Sunni's demonstrate against the disrespect shown their leader.
Taunting Saddam
Iraq to Review Abusive Acts at Hussein's Execution: New York Times, By JOHN F. BURNS and JAMES GLANZ: January 3, 2007, BAGHDAD.
Iraq's Shiite-led government said Tuesday that it had ordered an investigation into the abusive behavior at the execution of Saddam Hussein, who was subjected to a battery of taunts by official Shiite witnesses and guards as he awaited his hanging.
Officials said a three-man Interior Ministry committee would look into the scenes that have caused outrage and public demonstrations among Mr. Hussein's Sunni Arab loyalists in Iraq, and widespread dismay elsewhere, especially in the Middle East. In an unofficial cell phone video recording that was broadcast around the world and posted on countless Web sites, Mr. Hussein is shown standing on the gallows platform with the noose around his neck at dawn on Saturday, facing a barrage of mockery and derision from unseen tormentors below the gallows.
As the shock of those scenes reached a new crescendo in Iraq, American officials said that they had worked until the last hours of Mr. Hussein's life to persuade Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to delay the execution. The officials, who spoke on condition that they not be identified, said they appealed to Mr. Maliki not to execute Mr. Hussein at dawn on Saturday because of the onset of a major Islamic festival, and because of constitutional and legal questions that the Americans believed threw the legitimacy of the execution into doubt.
A Politically Correct War
This is another indication to me that the United States, and in particular, George Bush and his advisors, are waging and will always wage a politically correct war in Iraq.
This, to me, is a major reason why we are losing.
We are afraid to offend the people that continue to support Saddam Hussein.
American Concerns
For Bush and his advisors, there are two points of concern about the Saddam execution. First, that legal matters were not followed completely in the haste to execute Saddam. Second, that Saddam was subjected to disrespect as he went to his death.
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On the first point, I am not an expert on the law, so I'll demure to legal experts on this matter. Yes, I do want law to rule in Iraq. Yes, it was important to get the execution of Saddam right legally. I believe, though, there were other considerations, which I'll get to.
On the second point, I believe it's possible to show theoretical respect for the office of the presidency of Iraq, and for the Sunni followers of Saddam, while at the same time making it clear that Saddam Hussein himself was a deservedly disgraced man.
Obviously, we don't want blatant disrespect being shown to our leaders, soldiers, prisoners and dead. So, following the Golden Rule, we want to treat even the condemned with dignity.
All this I agree with.
Speaking Truth to Power
On the other hand, we have moral obligations in addition to legal and humanitarian obligations. We have a moral obligation to say loud and clear, to Sunnis and Shias alike, and to the world, that Saddam Hussein was a scumbag, and that he deserved to die a thousand deaths.
This is what members of the "righteous" left call "speaking truth to power." I love the concept. The liberals of course think this applies only when an employee is a whistleblower at an oil company, or when a leftist speaks up about Republican corruption, or when a citizen "bravely" calls President Bush a warmonger. The concept of speaking truth to power, though, should be a universal one—a goal worth trying for in many situations.
In this case, the United States needs to speak truth to power by saying to the Sunnis that Saddam was an evil man and deserved to die. This is the truth, and it ought to be said, loud and clear, regardless of consequences. The Sunnis may riot. They may kill innocent human beings because of it. Then, their rioting and killing behavior is their responsibility, and not ours, and needs to be correctly labeled too, as murder and acts of cowardice.
Our Upside Down World
We live in a crazy world sometimes these days. Terrorists are allowed to disrespect us, torture us, murder us, and follow none of the Geneva Conventions, without getting criticized at all by the world—while we must respect the terrorists, avoid torture, not murder them, follow all the Geneva Conventions, yet still get called war criminals by the world and the left.
Our Moral Superiority
If we had been in charge of Saddam's trial, we would have conducted it over a period of about five years. Then, the appeals process would start. Saddam would still be in jail and would be sitting there for 20 years before and if he were ever executed. He would not have been hanged. He might not even have been executed by lethal injection since that, according to the newest leftist thinking, is cruel and unusual punishment.
Plus, if he ever were put to death under us, he would have not been taunted.
Fine, call us morally superior. I don't see it this way. I say we have lost our common sense. We have become so politically correct that we have lost our minds.
Why It's Good Saddam is Dead
One major reason for executing Saddam so quickly was to eliminate the very real threat of a coup attempt on Maliki, or a kidnapping and freeing of Saddam, where Saddam could again lead the Sunnis on a murderous path. The Maliki government needed Saddam dead, and it did the right thing by killing him quickly. Killing Saddam swiftly did mean that the death came right before a major Muslim festival—but notice it was done before the holy days, not during them.
They Should Have Been Nice to Saddam
As far as the taunting goes, yes, if we were in charge it would not have happened. Maybe it shouldn't have happened. After all, it might have interfered with Saddam's self-delusion of the 72 virgins awaiting him. Seriously, though, maybe it shouldn't have happened, but aren't you glad it did? Didn't he deserve it? Can't we understand the executioners' transgressions? The man had butchered their relatives. Maybe they were wrong for being impolite to Saddam, but wasn't it understandable?
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Moral Cowardice and a Polite War
It's okay for us to object to the legality of Saddam's execution and to the taunting, but not for the reasons we did it. We did it because we are afraid of a Sunni backlash. This is the same reason why we don't attack terrorists who hide in mosques, or insurgents who blend in with civilian populations. This is the same reason why we don't attack the enemy on Muslim holy days.
We are such good guys. We are the touchy feely warriors, sensitive to the feelings of the people we are trying to kill. Good for us.
Compare that with Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We won that war, remember? We weren't very nice. We called Japanese Japs and Germans krauts and did what we had to do to prevail. The results? We conquered our enemies. We saved the world, and we were lauded, universally. Even those we vanquished became our allies. Compare that to now. We are such "nice guys," following all the rules, being so polite. The results? We are losing. We are called warmongers.
America, speak truth to power always; and if you're going to fight a war, win.
Rock
(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)
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Hi Rock
ReplyDeleteI think the difference is - we weren't fighting for oil fields in WWII. Those days are long gone anyway. I know I am not alone in believing we never should have started the war in Iraq but certainly there are plenty who would agree with you. Have you ever had a look at the blog Samson Blinded A Machiavellian Perspective on the Middle East Conflict? I'm wondering what your opinion on that is. As always, wishing you well in 2007. Keep on blogging :)
Lexa, thanks as always for your wisdom and reasonable differing with me. I checked out Samsun Blinded and have bookmarked it because the guy is a deep thinker and I love that. I'll have to take some real time to study him though to come to any conclusions. He does seem to go for the essence of things, and the jugular--whether he has captured that essence or not I will see. He is so brutal I wonder what you think? I don't mind the brutality if it contains truth.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally for Machiavellianism in a Machivaellian world. I always think the trick of being a good, effective person is to maintain your innocence while still being willing to play rough. This is tricky. Usually either you lose your innocence, or you aren't willing to be tough enough. Or, like Saddam, you become a tyrant. I believe God, or whatever you believe rules the universe, demands of us that we be clever, tough, and good.
I don't claim to be all this any better than you or anyone else. I just think that is the goal.
Thanks for your comments, again, and you too--keep on blogging. Happy New Year.
Rock
Rock,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the saying if you are going to fight a war, win. However, the military has always respected religious holidays. In WW I, British and German soldiers actually came out of their trenches and celebrated Christmas and New Years with each other.
We can't win this war like we won World War II. This is a Low Intensity Conflict and won't be won by our tanks and B-2 Bombers. It's all hearts and minds. In that sense, we are losing. We can't show the Iraqi population that having rogue elements in their society only hurts them. All they know is that American soldiers are on their land and over the past 15 years, Americans have been the enemy that is always coming to get them. That point in time is here now.