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A necktie party in Iraq

MSNBC is reporting that Saddam Hussein may be hanged as early as tomorrow. 

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday, NBC News reported Thursday. According to a U.S. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, Saddam will be hanged before the start of the Eid religious holiday, which begins this Sunday.

The hanging could take place as early as Friday, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.

My oh my, justice is swift in Iraq!

The U.S. military received a formal request from the Iraqi government to transfer Saddam to Iraqi authorities, NBC reported on Thursday, which is one of the final steps required before his execution. His sentence, handed down last month, ordered that he be hanged within 30 days.

Earlier Thursday, Saddam’s chief lawyer implored world leaders to prevent the United States from handing over the ousted leader to Iraqi authorities for execution, saying the former dictator should enjoy protection from his enemies as a “prisoner of war.”

“According to the international conventions, it is forbidden to hand a prisoner of war to his adversary,” Saddam’s lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said in Amman, Jordan.

“I urge all the international and legal organizations, the United Nations secretary-general, the Arab League and all the leaders of the world to rapidly prevent the American administration from handing the president to the Iraqi authorities,” he told The Associated Press.

I urge all of the international and legal organizations to keep out of it. I urge the secretary-general of the United Nations to uphold the sovereignty of the Iraqi government. I urge the Arab League to get stuffed.

Saddam commited his crimes against Iraqi citizens. He was tried under Iraqi law by and Iraqi court. He was convicted based on evidence that included orders for the killings in his own hand. His appeal was heard by an Iraqi court and turned down.

Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI’s top prelate for justice issues and a former Vatican envoy to the U.N., condemned the death sentence in a newspaper interview published Thursday, saying capital punishment goes against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

It's too bad that Iraq isn't being run by the Catholic Church then isn't it.

After his sentence was given, Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, urged Iraq to ensure a fair appeals process and to refrain from executing Saddam even if the sentence is upheld.

"Ensure a fair appeals process" and then ignore the result? I thought the U.N. was supposed to "uphold the rule of law". Of course we know now that the true purpose of the U.N. is to ensure the wealth of corrupt bureaucrats and to coddle murderous thugs and dictators.

Saddam deserves to die many times over for his crimes. I only regret that he has but one life to give to pay for them. Sunday's not soon enough. Neither is Friday, but it'll have to do.

Trackposted to Rightwing Guy, The Random Yak, The HILL Chronicles, Don Surber, basil's blog, Pirate's Cove, Dumb Ox News, Jo's Cafe, Conservative Cat, and bRight & Early, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. A tip o' the hat to Iowa Voice.

New York Times: Mission Accomplished

The New York Times reports the Islamists in Somalia have retreated:

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 27 — The Islamist forces who have controlled much of Somalia in recent months suddenly vanished from the streets of the capital, Mogadishu, residents said Wednesday night, just as thousands of rival troops massed 15 miles away.

Cowards. They vowed to fight to the death. The Times thinks this was unexpected. To me, it looks like a pattern of behavior.

Many of the teenage troops who made up the backbone of the Islamist army had blended back into the civilian population, walking around without guns or their trademark green skullcaps.

The sudden reversal left it unclear whether a war that had threatened to consume the Horn of Africa had quickly ended, or the Islamists had merely gone underground, preparing to wage a guerrilla insurgency, as some leaders had threatened.

Yes indeed, it's a pattern of behavior. When faced with overwhelming force the Islamists run and hide. Then they attack from behind their human shields.

At 10 p.m. on Wednesday, several Islamist leaders emerged to hold a news conference at their headquarters in Mogadishu. They did not explicitly concede defeat to the transitional government, but seemed to be preparing their forces for such an eventuality. “We need our soldiers to return to their positions for the sake of the people,” said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, one of the leaders. “Even if your positions are transferred to the government, you must stay where you are and make sure Mogadishu is as safe as it was before.”

As he spoke, Mogadishu was rapidly descending back into the clan-based anarchy that had been its hallmark for most of the past 15 years, before the Islamists came to power and pacified the city.

And so, the Times writer shows his paper's true sympathies. The Islamists are the "good guys", pacifying the city. When they are beaten back by the Christian imperialist aggressors the city falls into anarchy.

Quick! Somebody check the museums! There's probably looting going on right under the Ethiopian military's noses!

The Islamists started out as a grass-roots movement of clan elders and religious leaders who banded together earlier this year to rid Mogadishu of its notorious warlords, earning them a lot of public support.

That just lends support to the argument doesn't it. The Islamists were a "grass roots" movement, removing the "warlords". The Ethiopians are the evil aggressors putting down the "people's" choice.

The Islamists attacked Baidoa, the seat of the transitional government, on Dec. 20; a few days later, they announced that Somalia was open to Muslim fighters around the world who wanted to wage a holy war against Christian-led Ethiopia.

That provoked a crushing counter-attack by the Ethiopians, who command the strongest military in East Africa. For the past week, the Islamists have lost one battle after another, their adolescent soldiers no match for a professional army.

Sounds familiar doesn't it? Calls for Jihad are met with superior force by the people that are threatened. When that happens, the Jihadis collapse and hide. Meanwhile, the media emphasizes the contrast between the "adolescent" soldiers of the "people's army" against the "professional soldiers" of the aggressors.

Never mind that the "adolescent" soldiers that are no match for a professional army just overthrew a government, apparently by overwhelming military force. That just messes up the comparison doesn't it?

By Wednesday, the Islamists were cornered. Thousands of troops from the transitional government were closing in on the seaside capital from two directions.

Which is it, the "transitional government" that was just displaced by the "adolescent" soldiers or the Ethiopian aggressors?

Mogadishu was coming unhinged. The ports and airports had closed, leading to a shortage of just about everything, sending prices for food, medicine and fuel skyward. A gallon of gas in Mogadishu now costs $8.

Oh the humanity! The foul cruelty of the counter-attack. The greed of the oil companies!

One adviser to Western diplomats who has close contacts with both the Islamists and the transitional government described the unraveling as an “organic process that rose up from the people, in an unorganized way, Somali style.”

Disappointment in the Islamists, however, does not necessarily translate into widespread enthusiasm for the transitional government, which until last week had been considered weak and divided by many Somalis. Thousands of people in Mogadishu, a war-weary city of two million, have begun to pack up and leave, residents said, afraid not only of the possibility of heavy urban fighting but also of a return to warlord rule, which kept Mogadishu in anarchy for years.

Yes, the transitional government is EVIL! The Islamists were better for us. It's just too bad they're cowards. This is the New York Times' "Mission Accomplished" moment. The quagmire is about to begin.

This whole thing sounds too much like the early days of the Iraq war. The Islamists seem to have found a pattern that works.

They talk a big game early, then collapse and run into hiding when faced with overwhelming force. Once the enemy is firmly entrenched they wage a "guerrilla insurgency", and attack from behind human shields. They call for fighters from other nations to support their "insurgency".

Their willing allies in the media compare them to a "grassroots movement" or to the founding fathers of the U.S. Revolution. When they attack, disguised as civilians, the "rightness of their cause" is trumpeted. When the military counter-attacks they are chastised for committing "atrocities" and attacks on "civilians".

The longer it goes on, the more calls for "negotiation" will be heard. The longer it goes on the more "human rights" organizations will decry the atrocities committed by the "occupying" armies. The longer it goes on the greater the sympathy for the Islamists in the international community.

Ethiopia has walked into it. Soon the United Nations will be calling for sanctions against them. After all, you can't fight the Jihadis and expect support from the U.N. or the New York Times.

Hat tip: Big Dog's Weblog.

Others commenting on the New York Times unbalanced reporting: Webloggin.

Playin' Possum at NWBloggers.com wants to know why the Islamists are so "<expletive deleted> poor" in a stand and slug it out fight.

Trackposted to Rightwing Guy, Pirate's Cove, Dumb Ox News, The HILL Chronicles, Don Surber, and Conservative Cat, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe, now that Bruce has hit himself with a hammer :-).

It's a quagmire, and we must get out now

Here's a bit of bad news from the Associated Press, via the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

The number of murders reached its highest levels in a decade or more in some places, but some big cities, including Los Angeles, reported drops in the number of murders.

According to the report there were 579 homicides in New York. Chicago homicides were up 3.3 percent. Houston had a 15 percent increase. Cincinnati reported it's highest ever number of homicides at 83 so far. Oakland's rate was up 57 percent at 148. Philadelphia had 403. New Haven had 23.

Los Angeles and New Orleans reported a decrease down to 464 homicides and 154 homicides. They're the only two cities in the A.P. report to note a decrease.

The report didn't give the body counts for Chicago or Houston, but for the other cities in the report the total comes to 1,854.

That's a lot of homicides.

One analyst in the report noted that police departments tend to take credit when the murder rate goes down. She wondered if the police departments would take the blame for the increase.

I blame our modern culture. Kids in gangs with easy access to illegally acquired guns having a message of hate pumped into their heads through hip-hop and rap music. Kids that learn through violent video games that the way to solve their problems is by helping someone else to a sudden overdose of lead.

Another possible cause is urban population density. Put a lot of people in a small space and there's going to be friction. The report attributed part of New Orleans' decrease in homicides to the fact that the city was nearly emptied after Katrina and part of the rise in Houston's rate to the influx of people from New Orleans.

Whatever the cause, the numbers are up. They may be fairly small compared to the population of the cities where the homicides are happening, but they're still appalling. The death toll due to traffic accidents and other causes aren't given, but they're undoubtedly high too.

Maybe we should commission a study group to recommend that we hold talks with neighboring states to see if they can help us stop the civil war in our big cities. After all, according to New York's Paul Browne, that's where the insurgency is getting its weapons. I'm sure they would also recommend that the Police pull out of the cities, since they're obviously part of the problem. At least, that's what Criminologist Andrew Karmen implied...

By the way, this car is still for sale... drop me a comment if you're interested.

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