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Originally posted by UM_Gazz
After watching that video, the one thing I find striking is how utterly calm Saddam is. You'd think a man facing his moment of death would show more emotion, even fear, something, weak in the knees, anything but what he is seen doing.
Perhaps it is his strong Islamic faith? Or maybe he was totally resigned to his death.
The way he looks at his executioners and converses with them, it almost seems more like a rehearsal for the hanging than the actual event.
Without seeing the actual hanging, I'm afraid many will rightly question the claims of Saddam's death.
The video, first broadcast by Al Jazeera on Sunday, was captured on a mobile phone when Saddam was executed on Saturday.
Someone among the witnesses can be heard praising Muhammad Bakr al-Sadr, the founder of the Shia Dawa party and an uncle of Muqtada al-Sadr, who was executed in 1980 by Saddam.
"God damn you," a guard said.
"God damn you," replied Saddam.
Saddam appeared to smile at those taunting him from below the gallows. He said they were not showing manhood.
Then Saddam began reciting the Shahada, a Muslim prayer that says there is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger, according to an unabridged copy of the video clip, which was posted on a website.
Source Link
Originally posted by jaguarmike
By allowing the executioners to remain masked, and Saddam not to have a mask, he kept his dignity and his message lives on through his supporters.
Originally posted by Ram
Even though you have provided many links to this hanging thing.
I still find it disgusting - even though the man is a murder - I find it trivial sad that our humanity can't come up with anything better than killing.
I ain't gonna press the link or download any of those videos - because i find it disgusting to see a human being killed.
Hajj pilgrimage draws to a close
However, some pilgrims said the Hajj was marred by the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on Saturday.
Sunnis in particular took exception to it being carried out on the most important festival in the Islamic faith.
Saddam's Daughter Protests Execution
AMMAN, Jordan — Saddam Hussein's eldest daughter briefly attended a protest against her father's execution on Monday, her first public appearance since he was hanged.
Raghad Saddam Hussein stopped in at the demonstration staged by the Professional Associations — a body that groups unions for doctors, engineers and lawyers — in its office parking lot in west Amman.
Raghad, who supervised her father's legal team, has lived in Jordan since shortly after Saddam's overthrow in April 2003. The Jordanian authorities have told her not to get involved in political activities.
Sunni party office hit in U.S. raid in Iraq
Jan 1, 2007 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces said they were fired on from an office building belonging to a leading Sunni Arab politician during a raid on a suspected al Qaeda safehouse in Baghdad on Monday in which six insurgents were killed.
Saleh al-Mutlaq, an outspoken member of parliament whose Iraqi National Dialogue group is part of the U.S.-backed political process, said U.S. forces had targeted his office, killing two security guards and wounding two more.
SUNNI GRIEF, ANGER FLOW AT FUNERAL
BAGHDAD — Hundreds of supporters of Saddam Hussein broke curfew Sunday to pay respects at the tomb of the toppled Iraqi president, who was buried before daybreak in the small northern town where he was born.
At the funeral in Al Auja and across the Arab world, Hussein's fellow Sunni Muslims expressed outrage at his chaotic final moments, revealed in grainy footage circulated widely on the Internet and on television showing his execution at dawn Saturday in Baghdad.
The video, which appears to have been recorded with a cellphone, showed onlookers taunting Hussein with chants of "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" a reference to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr, whose Al Mahdi militia is accused of hunting down Sunni Arabs and killing them. As the trapdoor snapped open beneath Hussein, some in attendance cheered, "The tyrant has fallen!"
St. Louis-area nurse recalls softer side of Saddam
Saddam told Ellis that cigars and coffee kept his blood pressure down, and it seemed to work. Saddam would insist that Ellis smoke with him.
At one point, Saddam went on a hunger strike, refusing to eat when the guards would slide food through the slot on the bottom of his door. But when they changed tactics and opened the door, he started eating again.
"He refused to be fed like a lion," Ellis said.
When he was allowed short visits outside, Saddam would feed the birds crusts of bread saved from his meals. He also watered a dusty plot of weeds.
"He said he was a farmer when he was young and he never forgot where he came from," Ellis said.
He said Saddam never gave him trouble, and didn't complain much – and if he did, it was usually legitimate.
"He had very good coping skills," Ellis said.
Click the link above to read the full article
Gregg: Saddam execution a triumph of democracy
Saddam Hussein's execution is a "triumph of the democratic process" in Iraq, according to U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg.
"Hussein was tried before an Iraqi court and the decision was brought down by the will of the Iraqi people," Gregg said in a statement.
Chris Reid, who served as legal counsel to former governor Craig Benson, worked with the Iraqi tribunal and was involved in the investigation into the crimes of the former Iraqi leader.
"I'm glad it's bringing closure to some of the victims," he said. "Saddam was a tyrant who really has no comparison."
Originally posted by interestedalways
Indeed. Nothing against those of you who watch it, but there is something about watching another person die that naturally repulses me. I hope I never get to where I can just watch death for the sake of death. Call me old fashioned, but some things the brain is better off not experiencing. But that is just my opinion. I'm probably wrong but it makes me feel safer to keep some things outside of my mental images