[EMAIL PROTECTED] I couldn't agree with this eloquent statement more! Amy
> Saddam is dead. > > Aren't you happy now? > > He was executed, I hear, just a few minutes ago (it's 10:33 EST when I > write this). He has executed by hanging, the process rushed in order to > avoid a killing on the upcoming holy time of Eid Al-Ahda (Iraqi law and > custom forbids killing a person on a day considered holy to him). So the > order was given, the soldiers handed him over, the platform dropped, the > rope stretched taut, the neck broken, and the mad leader breathed his > last. > > Aren't you satisfied? > > Saddam was an evil man, responsible for untold numbers of deaths and > torturings. Men, women, children--all fell before him. He thought nothing > of gasing whole villages, torturing people for something as innocuous as > saying the wrong thing, and subjecting his people to untold terror. > Saddam's own mistress said he enjoyed watching videos of people being > executed--from his bed. But now the sadist Saddam is dead. > > Don't you feel safer? > > My government said Saddam amassed weapons of mass destruction. So, they > said, he had to be brought down, and this was done, with the former > dictator being flushed from a "spider hole" like a coward. That no weapons > of note were ever found was inconsequential, I was told, in light of one > of the most evil men this side of Hitler being captured. And not just > Saddam: his evil, evil sons, who raped and murdered with impunity, and > tortured athletes for daring to lose an Olympic competition. With Saddam > gone, I was told, Iraq would become a sacred land of democracy and happy > people. So he was handed over, and his own people executed him. > > Is Iraq free and happy now? > > That Saddam Hussein was one of the most evil leaders in recent memory > can't be argued. That he ruined his country and destroyed its hopes and > dreams to be a better place can't be disputed. That his very children > inherited his sickness is fact. That the world is better without him in a > position of power, a no-brainer. > > So why am I not celebrating? > > Perhaps, because Saddam is dead, but I fear the fighting won't stop. > Perhaps because as evil as he was, Hussein was a bulwark against the > fanatics and terrorists who now run rampant in Iraq. Because, in an > over-zealous and incredibly ill-conceived push to get those non-existent > WMDs, my government destroyed the Iraqi infrastructure, leaving behind a > power vaccuum that may actually make the country even worse than it was > before. Because over 3,000 American men and women have died, hundreds of > thousands of Iraqi's have died, hundreds of thousands more will probably > die, and the Middle East is more unstable than ever. Because one man > died, but the toll in blood may far, far outweigh the value brought about > by that man's death. > > Because a nation that's supposed to value freedom and justice and > Christian values violated all of those by invading a sovereign nation on > trumped-up charges, putting a stain on the collective soul of all > Americans. > > Perhaps, because the Bible I read says that all killing is wrong, and that > rejoicing in a man's death--any man--not the act of a Christian. > > As I listened to the news today, waiting for the inevitable word that > Saddam was dead, my guts twisted in knots. I felt a sadness at listening > to people planning for a man's death--even this most evil of men. I hung > my head in grief at a world where we demonstrate that killing is wrong--by > killing. I mourned for people who will be denied the chance to face > Saddam in court, to get some kind of closure by accusing him to his face > of being the monster he was. I mourned for those who have been changed > into people who can dance and sing and kiss and rejoice at a man's > death--even this most evil of men. > > The Iraqi people in the main probably support this execution. (Many, such > as the Khurds, are upset only that it happened too soon, that Saddam was > killed before he could face the thousands of other accusers wanting to > confront him in trials for other of his atrocities). I hear there's been > singing and dancing in some parts of Iraq over his death. I understand > that emotion. If ever anyone can understandably rejoice in a man's death, > it'd be the Iraqi's. But their reactions are those of emotion, of grief > and anger and sadness. Of fear and helplessness, hopelessness and despair, > turned to rage and vengeance. > > I understand that rage, but it doesn't make it right. I understand hatred > and vengeance, but it doesn't make it right. I understand wanting an eye > for an eye, but it doesn't make it right. If Saddam had been responsible > for killing my family, I can tell you I'd try to kill him myself. But it > doesn't make it right. > > Sadly and more importantly, his killing ultimately accomplishes nothing. > Saddam is dead, but the fighting will go on. He is dead, but the > terrorists will keep on coming. He is dead, but Iraq is falling apart even > as I write this. He is dead, but the US has created a miasma of turmoil > and conflict that may take generations to fix, if it can ever be done. > Saddam is dead, but nothing--nothing--has changed, other than the fact > that Saddam is dead. > > So why am I not celebrating? > > Because in all the time since the US invaded Iraq, there has been no good > news, no stable governmental structure in place, no improvement in the > country's infrastructure, no increase in the average person's quality of > life. No decrease in American soldiers' deaths, no unity among the > nations of the world in how to handle the Iraqi problem, no assurance that > we can fix the mess that is now Iraq. > > No, Saddam is dead, and that's the only thing that's gone as planned since > this fiasco started. And if that's the best we have--if the best, most > positive, most certain thing we can celebrate and point to in all this > time is the execution of an evil man, then no, I won't celebrate. Because > tomorrow he will be dead, and Iraq will still be a mess. He'll be dead, > and when the euphoria of that "victory" fades, the Iraqi people will still > be faced with how to repair their country. He'll be dead, and terrorists > will continue blowing to bits any man, woman, and child their bombs can > reach. > > Saddam is dead. Iraq is still dying. > > Aren't you happy now? > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > >
