More reactions from Iraqi bloggers

Iraqi bloggers continue to respond to the execution of Saddam Hussein. Deviating somewhat from my practice in compiling the CotL, I’m also linking to the posts of a number of Iraqi ex-patriates.

Asterism

The Iraq Study Group report is hanging over his [ed. Bush’s] head like the Sword of Damocles. And after the split of the Sadrists from the Iraqi government, its unity is hanging by thread. The execution of Saddam Hussain will buy time. It placates the American public on one side and the Sadrists on the other. Saddam’s execution is a big smoke screen to hide an ugly policy.

An Iraqi Tear

After Execution of Saddam; Iraqis lost forever the relations that destroyed their country. Saddam was not sentenced to death because of 148 Iraqis were executed when they planned to assassinate him while visiting Dujail in 1982 when he was President; this sentence came to save the “face” of the White House and many Iraqi politicians who are now key players in Iraq.

She goes on at some length, not distinguishing between a legal execution following a trial and an assassination.

Eye Raki

Eye Raki transcribes exchange from the videotape of the execution:

As they are putting the rope on his neck, he says “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger”. After the rope is in place, the Iraqi’s send blessings on Prophet Mohammed and his family, and one of the Sadrists shouts “Moqtada, Moqtada, Moqtada” (its a Sadrist thing). Saddam smiles and says something you cant clearly hear because one of Iraqi’s shouts back “go to hell”. You can hear Saddam say “shame on you” just before someone says “Long Live Mohammed Baqer Al Sadr” and another says “go to hell” again. There is another voice which we hear for the first time repeatedly shouting “please…please”, its most likely an Iraqi official asking everyone to keep quiet. Saddam then repeats the words “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger”. He says it one more time before he drops but doesnt get time to finish his sentence…”There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed…” *trap door opens and he falls*. Immeiately after his neck snaps, people send blessings on Prophet Mohamemd and his family (without the ‘Moqtada’ dramatics this time) and shout “May Allah curse you” and “the dictator has fallen”. Then amid the darkness, someone takes a picture and you can clearly see Saddam still hanging from the rope.

Warning: graphic stills from videotape.

Iraq at a Glance

Lovely!
We get rid of a tyrant to glorify a retarded fat boy!
Can you imagine how strong Al-Sadr and Al- Hakim are getting? They are everywhere in the government and controlled almost everything.
Will the Shiites start seriously in building a destroyed country or follow their ugly new clerics and wait for their hidden twelfth Imam to emerge in the end times?!

Iraq the Model

Executing Saddam is an execution to a dark era in Iraq’s history and it’s a message to all those who followed his ways that there is no turning back; yes, the people will never kneel to a tyrant again and will never give up.

The future is in the hands of the people and they will choose their way no matter how big the sacrifice is.

We have suffered too much for too long and we deserve a better life and that we will keep pursuing.

IraqiGeek

Despite all the things he had done, I still didn’t want him to be executed. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for capital punishment, but in this case, I don’t think this was the proper course of action. I think he should have been imprisoned for the reminder of his life. For someone like Saddam who has a greatness complex, living imprisoned where everyone has the power to control his activities would have been much worse. He was so full of himself, and so used to being on the top and having everyone obey whatever he said would have been like torture. By executing him, I think the Iraqi government did him a huge favor.

Me vs. Myself

Saddam’s death is obviously the last card that the Bush Adminstration of losers had, and it was also the last card that Iran could draw. I had predicted that Saddam’s execution will be delayed until the last days of Bush’s presidency in 2008. But having this execution taking place now will blow the entire Iraqi situation up. In addition, the increasing resistance will prove to the world that the situation is not terrible because of those ‘Saddamists’. The death of Saddam will strip down all the excuses from the Bush Adminstration and will prove that resistance is a national choice and the American Army must withdraw from Iraq.

neurotic iraqi wife

Yeah I will try to be optimistic, in less than five hours, the clock will tick, and I will tear off that page to see a new fresh 2007. N the guy who pretends to work in a carpenters shop scolded me today. He came into work despite it being Eid. He said youre a shia, how can you say youre sad for Saddam’s death. He killed your people. I said, Im not sad at his death, Im sad that people worse than him are ruling you now. Barbarian criminals are ruling you, they are nothing but clones of Saddam, clones hidding behind their black abayas and i3mamas. N, who lives in the slums of Sadr City is not a sadr supporter. He smiled and said, believe me, their time will come. Just like it did for Saddam, theirs too will come. With these words, I bid you a Happy New Year, may it be a good one for you, and may that time that N is talking about be sooner than I think.

No Pain No Gain

I must say there is a difference for an Iraqi being sad about viewing this execution, people like me…and an Iraqi who had been sad from the moment they caught Saddam. Saddam is a weak man who refused to use his weapon he had in the hole while hiding but because alot of people listened to him, he became certainly powerful. There is much to say about this moment, the good and bad, but I can only say that this execution is not everything. It is simply a step closer to the ultimate goals of the average Iraq, which is to attain peace, security and equality. It is part of the solution. Whether Saddam’s era will continue to be used as revenge or retaliation, that is one questionable possibility in regards to how much people are willing to fight for such a cause. Time as always, will tell.

Sooni

Just like always, to make one step forward we end with three steps backward! Showing Saddam’s execution like a Shiite revenge will only deepen the gap we have now.

I know the Iraqi government is weak and have a lot of troubles but I couldn’t imagine that I would hear Muqtada’s name in the execution room.

Talisman Gate

The story of Saddam’s hanging is not about how Palestinians in Gaza wept over his demise, or the tears shed by Saddam’s kinsmen at his grave.

The story is about the victims.

They feel happy, relieved. They feel closure. The restless spirits of the many dead can subside now.

Tell Me a Secret

You know that I always opposed Saddam and was always against him. Nevertheless, I was upset today.

Saddam was a criminal dictator, and he deserves to be hanged, but still, what happened isn’t right.

Saddam should be trailled for all his crimes, against ALL IRAQIS, ALL IRAQIS, all the crimes he committed against Iraqis, Shea, Kurds and yes, yes, yes: against Sonna too.

Where Date Palms Grow

He was executed on dawn of “Eid” that’s 30th of December 2006, all Muslims celebrated Eid with the EXCEPTION of the Iraqi government they celebrated NEXT DAY!

So the First day of Eid Officially in Iraq was today.

Clearly announcing that the government of Iraq does not represent Iraqi’s but only Shia Iraqi’s and I tell you Shia’s Iraqis are not represented by these butchers.

Why was that? Simply because our democratic government was clarifying how biased they are, how sectarian they are, and finally how clearly they want to divide this country.

This biased country has done what Saddam used to do. What they also want to do is simply stick Saddam to Sunnisim.