Saddam bid "courteous" adieu to U.S. captors

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L03187486.htm

Saddam bid "courteous" adieu to U.S. captors

BAGHDAD, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein thanked his American jailers as they sent him to his death on Saturday but he lost some of his composure when they handed him over to the Iraqis who would hang him, a U.S. general said on Wednesday.

"Saddam ... was dignified, as always, he was courteous as he always had been to his U.S. military police guards," Major General William Caldwell told a news conference in Baghdad.

"He thanked them for the way he had been treated and said goodbye to them," Caldwell said.

He said it was clear Saddam knew he was about to die when, an hour before the dawn execution, the former president of Iraq was bundled aboard a U.S. military helicopter for the 10-minute flight to an Iraqi-run prison in northern Baghdad.

"His characterisation did change at this prison facility where Iraqi guards were assuming control of him," Caldwell said.

[LynnTheDem]

1. But 1) the US had nothing to do with it, it was "Iraqi responsibility" and

2) Saddam wasn't "courteous" or "dignified, as always" coz he was "worse than Hitler" and how dare that Major General say anything nice about the "butcher of Baghdad"!

And the :sarcasm: is for 1) and 2).

[The Count]

2. That's a major general whose career just ended.

[Springster]

15. MG Bill Caldwell, son of an General while he was a cadet (USMA 1976) is not washed-up. He's a

shoo-in for a third star at least.

[geek tragedy]

3. So, Saddam's the only one who comes out of this

sordid affair looking better than he did before.

Heckuva job, Bushie!

[LynnTheDem]

4. But ONLY George W. bUsh coulda done it!

George W. bUsh can be relied on for fucking up.

[geek tragedy]

5. He and Maliki make a heck of a team. eom

[LynnTheDem]

6. That they do. Well, until bush or X US president decides to overthrow

Maliki. After all, Maliki signed death penalty warrants (which is what Hussein was executed for doing) and is causing the deaths of uncounted thousands of "his own people".

Let's see Maliki publicly announce his intention of using Iraq's oil for Iraqis...

[geek tragedy]

7. Well, Bush technically is aiding terrorists, since

Maliki's national security adviser (who filmed Saddam's lynching with his cellphone) used to be the spokesman for Al Dawa.

[LynnTheDem]

10. Not to even mention the Saudis.

But of course bush's laws only apply to We the People, not to The Decider.

[daleo]

8. A good death goes a long way, in building a legend (or a political martyr)

One more things neo-cons just don't seem to understand.

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. It takes a special kind of stupid to make Saddam Hussein a sympathetic figure

A truly special kind of stupid. But Bush managed to pull it off.

[laylah]

11. Sorry...

don't believe it for one moment...

Jenn

[dailykoff]

12. I heard on NPR that he scolded his captors to behave like men.

At this rate he's heading toward a bigger final-moments legend than Mary Stuart.

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Riverbend speaks of this.

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

[dailykoff]

14. Powerful.

One of them called out to Saddam, "Go to hell…" (in Arabic). Saddam looked down disdainfully and answered "Heya hay il marjala…?" which is basically saying, "Is this your manhood…?"

....

They were slightly quieter and then Saddam stood and said, "Ashadu an la ilaha ila Allah, wa ashhadu ana Mohammedun rasool Allah…" Which means, "I witness there is no god but Allah and that Mohammed is His messenger." These are the words a Muslim (Sunnis and Shia alike) should say on their deathbed. He repeated this one more time, very clearly, but before he could finish it, he was lynched.

[Marie26]

16. Didn't he also

write a letter telling Iraqis not to target American soldiers?