Get A Rope! Saddam Guilty!

Hang him, hang him high. Saddam Hussein and 6 co-defendants are found guilty. Death sentence for Saddam by hanging. He was accused and found guilty, of ordering the deaths of 148 Shias in 1982 in the village of Dujail, following an assassination attempt. The sentence death penalty, will be enforced by hanging even though Saddam said he preferred execution by firing squad

Saddam didn't take the news very well, screaming "Alla Akbar", waving his hands in the air, waving the Koran.

"Even those Iraqis who want to see their former leader dead do not believe his execution will make things any better", according to BBC's Andrew North in Baghdad. Also according to the BBC, " In a televised speech on Saturday, Nouri Maliki, Iraq's Shia Arab prime minister, said he hoped Saddam Hussein would get "what he deserves" for "crimes against the Iraqi people".

A U.S. group, Human Rights Watch, has complained of too much government involvement in the trial, among other things. Iraq's Sunni Arab community was expected to react with -- you guessed it, violence against Shia Muslims and US troops, while Kurdish and Shia areas will celebrate.

Whether the sentence was death sentence or life imprisonment, just like in the U.S., there will be months of appeals. So unfortunately there will be no 'quick' satisfaction for Kurds, Shia, or those Americans looking forward to Saddam's death.

Prosecutors have sought death sentences for Saddam, his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan al-Tikriti, vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and judge Awad al-Bander. Three minor Baath party officials from Dujail also face sentencing while a fourth has been recommended for acquittal. source

Iraq's government imposed curfews on Sunday and has canceled army leave or vacation for Iraqi police and military, hoping to calm violent reactions to the verdict. But reaction has already begun:

As Baghdad went into lockdown overnight, mortars slammed into the mainly Sunni district of Adhamiya, killing seven people and wounding 20, an Interior Ministry source said. source

Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman, told the Associated Press violence would be met with a stern response.

"We warn anyone who intends to exploit this event that our response will be tough and severe," Khalaf said.

Days prior to the verdict, Saddam said he was ready to "... die with honor and with no fear, with pride for my country and my Arab nation but the U.S. occupiers will leave in humiliation and defeat, ... They will see rivers of blood for years to come. It will dwarf Vietnam."

The AP is reporting on a 1999 simulation called Desert Crossing, involving 70 military, diplomatic and intelligence participants.

A series of secret U.S. war games in 1999 showed that an invasion and post-war administration of Iraq would require 400,000 troops, nearly three times the number there now.

And even then, the games showed, the country still had a chance of dissolving into chaos. source

I'm sure this is not the only 'war game' or 'simulation' that was conducted. I'm also sure there were probably very different findings in each simulation. Nothing ever works out in real life the way if looks on paper beforehand.

I look forward to the sentence being carried out.

UPDATE: It seems the violence is mostly in Saddam's home town of Tikrit. In other areas of the country people are cheering and taking to the streets in celebration! As I predicted a month or so ago, this may be the one good thing that can turn Iraq around. The people will know that Saddam is not going free and never going to be their leader again.

I agree with Digger:

My feelings on the Saddam Hussein trial is that it's all a big joke. When it comes to people like Hussein or Milosevic there pretty much needs to be a 10 day rule. They go before an accelerated court system allowing the victims to have a chance to have their say, then the dictator is taken out back and executed with two bullets to the back of the head or hanging, the victims choice. (read it all)

___________________________________________________________________ Others posting: Fore-Left, Saddam's November Surprise Red State, Death For “The Butcher Of Baghdad” The Bullwinkle Blog, Freedom Eden, So Long, Saddam Stop the ACLU Assorted Babble needs prayers The Lone Wolf, BNP Showtrial and other pc nonsense from New Britainistan, and other Good News From Iraq. bRight&Early, Overnight Open Post Eursoc, Saddam Sentenced To Death GOP Vixen, HANGMAN! Stander's Point, It's Official: Saddam Hussein Found Guilty 123Beta Woman Honor Thyself, Shhhhhhh!