Brokaw: Hussein Execution "Worst Kind of Nightmare Out of Old American West"

[IndyOp]

Just when I was enjoying dissing Tom...

Brokaw: Hussein Execution ‘Resembled The Worst Kind Of Nightmare Out Of The Old American West’

Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, who delivered a eulogy at President Gerald Ford’s funeral today, appeared this morning on the Don Imus radio show. Brokaw agreed with Imus that it is “difficult to imagine” how the execution of Saddam Hussein “could have turned out worse.”

“e portray ourselves around the world as the champions of democracy and the rule of law,” Brokaw said, yet Hussein’s execution “resembled the worst kind of nightmare out of the old American West.” As a result, Hussein, who “had disappeared, in effect, as some kind of a symbol over there, suddenly becomes a martyr.”

Click the link above to go to ThinkProgress and watch the video of Brokaw on Imus...

On Edit: Typo in title... should've been "worst" not "work"

[texpatriot2004]

1. He should have faced real justice and not been killed for silence

in the Kangaroo Court BushCo was in charge of.

[Auggie]

2. Hey Tom, where were you four years ago?

[cali]

4. I don't know, where was he? n/t

[Hubert Flottz]

3. Judge Roy Bush wants to be the only law North South East and West

Of Baghdad. "Oil's well that ends well!"

The King is CRAZY!

[onenote]

5. well since some DUers believe Brokaw = Limbaugh

I guess Rush has been criticizing the execution too, right?

:sarcasm:

[LynnTheDem]

6. And his hanging was ILLEGAL under Iraqi law, Tom.

Let's not forget that wee fact.

Then again, bush's invasion of Iraq was ILLEGAL.

So really, the Iraqis are just following America's lead; FUCK LAWS.

What I think is the very height of irony tho is this;

Saddam Hussein was executed for having signed 148 death penalty warrants for Iraqis tried & found guilty by Iraq's court, 20 years ago.

The Iraqi government then signed the death penalty warrant for Hussein's execution after he was tried and found guilty by Iraq's court...for having signed death penalty warrants. The bushCabal comment was "that is for the Iraqi courts to decide on".

But it wasn't something "for the Iraqi courts to decide on" when Hussein did it 20 years ago.

And George W. bUsh has 151 death warrants to his name.

It isn't any wonder whatsoever that the vast majority of the world sees us as hypocritical scum.

[htuttle]

16. It also sent a signal that Iraq is now an officially Shiite nation

As others have pointed out, Iraqi law states that there shall be no executions during Eid. This year, while Shiites declared the start of Eid to be Sunday, Sunnis authorities had declared it to start Saturday (due to various differences in dogma).

Therefore, with the Government executing Hussein on Saturday, on the start of the Sunni Eid, they were in effect also stating that they have an officially Shiite government.

[devilgrrl]

7. Here's where Mr. Brokaw was 4 years ago...

“we don't want to destroy the infrastructure of Iraq, because in a few days we are going to own that country.”


Does that answer the question?

[cali]

9. Not really.

I'd hate to be defined by one quote, wouldn't you? Not only that, but I'd have to see the context for that statement before arriving at any definitive conclusion about it reflecting some kind of evil neocon mentality.

[devilgrrl]

12. If I can find a video clip I will post it...

at the time it came across as very revealing Freudian slip. I will also look for another Brokaw quote regarding GWB stating that the American public preferred a leader that wasn't too bright and didn't think much.

I think he's a punk and the WWII generation wasn't the greatest either.

[ariellyn]

17. But you're "grey" cali--what is it about Tom Brokaw that makes you defend him?

Support your lack of conviction. :eyes:

[IndyOp]

11. I had forgotten Brokaw said that. Isn't it disappointing when the ruling elite

don't manage to act like "true elite" after taking ownership of a country?

:(

DemocracyNow! video of a speech by Amy Goodman including the Brokaw quote:
http://www.democracynow.org/static/IMIATOW.shtml

[partylessinOhio]

8. Brokaw needs to hang up his spurs. He is history.

[Uncle Joe]

10. I have one quibble with Brokaw's answers

"BROKAW: No, it’s — you know, as we portray ourselves around the world as the champions of democracy and the rule of law — first of all, that began to unravel in the eyes of a lot of people in that part of world with Abu Ghraib and the great cruelties and indignities that were imposed on people there. The debate goes on here about Guantanamo and about access to people’s private records. And then to say that we are going to install in Iraq a judicial system and a democratic form of government and have something that resembled the worst kind of nightmare out of the old American West. Not much dignity. He was, he was a god awful man and he did have a trial, but not have control of the execution, and to have it really just fuel more sectarian violence at a time when we are trying to dampen that is not helpful, which is an understatement."

Saddam Hussein's trial regarding the gassing of the Kurds was cut short, before he could go on the defense, allowing many inconvenient secrets to be buried with him. I firmly believe this lynching was a Bush decision, he is after all the decider.

[IndyOp]

13. Did you see Ramsey Clark's BBC interview about 3 judges on the trial?

The first two judges were pulled off the trial because they weren't "doing it right" - the third and final judge said before he was assigned that a trial wasn't needed, just a hanging...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x11479

[Uncle Joe]

15. If I remember correctly IndyOp,

three of his defense attorneys were murdered as well.

[regnaD kciN]

18. And one of our local papers...

...lauded the trial as a "triumph for the judicial process" despite that...regrettable...fact.

:puke:

[SoCalDem]

14. The problem with our so-called "news anchors" is this..

They are deliberately obtuse. They throw all sides a bone now and then.

Gotta tune them all out, folks.. None of them are "on our side". if they are closet liberals, by definition that makes them "fairer", and they will try to see all sides. If they are conservative, we pretty much know what they will do..and it will rarely favor "our side".

At the upper echelon, they are concerned with speaking fees, book deals, and vacation homes. They say what they need to say to stay where they are..

[speedoo]

19. That's a pretty good characterization of the whores that they are.

But I don't recall ever seeing Brokaw throw any bones to progressives. He was pretty much Bush's lead cheerleader for the Iraq invasion. So much so, I stopped watching broadcast news.