Bremer Says Saddam Is Voice of Past, Must Be Killed

[Khephra]

Bremer Says Saddam Is Voice of Past, Must Be Killed
Mon November 17, 2003 08:15 AM ET

(Page 1 of 2)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, on Monday described former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as a "voice from the wilderness" and said the ousted president needed to be captured or killed.

Asked about a new audio tape aired by an Arabic television station on Sunday that was purported to be by Saddam, Bremer said the toppled leader had no support in Iraq except among his "band of thugs."

"This is a voice from the wilderness here. This is a man who is followed by a small band of murderers and they have no vision for the future of Iraq. They have a vision of the past, a past of violence and corruption," Bremer said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show.

He added: "He is around and we need to capture or kill him but he has no future here."

more..........

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3834617

[omshanti]

1. State-sponsored assassination, anyone?

Never mind about that little thing called the Geneva Convention...

[MaineDem]

Georgie said "dead or alive" remember

This is appalling!

[underpants]

3. Exactly, we just kill people now?

Usually they at least through international law and and justice a bone and with "Caught or killed" but I guess Bremmer just wanted to get right to it.

Joy.

[Jack Rabbit]

4. The GC doesn't apply here

Saddam is a legitimate target. If he surrenders and is killed, then we'll talk about violations of the GC.

For my part, if I were a leader of the Iraqi resistance, I'd put a contract out on Saddam. Having him out of the way would clear the issue of what the Iraqi resistance is about, and it's not about restoring Saddam to power.

Bremer is partly right in what he says. Saddam is of Iraq's past. However, Bremer is deluded if he thinks that he or the legacy he plans for Iraq is part of the future.

[underpants]

6. Time magazine quoted several Iraqi's a few weeks ago

They basically said that if Saddam is captured or killed then the Iraqis who never supported him would come out of the woodwork to get the US out. Anyone could have predicted that but I wonder if some of them have already started coming out if the ran out of patience waiting.

Either way it is not a very good situation. You are right about him being a legitimate target I guess but it still is odd to opening cal for someone's death, other than Osama which didn't bother me at all.

[lebkuchen]

16. If it's a dumb idea,

the Bushies will eventually pounce upon it.

[aquart]

28. He's done.

Over sixty, without his sons? Please.

This is propaganda to make us believe we have a finite target. Get Saddam and our troubles are over.

Saddam is irrelevant. Whoever gets the Americans to leave is the savior of his country. And its next "leader." We're delusional if we think there aren't multiple candidates for that role, many who have not even emerged yet.

[number6]

30. I agree, I think Saddam is dead.

Its propaganda....

[Barrett808]

7. He's useful as a figurehead, maybe more useful as a martyr

The spectacular deaths of Uday and Qusay were very effective at arousing Iraqi nationalism -- if Saddam went out in a similar blaze of glory, the insurgency would pick up quite a few new recruits. Imho.

[omshanti]

14. Link: The geneva convention Prohibits "Assassinations" even during war

Article 1 of the Geneva Convention's Current International law regarding Summary Executions states that:

"Governments shall prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions and shall ensure that any such executions are recognized as offences under their criminal laws, and are punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the seriousness of such offences. Exceptional circumstances including a state of war or threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked as a justification of such executions."

http://www.rockcitynews.com/pages/middleeast/6.25.genevaconvention.html

[Jack Rabbit]

26. Saddam is not a protected person

At least not unitl he surreneders. Even then he would be subject to trial and punishment for crimes committed. Until then he's wanted and may be assuemd to be in command of fighters. He is a legitimate military target.

The press release cites artitle 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949):

Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons or
property protected by the present Convention: wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention, taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

[Voltaire99]

24. Ironically, Bremer on Saddam sounds quite like...

...Saddam on Bremer.

GC or not, we have become what we professed to abhor: executing at will and parading our kills like trophies (cf. Uday and Qusay), unleashing widespread destruction to create order, torturing to loosen the information that will create "democracy."

The old Nietzschean warning about staring too long into the abyss clearly doesn't trouble Washington.

[MrMonk]

2. Did we skip the "Saddam is irrelevant" phase?

Or does that come when we find he can't be cought?

[9215]

17. Yea, who said this?

I remember hearing it and think it was Bush? Or was that about Osama

[dreissig]

5. Iraq's Past

It's good to learn that violence and corruption are things of Iraq's past. That must be the reason the Iraqis are so pleased that the Americans are there.

The $87 billion is being spent frugally. The continuing violence is the fault of Saddam's thug's. When Saddam is finally captured, we'll find WMD's in his vest pocket.

[Minstrel Boy]

8. Tom DeLay should have sent his thugs to Baghdad last year,

had them surround Saddam's palace and scream "Get out of Bremer's house!" Would have saved a lot of lives.

[xchrom]

9. they're all psycho-paths

the whole admin is just made up of a crew of folk who like directing the deaths of others.
i think about bush and his texas death-row fixation and they way they are always talking about people who need to be killed.
naturally they are all cowardly lions themselves.they like to think about strapping young marines, etc. doing the job for them.
just a sick crew.

[wildmanj]

11. saddam

as so often happens---death stalks both sides of the street---one should chose their words very carefully---chickens have a way of returning home to roost

[PATRICK]

10. Mistake

He didn't realize Bush was talking about Clinton.

[lebkuchen]

12. The Bush administration is a voice of unparalleled ignorance.

What should we do with it, Paul?

[snippy]

13. Reminiscent of Comrade Squealer's plea for a "single bullet" to save money

MR. FLEISCHER: Again, the President has not made any decisions about military action or what military option he might pursue. And so I think it's impossible to speculate. I can only say that the cost of a one-way ticket is substantially less than that. The cost of one bullet, if the Iraqi people take it on themselves, is substantially less than that. The cost of war is more than that. But there are many options that the President hopes the world and people of Iraq will exercise themselves of that gets rid of the threat. But it's impossible to say what the President options are militarily from a price tag, because he's made no decisions.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021001-4.html#3

This press briefing was held October 1, 2002 or six months after Bush said to three Senators in Rice's office: "F___ Saddam. we're taking him out." http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/from_covers/0,10987,1101030331-435968,00.html

[lebkuchen]

15. Not to mention, though Paul had alluded to it

the violence and corruption going on in Iraq right now (American style).

[rocktivity]

18. Why not put him on trial?

Why this mad rush to asassinate him? Wouldn't it be a better relection upon The American Way by trying him as a war criminal? Surely the Bush white house isn't worried Saddam testifying against it!


rocknation

[Guaranteed]

19. That's what I'm saying.

That's what we do here in the civilized world.

[bemildred]

20. I wonder if Mr. Bremer still thinks he is the voice of the future?

(snicker, guffaw)

[DoYouEverWonder]

21. Maybe we should have done this to begin with?

Instead of blowing up the whole damn country, killing 1000's of Iraqi civilians and then letting him get away?

Despite being anti-war, I've always had less of a problem with the concept of assasination has a way to solve problems.

[starroute]

22. "Voice in the wilderness" as in the Gospel of Mark???

Here begins the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

In the prophet Isaiah it stands written: "Here is my herald whom I send on ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. A voice crying aloud in the wilderness, 'Prepare a way for the Lord; clear a straight path for him.' " And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism in token of repentance, for the forgiveness of sins; and they flocked to him from the whole Judaean country-side and the city of Jerusalem, and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

John was dressed in a rough coat of camel's hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he fed on locusts and wild honey. His proclamation ran: "After me comes one who is mightier than I. I am not fit to unfasten his shoes. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It happened at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. At the moment when he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice spoke from heaven: "Thou art my Son, my Beloved; on thee my favour rests."

[DoYouEverWonder]

23. Nice catch

Odd that Bremmer would inadvertantly compare Saddam to John the Baptist? It seems that they love to quote from Isaah. Are these signals to their fundie base that they are fulfilling the prophecies? Funny, but it seems they don't grok the real meaning of what they are saying?

[9215]

25. "Who controls the past, controls the future:

who controls the present, controls the past."
(from '1984') George Orwell

[Cocoa]

27. they're saying the dems are the party of the past

It's kind of the same thing: we're in charge now and you're never going to get your country back.

[Just Me]

29. WE'VE BEEN REDUCED TO SAVAGES,...

,...it seems. I am still amazed at how many times there have been discussions on our infamous about whether or not we should "torture" enemies and how; whether or not we should just go in and kill "the enemy" (with no regard to the innocent) and how; whether or not we should show the soldier's dead bodies returning home (FILTERED); choosing to exhibit the enemy's sons bodies, both freshly dead and post-mortem clean-up; absolutely ignoring all those innocent people who did nothing, NOTHING, NOTHING to invite being maimed or killed by those forces beyond their power; rationalizing away the atrocities witnessed by babies and children; being numb to the heartache and tragedy and oppression of human beings. The whole lot of such cold-hearts and closed minds should be subject to the horrors for which they are responsible,...at least in their dreams. If I had one wish to be granted, I would curse people to live with the horrors they have a hand in creating yet ignore, each and every time they sleep. Then, perhaps, they would really wake up about how to go about creating a better world.

[Catt03]

32. It is pathetic

no...pathological...this administration.

I have never heard or read where a US official encouraged and supported killing other heads of state and people in general, like this administration does. I seems like a daily news item...kill, kill, kill.

This is just plain insantity.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

31. Bremer Is A Kissinger Protege

He was an Aide to Kissinger when he was Secretary of State. For eleven years, 1989 to 2000, Bremer served as Managing Director of Kissinger & Associates. A top State Department official recently stated off the record: "What he knows about Iraq could not quite fill a thimble." He's a pure political insider, on the same page as Perle and Wolfowitz.

[mbperrin]

33. Umm..aren't Poppy, Powell, Rummy and Unka Dick also

part of Iraq's past? Or is 1991 the future now?

Interesting...I never thought Bremer would advocate the assassination of so many ranking US officials.

But he IS ambitious!