The Arabist

The Arabist

By Issandr El Amrani and friends.

Saddam Hussein hanged

I really wish that they didn't bother with that ridiculous trial and just killed him when they found him, as they did with Uday and Qusay Hussein. And so much for those people who predicted an endless appeal process.

I do regret, however, that more information was not obtained out of Saddam Hussein. About his life, his regime, his relationship with various countries. He would have been a fascinating source of information for regional historians. A real trial, at the International Criminal Court, the Hague or elsewhere, would have yielded real, valuable information.

The Telegraph has an interesting account of the hanging, although it's not clear whether it's first-hand or not. Angry Arab has an interesting, long, paragraph break free rumination on Saddam's death, including some well placed criticism of al-Jazeera's melancholy coverage (it was also poor coverage, they got the news late since they are not allowed to operate in Iraq officially). I really tire of seeing, as I did in the Nasserist Egyptian rag al-Arabi a few weeks ago, odes to Saddam Hussein "al-batal" (the hero.) It's pathetic. I hear Abdel Bari Atwan did something similar a few days ago. What is it that Arab "nationalists" and some leftists have for other Arab countries' dictators? Probably simply that over the years many of them took money from them.
I'm off to read Neil MacFarquhar's long obit in the NYT...