Tag: Saddam Hussein

It was six years ago today that Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a spider hole. Mark Green, an Army physician assigned the duty of sitting him, provides his recollections. More from Dr. Green in an interview here.

FBI Special Agent George Piro spent 7 hours a day for 8 months with Saddam Hussein after his capture. The goal: to get him to confess to crimes and get information out of him.

He didn't use torture. He used friendship.

Instead of bright lights, loud music or waterboarding, the Beirut-born Arabic speaker - who immigrated to the U.S. as a teen - built a rapport with the dictator nabbed in a spider hole. He treated him with respect and took care of his every need.

And, he got results. Piro's account is contained in a new pro-Administration book, "The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack."

Until 9/11, Saddam thought UN sanctions would go away and he could make a nuclear bomb. His prewar weapons of mass destruction deceptions were a ruse to convince Iran - whom he feared - that he had an arsenal.

Other disclosures:

Iraqi officials says they have made an arrest in the investigation into who recorded a video Saddam Hussein's execution on a cell phone.

The adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, did not identify the person. But he said it was "an official who supervised the execution" and who is "now under investigation."

Cell phones were confiscated before the execution. They believe some were smuggled in by bodyguards of those present.

Munqith al-Faroon, an Iraqi prosecutor present at the execution says he witnessed two observers using their cell phones to take pictures of the execution. He didn't know them by name but says he could identify them.

The Guardian has this obituary for Saddam Hussein. The Times Online has another. The BBC obituary is here.

President Bush stayed up past his bedtime to release this statement insisting falsely that Saddam got a fair trial.

Worst headline: From Australia, "Iraqis Dance as Saddam Swings".

European leaders focus their comments on the death penalty.

Now what? More war, as usual, more U.S. soldiers will die, more billions of our dollars will be spent and we are not one bit safer.

We are all tainted by the vengeance in our name.

Joel Layden of the Israel News Agency:

Many news media are now reporting on the fine details of what is a hanging. Providing minute by minute accounts of what would happen if the rope was too short or too long. Are we as a civilized Western world any different from the crowds that gathered to watch the French Guillotine at work or the hangman's noose in the old US West?

What distinguishes us from the Islamic terrorists that we fight is that we cherish life.
Yes, in war we can be more barbaric using pyschops as good if not better than the enemy by hanging blood dripping heads on wooden sticks. But do we need now to place Saddam's head on a wooden stick? Will video of his hanging decrease conflict or increase it in the Middle-East?

Arab TV reports Saddam Hussein was executed ten minutes ago.

U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 2,993 today.

Saddam's death won't bring one of them back.

11:50 pm MT: Witnesses say it was quick.

"It was very quick. He died right away," one of the official Iraqi witnesses said. The former president's face was uncovered, he appeared calm and said a brief prayer as Iraqi policemen walked him to the gallows and put the noose round him, the witness said.

10:00 pm MT: Saddam has been hanged.

8:00 pm MT: Saddam has arrived at execution site. The hanging will take place within minutes.

7:51 pm: Final arrangements are in place.

Saddam Hussein will be hooded with hands tied behind his back. Government and religious officials, a lawyer and a doctor will act as witnesses. The execution will be filmed to provide proof of his death.

7:05 pm. A federal judge in DC has denied Saddam's request for stay. You heard it here first. Here's the order.

7:00 pm MT: CNN reports Iraqi officials say he will hang within the hour.

6:33 pm MT: AP is reporting (incorrectly) Saddam's request for stay has been denied. It's not showing on the court docket sheet yet, I'll upload the order when it appears. CNN just confirms the AP was wrong, there has been no ruling.

Amnesty International after the death verdict of Saddam Hussein:

"This trial should have been a major contribution toward establishing justice and the rule of law in Iraq, and in ensuring truth and accountability for the massive human rights violations perpetrated by Saddam Hussein's rule," said Malcolm Smart, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "In practice, it has been a shabby affair, marred by serious flaws that call into question the capacity of the tribunal, as currently established, to administer justice fairly, in conformity with international standards."

The AP is reporting:

A top Iraqi official said Saddam will be executed before 6 a.m. Saturday, Baghdad time, or 10 p.m. Friday EST.

I'm checking the District of Columbia docket and as of 5:17 pm, there has been no order issued on the stay of execution request yet.

I have uploaded the stay request here.

With Saddam's execution set for hours from now, I'm going to switch to a single execution watch thread, rather than keep posting separate entries.

Saddam has been transferred to Iraqi custody.

Saddam Hussein has been transferred from U.S. custody, his lawyers said, and an Iraqi judge authorized to attend the former dictator's hanging said he would be executed no later than Saturday.

The physical hand-over of Saddam to Iraqi authorities was believed to be one of the last steps before he was to be hanged, although the lawyers' statement did not specifically say Saddam was in Iraqi hands.

"A few minutes ago we received correspondence from the Americans saying that President Saddam Hussein is no longer under the control of U.S. forces," according to the statement faxed to The Associated Press.

"Saddam will be executed today or tomorrow," said Munir Haddad, a judge on the appeals court that upheld Saddam's death sentence. "All the measures have been done."

Saddam was provided a jail house visit with his brothers today.

His execution will be taped by the Iraqi authorities.

There seems to be some disagreement about whether he will be executed this weekend.

He may be turned over to Iraqi authorities by Sunday. A religious holiday may prevent his execution before next week.

Saddam Hussein remains in a U.S. military prison. Today, his lawyers are asking the U.S. not to hand him over to the Iraqis for execution, saying it would be a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

"According to the international conventions it is forbidden to hand a prisoner of war to his adversary," Saddam's lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said in Amman, Jordan.

"I urge all the international and legal organizations, the United Nations secretary-general, the Arab League and all the leaders of the world to rapidly prevent the American administration from handing the president to the Iraqi authorities," he told The Associated Press.

An official close to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that Saddam would remain in a U.S. military prison until he is handed over to Iraqi authorities on the day of his execution.

al-Dulaimi also says the sectarian violence in Iraq will escalate it Saddam is executed.