Opinion: Should Saddam Die?

by seattleniceguy 35 Replies latest social current

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  dolphman

  I'm sorry, but he had all the time and opportunities in the world to reconsider his actions while alive. Too many people suffered the consequences of his evil ways. I just read a story about a man who's brother was killed by saddam simply because one day in school he questioned the necessity of the Iran-Iraq war.

  How would you feel if your brother was pulled out of a classroom one day and shot because he disagreed with Bush's war on terror? Maybe he wasn't shot right away either, maybe he spends a week with a car-battery clamped to his genitals?

  I'm sorry, but with a monster such as him, Milosevic, and others, you have to forgoe your natural sympathies and judge this man on the entirity of his actions.

  I think we're being too lenient on Saddam. I say we feed him to the lions, or burn him at the stake. Or better yet, just let him go into the street with a bunch of angy Iraqis around.

  The iraqis will NEVER let him off the hook. I guess when it comes down to it SeattleNiceGuy, only an Iraqi could really know what to do with him.
• 

  funkyderek

  Imagine if Saddam Hussein were allowed to live. Not on a farm in the country. Not in a home being given preferential treatment. Imagine that he were given decent human treatment and limited access to members of his family. As he nears the end of his life and reflects on what he has done, what blood-soaked hands are his, what fate befell his sons, imagine that true remorse and the deep desire to make atonement wash over him. If Saddam Hussein were to write an account ? personal memoirs from a dictator ? reflecting over his life, his mistakes, his shift in views, imagine how powerful that account would be. Nothing we could ever do or say, no propaganda war, no friendly diplomatic relations, could ever impact people in the Middle East like those memoirs could. They would strike directly at the hearts of millions of extremists and fundamentalists who read them. Such words would literally have the power to change the world.

  And what if he doesn't change? People all over the world will see a man who systematically killed millions and plunged the world into war twice get to spend his dotage being looked after at taxpayers' expense. What kind of message would that send?

  Here's an interesting idea:

  http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3403

  Summary: Since stoning people to death is a tradition in parts of the Middle East, that might be the most appropriate way to execute Saddam Hussein. If each relative of someone murdered by Saddam were allowed to throw a stone, the line might stretch back for miles. Television pictures of that line, broadcast throughout the Arab world, could completely undermine any notion that this is just an American vendetta against Moslems.
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  shera

  When it comes to the death penalty,I am for it and against it.I have no idea what that makes me..

  When it comes to Saddam,he is one sick man.No remorse,killed many innocent people.Can a person who is that sick,change and see the errors of his ways?Some people,can't get better.

  What makes me feel sad,is he was once a baby.Who grew up to be a an evil man.

  I feel there will always be some loyalist towards Saddam.Also,it may cause terriost attacks and trying to set him free.I feel he should pay for what he has done.

  Hopefully there isn't another Saddam in the making.*shrugs*
• 

  seattleniceguy

  How would you feel if your brother was pulled out of a classroom one day and shot because he disagreed with Bush's war on terror? Maybe he wasn't shot right away either, maybe he spends a week with a car-battery clamped to his genitals?

  I would feel horrible, like anyone else. But I think that returning the favor in kind would do little for my mental and emotional health. Many experinces show that when a killer shows intense remorse for his actions - even if it takes him years to develop - the family of the murdered person finds far greater comfort than simply watching him die. The vindictive form of justice is empty, producing nothing beneficial for any party. It doesn't even serve as a deterent to others. Many states with the death penalty have rates of crime higher than places without.

  I understand the rage. But in this case, I believe that returning evil for evil is simply harmful to everyone, especially the returners of the evil.

  And what if he doesn't change? People all over the world will see a man who systematically killed millions and plunged the world into war twice get to spend his dotage being looked after at taxpayers' expense. What kind of message would that send?

  It would send the message that we are a species that does not tolerate evil in others or ourselves. If he doesn't change, then he goes to his grave a sad and miserable man. Saddam will die either way. The question is whether we take satisfaction in killing a person.
• 

  funkyderek

  It would send the message that we are a species that does not tolerate evil in others or ourselves.

  Why is it evil to kill someone who has killed so many others? I understand the principle that taking a human life is wrong, but surely imprisoning someone is also wrong unless they have forfeited their right to freedom by violating the rights of others? Why are you willing to take away someone's liberty but not their life?

  What could me more evil than allowing such atrocities to go unpunished?

  If he doesn't change, then he goes to his grave a sad and miserable man.

  Probably not as sad as the families of those he tortured and killed. Why would he be sad and miserable? He would have spent the best years of his life living like a king, with almost no repurcussions. He would be better off than if he had never been caught.

  Saddam will die either way. The question is whether we take satisfaction in killing a person.

  Why is that the question? Perhaps we should take satisfaction in ridding the world of an evil despot.
• 

  Double Edge

  First of all, any trial he gets is going to be fair, because there is so much overwhelming evidence to prove the prosecution's point. Beyond the obvious just reason for execution is the fact that it's not too smart to leave a rich dictator with a few thousand die-hard followers alive. When the U.S. does eventually leave, it wouldn't take too much to pay off someone and spring an imprisioned Saddam. Then the madness would start all over again.
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  Mulan

  Yes!! I've been thinking they should put him in the chipper, feet first.
• 

  Simon

  An Iraqi woman who survived the attack where many kurds were killed (22 of her immediate family) interviewed on the radio said that she didn't want him executed.

  She wanted him to live imprisoned as this was a worse punishment than a 'quick death'.

  I agree. Make him live in misery and put a big perspex viewing panel in his cell so people can visit and laugh at him. Make him suffer.

  Of course, I think that all those who were involved in the attrocities should be punished for it.
• 

  rem

  Simon,
  
  
  I'm quite certain that that lady's version of justice included some type of physical torture - not just imprisonment. Yes, that probably is more just (in an eye for an eye sense), but it is just not something that the majority of Western society agree with anymore. I think he deserves it, but I'll settle for death. Imprisonment for life is better than nothing, but I think he deserves worse and the people of Iraq deserve better.
  
  
  rem
• 

  Euphemism

  I do believe that some people's crimes are so heinous, and so clearly proven, that they forfeit their right to life. I'm still against capital punishment, however, because I believe that we as a society become better people when we abandon the idea that justice equals revenge.

  So I don't support the death penalty for Saddam. But if he is executed, I won't shead a tear for him, or feel that there was any injustice.

  Thanks for starting a thought-provoking thread, SeattleNiceGuy, and for daring to voice an unpopular viewpoint.