Should the Red Cross be permitted to visit Saddam Hussein ?

[kentuck]

To verify that he is not being tortured? Or is he such an evil person that it is OK to torture him because nobody really cares? But, if he is not classified as a POW, do they have a right to visit Mr Saddam?
What does this say about our country if we do not permit the Red Cross to see the former dictator? Do you think he is being tortured?
Do you even care?

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. If not the Red Cross...

...the Red Crescent should be allowed to visit him.

[pinkpops]

6. Only president Butch can decide this

Since he is president of the world and makes all those kinds of decisions for us.

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. He doesn't make my decision for me.

Otherwise I would be programmed to vote for him next year.

[LiberalVoice]

2. I think they should just so they can prove that the CIA really is...

torturing him.

Bad press for this administration is good press for me.

[soothsayer]

3. yes, of course they should

It's a good idea.

And no, we shouldn't torture him or anyone.

[JailBush]

4. I think the Red Cross should be allowed to visit Saddam Hussein,

just to keep the federal Gestapo honest. After he's convicted, the Iraqis, Kurds and Iranians will have plenty of time to torture him.

[JailBush]

5. Is he being tortured now?

I'll be he's being subjected to some mental torture, like sleep deprivation and threats. Merely being held captive must be torture for a man who knows he isn't going to be rewarded with a picnic lunch.

And any torture he's subjected to makes it that much less likely that George Bush, Inc. will hand him over to the Iraqis. Saddam has enough embarrassing secrets in his head as it is.

I just wish the big dummy had recorded all his secrets and made several copies. Just think, he could be frying Ronald Reagan along with himself!

[karlschneider]

8. Several copies? He's an asshole, but he's no idiot. You can bet your

sweet ass he has distributed information around to lots of places. It might take a while to surface, but I have no doubt there's plenty of documentation waiting to implicate a few people.

[Eveque]

10. But think for a minute

Who the fuck is going to believe anything Saddam says? After decades of lies, you'd have to be an idiot to buy what he's selling

[kentuck]

11. Right, he says he doesn't have any WMDs....

But Bush says he does. Who in the fuck is gonna believe him?

[leesa]

9. Why should they not be allowed to visit him? Or are we pretending

we are NOT at war now? I get so confused over the "official" status of this disaster.

[BiggJawn]

12. Didn't the Shrubistas say he is a POW?

If so, as such he is entitled to visits from the IRC to see that he is being treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, unlike those poor bastards down in "New Camp Morton".

[kentuck]

13. They are saying he is NOT a POW....

technicality, you know.

[Eric J in MN]

14. The Red Cross should make frequent visits to anyone

The Red Cross should make frequent visits to anyone being held prisoner by another country, regardless of whether that person is a POW.

Otherwise, the US can deprive a prisoner of adequate sleep and food, and the prisoner can't tell the world.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Red Cross do have access to Guantanamo

so they should be allowed access to Saddam, whether or not he has POW status.

The unusual thing about the Red Cross in Guantanamo is that normally they restrict their public comments to whether prisoners are physically mistreated. Guantanamo is the first time they have criticised the legal status, and mental condition, of the prisoners:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3179858.stm