Iraq on Alert for Saddam Anniversary

[TexasLawyer]

Source: AP

Iraq on Alert for Saddam Anniversary

By PATRICK QUINN

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of people, including many children, chanted slogans praising Saddam Hussein on Sunday as they tossed flowers onto his tomb one year after he was executed.

<snip>

In Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, supporters gathered at his burial site to pay homage. Some gave fiery speeches while others just stood quietly by the tomb, in a large mausoleum in the Tigris River village of Ouja — the small hamlet just outside Tikrit where Saddam was born.

"With our blood, with our souls, we sacrifice for you Saddam!" the children chanted, AP Television News footage showed. The tomb was covered in Iraq flags and flowers and flanked by large pictures of a smiling Saddam. He is buried next to his sons Odai and Qusai, who died in a gun battle with U.S. forces in a 2003 in the northern city of Mosul.

Saddam was hung on Dec. 30 in Baghdad. Footage of the execution, filmed on a mobile phone and showing Saddam being taunted just before he died, was leaked to the media and shown across the world. It provoked an outcry, particularly among many of Iraq's Sunni Arabs, and sparked a horrific day of violence that left 80 people dead in bombings and other attacks.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8TS2SC00

[hlthe2b]

1. Are they going to exhume him and hang him again....

:eyes:

A good day for none, but Bush* who will, of course take his sadistic joy from the anniversary.

[struggle4progress]

2. Iraqis ignore Saddam anniversary /???/ Strong show of support for Saddam

Iraqis ignore Saddam anniversary
By Humphrey Hawkesley
BBC News, Baghdad
... Those involved in Saddam Hussein's execution maintain that his death has helped reconciliation ... But the copy of the death certificate that Mr Haddad keeps in his home is evidence that Iraq remains a country far from being at peace with itself. Of the five signatures, three names are blacked out for fear of revenge killings ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7165244.stm


Strong show of support for Saddam
Atul Aneja
DUBAI: Supporters of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein who was executed one year ago have assembled at his grave. Dozens of tribal leaders, clerics and students gathered at the former President’s burial site in Awja — his birthplace in central Iraq ... The former President’s widely condemned execution is said to have deepened the polarisation in Iraq ... Saddam’s posters appeared overnight and loudspeakers in his home village have been playing verses from the Koran. Civilian volunteers have stood guard at the hall which houses Saddam’s grave ... Saddam posters also appeared in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district ... http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/31/stories/2007123154061500.htm

[TexasLawyer]

3. Also PM Nouri al-Maliki has a well-timed case of "exhaustion"

and happens to be in far-away London during the anniversary. The good news? Mr. Maliki's A-OK.

http://voanews.com/english/2007-12-30-voa5.cfm

In other news, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says results from a medical exam he underwent in London were good and reassuring. It says he is to have more tests Monday.

Mr. Maliki's office said he left Baghdad Saturday for a check up and treatment for exhaustion.

[rockybelt]

4. Sounds like we've won their hearts and minds, doesn't it? nt

[BlueEyedSon]

5. Wow, they love Saddam more than Bush, their liberator.

[humbled_opinion]

6. I guess this means that

There will be no George W. Bush Boulevard in Bhagdad... :puke: