why did they execute Saddam NOW?

[yurbud]

The period between Christmas and New Year's is arguably the week long equivalent of the Friday afternoon news dump, and I just realized it was Friday when the news came out anyway, so they wanted a double dose of nobody paying attention.

What do you suppose is behind the timing?

[DrDebug]

1. Multiple reasons

1. To hide the 3,000 dead count before the new year
2. To coincide it with Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, to show that Bush is more powerful than Allah
3. To have Saddam killed before any investigation can take place
4. To hide Iran-Contra because Iran-Contra is the common denominator in the Bush administration.

[Junkdrawer]

2. To add fuel to the Civil War n/t

[uppityperson]

10. That also, to keep feeding money to those involved with the war machine.

It is all about money. I am so angry.

[Amonester]

3. Other: ** (Rove) wanted to see if his ratings will go up so he'll

be back at smirkin' arrogantly when he will soon announce he has decided to send more boys 'n girls to their unnecessary deaths & and lucrative maimings for his havemores.

[nitpicker]

4. Mission accomplished

is missing from this poll.

[Crunchy Frog]

5. They were in the middle of trying him for his crimes against the Kurds.

I think there was too much potentially incriminating things about people associated with Junior's and Poppy's regimes to let that trial go forward.

I understand that the Kurds are NOT happy about the execution taking place at this time.

[Kelly Rupert]

12. I don't believe that trial had yet begun. n/t

[yurbud]

16. good info--thanks

[waldnorm]

6. Executed Now . . .

to avoid a second trial (and others) that Hussein was not tried for . . . such as gassing the Kurds. Hmm. . . I wonder why Bush Jr. and ilk would not want a trial on that heinous crime?

[NoPasaran]

7. Other: Hope to have flareup of insurgency contained by late January

So troops can watch the Superbowl

[Peace Patriot]

8. Please see my post "Bush = Death" for a discussion of positive imaging.

We need to crowd out this Hangman image with our own life-giving and loving imagery. Truly. These Dark Lords are playing mind-games. And there are ways to resist. THEY want a year of more Death and Darkness. What do YOU want? What have YOU seen, what do YOU know, of human goodness and hope, and of the rebirth of American democracy? Form it in your mind. Hold that image fast. Push back!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3034424

I believe that they executed Saddam Hussein to counter the hope that the American people felt, at the Democratic election victories and other events, with the New Year promising to bring desperately need change away from Bush's Death Mode, and toward progressive policy. The Bush Junta is a fetid albatross around our necks, and they wanted to shove the stench and the decaying flesh in our faces. They want more death and destruction and looting of our treasury this year. They think no one can stop them. And they're rubbing it in. They want to kill hope. And that is exactly what we must not allow them to do.

[yurbud]

17. yeah, talking to righty dad, otherwise given up on Bush, but cheered by a good lynching

[leveymg]

9. Other: 3,000 KIA

[Kelly Rupert]

11. Today is the beginning of Eid,

and with it the Hajj. Many Iraqis have made plans for the holiday, and by suddenly executing him, they hoped to minimize any retaliatory violence. Most insurgents are citizen-soldiers, so to speak, and have lives and families beyond war.

An execution without warning minimizes the time insurgents have to plan for retaliatory attacks, and planning it for Eid maximizes the number of insurgents who will be otherwise occupied.

It's just a matter of internal politics. Saddam's death won't have any impact either way on US support or poll numbers, and Bush/Rove knows that. The Democrats wouldn't dare talk with Saddam, and if he had any damning information they're trying to hush up, he would have already presented it when he had his pulpit in court.

[leveymg]

13. IMHO, that's also a consideration.

But, the unofficial U.S. dead count is now up to 2998, with 2987 confirmed KIAs. http://icasualties.org/oif / I believe that for Mr. Rove, all politics are local.

[yurbud]

20. recall frequent interruptions in Saddams trial when he tried to speak up?

In terms of saying anything useful for investigating causes of war or cancer in our business/gov't/intel community that needs to be excised, he was always shut up before he said anything interesting, or if he said it, it wasn't reported here.

Further, Democrats could say they are not opposed to executing Saddam, but simply want to get some information out of him and make sure that nothing is being hidden for partisan purposes. But there's no chance the Bushies would do something as crass as that is there?

[mzteris]

14. two reasons

1. To keep Saddam from testifying in the Kurd/gassing trial. (He might tell ALL he knows about the US involvement in that debacle.


2. Bush had "Saddam dead before the end of 2006" in the White House office pool. And he wanted to WIN, damnit!

[Robbien]

15. To keep the press from harping on Pres. Ford's taped criticism

Ford's funeral would surely keep the taped interview on all the media shows. They needed the subject changed.

[yurbud]

21. has that been on radio or TV? I've read about it, but haven't seen or heard yet

[progressivebydesign]

18. You forgot OTHER (explain)

I think it was obviously coordinated by the US. Iraq doesn't wipe it's collective nose without asking our permission first. They are no more in control of their country than I'm in control of my chocolate addiction.

This hanging and kangaroo court was shoved thru in a jiffy because Bush thinks that it'll give his pathetic little tenure some historical significance. He thinks that if he can't find OBL, the REAL threat to the US, then Saddam is close enough. We consorted with Saddam, we supplied him with gas and weapons, Rumsfeld was his honored guest. And now, when it's expedient in the interests of OIL and control of the Middle East, we invade on false pretenses, capture a president of a soverieng nation, and we have a hand in executing him. And.. as the bloodthirsty media delights in it, they post photos of videos of it.

[GreenTea]

19. Convince people the illegal invasion was about Hussein not WMD so to support the new

troop escalation as a way to "win" but which will only prolong BushCo's war for oil & corporate profit as planned!

[yurbud]

22. If that was it they would want to do it when people ARE paying attention.