physical custody of Saddam for three years, left all security measures at Saddam's hanging, including access to the execution chamber, to Iraqis. Saddam was handed over at a holding cell nearby and U.S. forces then withdrew from the site where the hanging took place. "Had we been physically in charge at that point we would have done things differently," Caldwell told a news conference, reacting to criticism of the execution that embarrassed U.S. officials as well as moderate Shi'ite and ethnic Kurds. "At this point the government of Iraq has the opportunity to take advantage of what has occurred and really reach out now in an attempt to bring more people back into the political process and bring the Sunnis back," he said, singling out a need to ease restrictions on former members of Saddam's Baath party. "It's a real critical juncture." An unofficial video of the hanging, apparently filmed on a mobile phone, showed Shi'ite officials mocking Saddam just before he was hanged, inflaming sectarian passions in a country already on the brink of sectarian civil war. "We had absolutely nothing to do with the facility where the execution took place," Caldwell said. "It's a sovereign nation. It's their system, they make those decisions." SADDAM COURTEOUS Caldwell said Saddam had been courteous to his captors and thanked the guards and medical personnel who cared for him. The Iraqi government is investigating how somebody filmed the hanging and released the video to TV stations and Web sites. Some Arabic news channels reported on Wednesday that somebody had already been arrested. But Sami al-Askari, a senior aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said a committee set up by the government was making inquiries and would hand a report to the prime minister once it has completed its investigation. "The committee has no right to say 'Arrest this person or that person'. The decision about a punishment will be made by the prime minister," Askari told Reuters. The timing of the hanging, just four days after an appeal failed and on the first day of the Eid al-Adha religious holiday, shocked many, both in Iraq and in the rest of the Muslim world. U.S. and Iraqi officials say the U.S. ambassador tried to convince Maliki to delay the hanging. A senior U.S. official was quoted as saying Maliki was concerned that if Saddam was not hanged quickly he would somehow avoid the gallows. The official told the New York Times Maliki was worried insurgents would do something spectacular to stop the hanging. "His concern was security, and that ... maybe there would be a mass kidnapping to bargain for Saddam Hussein's release," the official said. "He was concerned that he might somehow get free." Prosecutor Munkith al-Faroon, heard appealing for order on the video, told Reuters on Tuesday that two senior officials had filmed the hanging, challenging government claims guards did it. On Wednesday, Faroon denied reports he had identified one of the officials as National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie. Contacted by Reuters, Rubaie denied filming the hanging. Rubaie confirmed that Iraqi officials had been concerned Saddam might escape justice if he was not hanged quickly. "The question is not 'Why the rush in the execution?' The question is 'Why the delay?"' Rubaie said. "The more the delay, the more protests and the more speculation. Some people were talking about the Americans, saying they might take him to one of these islands controlled by the United States and exile him there." Thousands of Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs have marched to vent anger at the execution in Sunni Arab strongholds. More mourners came to visit his grave in his home village of Awja on Wednesday, and other towns also saw further demonstrations. In Falluja, in western Iraq, posters were plastered on walls promising revenge for the "martyr" Saddam. In the video observers chant the name of Shi'ite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr as Saddam stands on the scaffold, appearing dignified in contrast to the uproar below him. (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Ibon Villelabeitia and Alastair Macdonald) AB [EMAIL PROTECTED] "For to us will be their return; then it will be for us to call them to account." (Holy Quran 88:25-26)
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