R.I.P Saddam Hussein

NMyTree wrote:

I didn't say you were a mindless sheep or a bad person.

I'm asking what the difference is between Saddam's regime and his actions, and the actions of American leaders and the CIA ....in general terms. Not just this current Iraq war, but historically and through policies and actions, how are our American leaders better, different.....more justified?

Not you, But please notice all the posts, especially early on, that anyone who isnt bothered by capital punishment is either Primitive or just agreeing with it because the Government is telling us to.

I suppose there may not be that much difference. Im sure you could build a pretty convincing case against a number of our former leaders- Andrew Jackson being a good example. I imagine the difference is that in Iraq's regime, there was 1 person to hold accountable. one man who oversaw 25 years of these things, and in our system of supposed checks and balances, there are too many faces to go after for each decision.

know1 wrote:

Probably nothing!

I definitely see a lot of grey areas to many issues, but capital punishment is the one where it is closest to black and white to me. There is NO justification for killing someone that anyone can convince me about. NOTHING good comes from killing someone.

Well I agree. Probably not as vehemently as you but I agree. There is no "justification" for capital punishment. But I think that I can understand how some people kill others. I'm not saying they are right to do it but I understand it. The biggest problem that I have had with this thread so far is not that they killed Suddam, which was unfortunate, but that so many people seem so ready and happy to dance on his grave.

searchlightsoul wrote:

Just as an aside, no one I believe has been jailed for the genocoide in Cambodia which killed 2 million people. If America was really interested in justice one wonders why they never pursued Pol Pot and his conspirators or atleast assisted the UN?

This is a good analogy to the current situation. we executed Saddam for crimes committed 22 years ago. By the end of the Viet-Nam war, we were helping the enemy...after 60,000 of our boys were killed! Where's the justice for the 1.5 million Vietnamese that were killed?

The same place the justice for the Armenians and Kurds apparently has gone.

I'm not pro-Saddam, or anti-America...I am pro-conscience, pro-accountability, and anti-revisionist history. In America and as a people, we seem to have the short term memory of a goldfish, and the long term memory of an amoeba. Our own atrocities are not ever discussed. 1.5 million vietnamese, and at least 650,000 Iraqi civilians based on the research conducted by JHU, which was funded by MIT. These are two of the preeminent research institutions in America...if not the world.

The best the Bush Administration can do is say that the research "is not credible". Well, that's rich...coming from an administration that gave us a list of terrorist names without checking to make sure that a number of them weren't still ALIVE after 9/11. This from an administration that gave us WMD's in Iraq as justification for a unilateral invasion. Then, suggested that Hussein and Bin Ladin were in league...when it is widely known that Bin Ladin and Hussein were mortal enemies who would never work together under any circumstances. Interesting that this administration would flaunt credibility, while at the same time attempting to discredit two of its most revered research institutions...which are among the most prestigious and accmplished in the world.

Last night, we were shown pictures of Iraqi's dancing in the streets. Today, there is widespread violence across the entire country in Iraq, and there have been a few bombings in foreign countries. Most interesting.

Thanky

I should elaborate, the MIT/JHU study was only for Iraqi casualties. People are still getting blown up in Vietnam from left over landmines, but the 1.5 million casualties is a widely reported and accepted number from that engagement.

Im not surprised the same five people would come out against this monster's death. In our country the government kills people for murdering just one person. This guy killed hundreds of thousands of innocents. His swift justice may have actually saved lives. There are Baathistm, probably with remnants of Sadaam's wepons stocks surely participang is the mass bombings and would have been happy to have Sadaam alive. In the long run if his death means the extinguishment of the Baathist legacy of killing, then lives were probably saved by his death.

Byrnzie wrote:

The Baathtists now have a martyr that everyone recognises. There's already been a spate of angry protests and bombings across Iraq today. My opinion is that the violence will only increase with him dead as the Iraqis have now been handed another justification for they're hatred against the occupiers.
But then, perhaps this is now the point. Perhaps Bush et al wish to see the complete disintegration of the country.

your a sadaam apologist too

know1 wrote:

I do not believe there is any justification for taking anyone's life.

I understand people who are against capital punishment, and I can understand their views. But there is no way I can understand this view. I think it is morally bankrupt to not defend yourself or your family. That defense may have to include the taking of a life. In the face of kill or be killed would you chose to allow your family to die? In the face of kill or be killed would you chose your own death over the death of the scumbag attacking you?

angelica wrote:

I so agree.

i cant believe you actually edited to remove "the sheep nonsense".
Telling someone they cant think for themselves is equally as childish as "saddam apologist"