A different kind of holiday movie
Iraqi PM Maliki has promised an inquiry into how someone managed to take the video of Saddam's execution that's been circulating on the internet since about 10 minutes after he dropped. In addition to the fact that the event wasn't supposed to be seen publicly, Iraqi Sunnis are outraged that the video shows people jeering and taunting Saddam even as the floor opened up under him.
"A court official said he nearly halted the hanging over the jeering, which has inflamed sectarian passions in a nation already on the brink of civil war. Data showed civilian deaths hit a new record in December and were over 12,000 in 2006."
The poor-quality video was made with a cell phone, but it gets the point across. It's been a popular item, even with children. In that part of the world Saddam was a larger-than-life, almost invulnerable figure, and the government may have felt some form of proof would be needed to convince people that he'd really been executed. According to the prosecutor who was present, there was no secrecy about it; the recordings weren't made by guards, but by 2 government officials. So the "inquiry", like the "trial", and the "justice" that was served, should be a quick and dirty affair.
Meanwhile, "On Tuesday, police in Baghdad said they had found 45 bodies scattered around the city. Many had been blindfolded, handcuffed and shot, apparent victims of sectarian violence."
"A court official said he nearly halted the hanging over the jeering, which has inflamed sectarian passions in a nation already on the brink of civil war. Data showed civilian deaths hit a new record in December and were over 12,000 in 2006."
The poor-quality video was made with a cell phone, but it gets the point across. It's been a popular item, even with children. In that part of the world Saddam was a larger-than-life, almost invulnerable figure, and the government may have felt some form of proof would be needed to convince people that he'd really been executed. According to the prosecutor who was present, there was no secrecy about it; the recordings weren't made by guards, but by 2 government officials. So the "inquiry", like the "trial", and the "justice" that was served, should be a quick and dirty affair.
Meanwhile, "On Tuesday, police in Baghdad said they had found 45 bodies scattered around the city. Many had been blindfolded, handcuffed and shot, apparent victims of sectarian violence."
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