Questions Swirl Around Saddam's Hanging

2 Guards, 1 Official Questioned On How Outsiders Got Into Death Chamber

(CBS/AP)  Iraqi authorities reported the arrests of two guards and an official who supervised Saddam Hussein's hanging and said the guard force was infiltrated by outsiders who taunted the former leader and shot the video showing his body dangling at the end of a rope.

The unauthorized video, which ignited protests by Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs in various Iraqi cities, threatens to turn the ousted dictator into a martyr. Saddam was shown never bowing his head as he faced death, and asking the hecklers if they were acting in a manly way.

The Bush administration sent conflicting signals Wednesday about the taunting and baiting that accompanied the execution, with the White House declining to join criticism of the procedure and the State Department and U.S. military publicly raising questions about it.

Meanwhile, investigators are trying to determine the veracity of a rumor that the video was sold for $20,000, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.

National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie laid the blame for the cell phone video on ill-educated security guards, saying "Their feelings were expressed in a wrong way, in an unacceptable way, in a disgusting way."

But one of the prosecutors from Saddam's trial disputes that, telling CBS News: "They are trying to blame the guards. The guards are innocent."

Saddam, who was convicted for the killings of 148 Shiites, was dignified and courteous to his American jailers up to the moment he was handed over to the Iraqis outside the execution chamber, a U.S. military spokesman said.

He "was courteous, as he always had been, to his U.S. military police guards," Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said. "He spoke very well to our military police, as he always had. And when getting off there at the prison site, he said farewell to his interpreter. He thanked the military police squad, the lieutenant, the squad leader, the medical doctor we had present, and the colonel that was on site."

Although Saddam "was still dignified toward us," Caldwell said his demeanor changed "at the prison facility when the Iraqi guards were assuming control of him."

Al-Rubaie and two other top officials variously reported one to three men were being questioned in the investigation into who heckled Saddam as he was minutes from death and took cell phone pictures of his execution.

"The investigation has already had an arrest warrant against one person and two to follow," al-Rubaie told CNN. He said the guard force at the execution was infiltrated by an Arab television station or another outsider.

The clandestine footage appeared on Al-Jazeera television and Web sites just hours after Saddam was hanged Saturday. The tumultuous scenes quickly overshadowed an official execution video, which was mute and showed none of the uproar among those on the floor of the chamber below the gallows.

Sami al-Askari, a Shiite lawmaker who advises Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said two "Justice Ministry guards were being questioned. The investigation committee is interrogating the men. If it is found that any official was involved, he will face legal measures."

A second key al-Maliki adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said, "In the past few hours, the government has arrested the person who videotaped Saddam's execution. He was an official who supervised the execution and now he is under investigation."

Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon, one of 14 official witnesses to the execution, told The Associated Press that he saw two government officials using camera phones at the hanging.

"I saw two of the government officials who were ... present during the execution taking all the video of the execution, using the lights that were there for the official taping of the execution," he said. "They used mobile phone cameras. I do not know their names, but I would remember their faces."

Caldwell said no Americans were present for the hanging and that the tumultuous execution would have gone differently had the Americans been in charge.

[luvny-2009]

This is all just another example of their mindset. They thrive on murder and death, if anyone thinks like that moron Bush that there will be any kind of normal life as we see it then they are as stupid as Bush.

[sharncedar]

"Caldwell said no Americans were present for the hanging and that the tumultuous execution would have gone differently had the Americans been in charge."

Oh great. How comforting. Now our government has learned to break the law in the same manner as the big corporations - do everything dubious through a "subcontractor". That's great. We get this same spin, this same garbage, from the government now.

Maybe the police can subcontract torture and brutal beatings to get confessions to a Mexican firm, just over the border. Then say, oh, we didn't know what was going on. Soon they will if we don't challenge this stuff.

The US had custody of Saddam to within minutes of his execution, that means by any rational person's judgement that the US executed Saddam. Anything else is Clintonion word-parsing. Why does the nedia allow this garbage? The only people who get fooled are the American people, and so we look like idiots to the rest of the world.

What are they trying to say "oops, we lost Saddam somewhere in our prison componud, and oops, the Iraqis must have broken in and executed him". What kind of garbage is that. Why would the media even report such garbage excuses, worse than a five-year-old. We have to stop living in a government web of a fantasies and lies, and report what happens, not what some creep spins a big lie.

How long is the media going to let these creeps get away with half-truths unchallenged.

[perception5]

Isn't interesting to watch our liberal MSM wolfpack make hay about such a non-story. I only wish the they and their DEM pals were more concerned about the hundreds of thousands of Saddam's victims......... wishful thinking I guess.

[crystalblue3]

The Iraqi way of life is violence in the name of religion and it has been for many many years. If you look at it this way, the execution was actually more tame than what they're capable of. However, as always, they forget (or don't care) that the eyes of the world are upon them and they should have conducted themselves accordingly...thereby setting an example for the rest of their nation.

However, in my opinion, (let me stress the word "opinion", here), these people are barely civilized. I liken what we are doing over there to trying to domesticate wild animals....and failing miserably. I WAS a Bush supporter until I finally opened my eyes and saw how wrong we really were.

BTW, The AMERICANS didn't execute Saddam. That's the most ridiculous statement I've heard about this yet.

[mahasana]

The question isn't why there were outsiders filming the Sadam execution. Rather, the question is why is this illegal harrassing going on and why aren't the harrassers getting punished? For that matter, how is lying a country into a war against innocent people less of a crime than gassing innocent people?

[williamcrou1]

What the whole world needs today is The Peaceful Solution! Call 1-888-613-9494

[rochest]

the question is why are the official videotape and the smuggled out video so different? The official video was sanitized not showing the crowd and had no Sound leading one to believe this is a dignified carrying out of Iraqi Justice. But the video shot by the camera phone showed the real scene with the taunting and heckling by the crowd. Instead of trying to find out why the state tried to pretend this was dignified when it was obviously not the Iraqi government is arresting the folks who exposed the truth. Now I wonder where they learned that it is better to focus on a few " bad apples " then investigate the official policy with it's sanitized video? Unfortunately they are following Bush's lead.

[rafterman1]

"I only wish the they and their DEM pals were more concerned about the hundreds of thousands of Saddam's victims......... wishful thinking I guess."

Please, that is so laughable. As if you care about any of Saddam's victims. Kill 'em all, isn't that what you righties believe about Muslims? You all only seem to care about Saddam's victims when you try to justify the war.

[elcin-2009]

I am a 18 year old Muslim girl. how did you blame us for even I didNt do anything? why do you want us to be dead? for just being a muslim? I am a person like anybody else and I watched the execution of Saddam like everbody else on tv.. some muslims may be against this for not his being a muslim,for his being a humanbeing.. just like you..

[elcin-2009]

-Thank you for pointing this out. Some people seem to ignore this fact. Islam and the Q'uran do not teach peace and love towards others....it teaches destruction of those who refuse to convert. It's in the Q'uran. Muhammed himself murdered people and had people murdered. The terrorists on 9-11-01 were simply doing what their evil religion tells them to do..



without reading Q'uran,please dont make a judgement. you believe in GOD and the same GOD sent this Q'URAN.

[elcin-2009]

In Q'URAN it is written like that.

[santo_marco]

Who cares about the stinking video? Talk about a small window to peer through. If people would just look at the whole picture, they would understand that Saddam was a dictator that killed a lot of people. That's what all dictators would like to do when people don't do what they demand. If Saddam could experience the pain of a hanging a thousand times over for the life of every "Iraqi" he killed during his genocide, it would be a just punishment. Yes there are many Saddam-sympathizers that are crying about his execution, but there are many-many more Iraqi civilians out there that are thanking God, Allah and whoever else may have answered their prayers that some muscle (that would be the U.S. and it's allies) came in and wiped out a regime that placed them in threat and danger at all times. I know this for I have spoken with them. God be with you all, whomever your God may be.

[elcin-2009]

You may read,but you couldnt understand the real meaning of this. this part is related to Muhammed's time. In his time it was absolutely necessary to fight with people who didnt believe in god. that section is for this.

[elcin-2009]

I dont care what they says about ISLAM and I dont care what they did in the name of ISLAM. I just believe in the same GOD you believe in,too. and I know GOD wants us not to kill even a small insect. What I am trying to say is that even some muslims live their lives without doing anything wrong towards others,why are they blamed to be a muslim?

[Renegade.Rivers]

All of you neo-cons can go on ranting about Saddam's victims, but I ask you, how many victims are their from your lying, cheating, and schemeing administration officials, who greased the palms of their high paying supporters? How many innocent women and children do you have to see die before you are happy?

How can all of you so-called Christians rant and rave about the Muslims and their beliefs, when your own churches history is filled with the slaughter of millions in the name of your so-called holy one. This is not to mention the countless times I have heard it said, "If you are not a Christian, you are going to go to hades." You want religious tolerance, but have none yourselves. You want religious freedoms, but only for your religion. It seems that most religions are filled with zealots who are narrow minded, psychotic, paranoid and have delusions of grandeur. This is the reason there have been more wars fought though out history over religion, than for any other on reason.

I say lets outlaw all religions, that say they have the cornerstone on "truth" and start facing the fact that none of them have the cornerstone on the "truth". There is no "truth" because never has anyone ever came back from the dead, and told what awaits us on the other side. Its all a scam, and deception at its finest. These religions are no more brainwashing, and a way devised to control the minds of the people.

[nyckate]

Waht it clear is that the reports that the current shiite Iraqi government has been infiltrated by religious shiite extremists are true - and worse again it also appears that we have been and are training and arming these extremists and they are working for the government and therefore officially paid by the government but their loyality is to their cleric.

Each day it becomes more clear that the current Bush Administration is completely clueless and that through their incompetency, delusional state of mind they have made terribly serious mistakes in Iraq that we may not be able to correct.

[scully152]

I will not believe he is truly gone untill I see a picture of his deceased body shown on an american television news network. Without seeing that I cannot believe this monster is truly gone.

[grazinggoat]

SickRick,
you just said it U are ridiculous and a biggot. You need to repent and express apologies for the blasphemies you said about all other religions.

[grazinggoat]

SickRick
This is the proof of what you just said:
Being a Christian isn't about the "church" either. It's about accepting Christ.I won't get into detail though to save myself from ridicule on here...
Posted by singinrick at 11:46 AM : Jan 04, 2007

[nyckate]

To singinrick - oh good Lord - one would almost think that you were completely ignorant of world affairs - we have 'christians' killing all the time - our prisons are filled with them -- do you really think it makes a difference if they are killed with a gun or a plane?? Your simple-minded thinking is what got us stuck with the likes of Bush - now its time to let more intelligent thinking take over - simpleminds simply are incapable of handling world affairs because you and Bush have not progressed beyond thinking like 13 year old kids - kids who are failing world history by the way.

[nyckate]

Scully152 - unfortunately pictures of him taken after the hanging were showin on US news and printed in US news papers - quite sickening really.

[sharncedar]

It is fair ot say that liberals who say they are against the death penalty for moral reasons, but in favor of abortion, are pretty much hypocrites.

But if my daughter was pregnant at 16 years old by some skunk at her school, I would have to consider an abortion. Yes, it might be a little bit of murder, but yes, we do kill at times for the safety and security of our loved ones. That's the human way, let's not try to pretend otherwise. I would kill 1000 for my family's security - wouldn't enjoy it, but would do it without hesitation, it's my primary duty as an adult.

The rational argument against the death penalty is that it is of no use to society in general. It doesn't increase our security or quality of life. I don't know if that's true for all death sentences, but it seemed that the Saddam hanging was of no practical value. It seemed it was revenge, and that doesn't get our job done.

As a turn of speech, I would even kill my own emotions for the safety and security of my nation and family, if you can understand what I mean. That's the real sacrifice we need to make, the sacrifice of our own sacred cows or stupid ideas or chances at revenge so we can protect the innocent without enotional distraction or personal interest.

[nyckate]

To renrivers - let's face facts - the neocons didn't care about the plight for iraqis or others before Bush invaded Iraq so nobody is buying into their fake compassion these days either! it's hard to figure them out - Bush and Cheney both said they agreed with Vietnam but neither wanted to go over - they seem to feel that they are above that kind of service that they are the 'deciders' not the 'doers' and that its right that they maintain their station in life and that others give their lives instead of them - its true calvinism - that Bush has a claimed higher status than the rest of us - that he was born to be the 'decider' and the rest were born to do his bidding. Quite surreal to the rest of us but to them it is the way of things.

[Renegade.Rivers]

Lol, your are so bogus singinrick,

-Fighting with people is one thing, but purposely killing them for refusing to convert to Muslim is a whole different subject.

How many native Americans did your religion kill because they were so-called "heathens and infidels?"

You don't believe in the same God as me, because I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for our sins.

Muhammed did not die for our trangressions. He was a mere mortal human being like the rest of us.

So was Jesus.

Muslims are still killing people for not converting to their beliefs....
Christians don't fly airplanes into buildings killing thousands of innocent people.

No they bomb them from 40,000 feet.

If you have any inkling that I am muslim, you couldn't be further from the truth, I am agnostic, and believe that both religions should be outlawed.

[Renegade.Rivers]

nyckate your are so right.

Our world has been turned upside down by these zealots, that are no more than liars, filled with blasphemies, and out for one thing, the control of minds and bodies to do their bidding.

[stekat-2009]

Regardless of what some people think about religion, those that believe in and practice the teachings of Jesus turn out to be more loving, friendlier, kind, giving, forgiving, patient, less apt to steal, cheat, lie, seek revenge, murder, seek anothers property or wife or to take advantage of another for their advancement. Those that believe in the teaching of Jesus aren't perfect, but they seek perfection through Jesus the Christ! Those that don't believe in any God have be brainwashed by their own ideology and the wisdom of man. The so called Christians of the past give those of today a bad rep. but I look beyond the past to today and tomorrow and I see a happier life and brighter future for me than for those that believe only in themselves.

[elcin-2009]

Jesus Christ isnt the son of GOD. you have changed the truth like that..

[jn122736]

Singinrick said:
%u201CBeing a Christian isn't about the "church" either. It's about accepting Christ.I won't get into detail though to save myself from ridicule on here...%u201D

I suspect it is rather to avoid answering logical questions.

In response to this earlier partial statement from singinrick:
%u201CMuslims DO NOT believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to this earth to die for our sins as God in the flesh.%u201D

I asked the following two questions:

How was Jesus%u2019 dying on the cross a sacrifice? If, as you claim, He were god in the flesh he would feel no pain and the crucifixion would have been merely symbolic. Are you saying Jesus was a show-off?

If, as you further claim, none can go to heaven unless they accept Jesus as their savior what do you think will happen to all the people throughout history who never even heard of him, For instance all the inhabitants of the Australian, North and South American continents? No one at that time even knew they existed. Evidently not even Jesus.

Singinrick%u2019s non-answer was a link to another opinion.

I repeat, logic and religion are mortal enemies.

[nyckate]

To stekat - much of America doesn't have a problem with religion - what we are tired of is the incessent non-stop preaching from the neo-right - as if their brand of christianity is THE one - that its better than all the rest - and then there is the dangerous insertion into government of religious beliefs ... we aren't tired of religion we are exhausted by the continued act of those who feel they are the 'true believers' preaching to the rest of us -- we want you to stop. If the discussion is about Saddam's hanging then stop talking religion.

[rusty50-2009]

It's completely laughable how Christians infiltrate a news message board with their own twisted "message" of God and Jesus. These deranged bible-thumpers, trying to shove Christianity down everyone's throats, seem to feel they have found a new medium to do so.

Stick it up your @sses. People shun religion because of freaks like singingrick and other sickos posting their BS religious baloney here and everywhere else they find an opportunity.

How many of your priests have given it to little boys up the @ss - those men are the face of god in this world. Popes who decry birth control.....yep, Christianity is every bit as sick and bogus as Islam.

Religion, false as it is, is right out there, available to anyone who feels the urge to partake. Go to church and sing and pray to your naive hearts' content, and shut your pie holes when you leave.

Selah

[thgdriver]

Rochest SEZ:

"The Iraqi government is arresting the folks who exposed the truth."

You have got to be kidding me, They were out to make some "bucks" that's all. Exposing the truth, I can't believe you believe that.

Besides, after watching that vidio. I don't expect to hear many going around saying they saw Saddam at the local Wall Mart with Elvis.

[grazinggoat]

Rusty50
Jesus loves ya, man. He does. He wants you into a relationship, heart to heart. SickRick is getting the credit-points for that enrolling.

[chadi7]

stekat,
"those that believe in and practice the teachings of Jesus turn out to be more loving, friendlier, kind, giving, forgiving, patient, less apt to steal, cheat, lie, seek revenge, murder, seek anothers property or wife or to take advantage of another for their advancement"

well let's see. I went to a bible college and I was a children's minister, lets see what all occured. First off, people in a church can be some of the meanest people you will ever meet. Thet have an agenda and they don't care what they have to do to get it done (because God is on their side). I've met more friedlier people outside of a church than inside one. Patience is not a virture that is well taught in churches, fighting for God is what is really taught. While I was in bible college a good friend of mine (who also went to the bible college) had an affair with my wife (we're now divorced). My ex-brother-in-law was yelled at and told he wasn't a true christian because he didn't believe in calvinism. I'm not saying all christians are bad, but you've got to realize that christianity doesn't solve all of our problems. It can create more. Religion doesn't change people, people change religion. They make it suit whatever their needs are. There are bad christians just like there are bad islamist. Religion is just a veil they wear to justify their actions.

[stekat-2009]

Chadi7, It's apparent that you didn't get my point. I said,"those that believe in and practice the teachings of Jesus" not those that appear to be Christians. That's exactly what is wrong with those that bash Christianity today. They think that anyone and everyone that goes to church is a follower of Jesus when in reality they are pretenders, frauds or perpetriators. Everyone that call themself a Christian isn't. In the Christian world you have your saints and then you have your aints. The same applies to every religion, even to those who do not believe in a god. Those are the ones when something fortunate or a misfortune occurs the first thing that comes out of their mouth is, Oh My God!, or Jesus Christ! My only reason for responding to you is to inform you that all those that believe in GOD aren't bad, and that applies to those that don't believe! God chose me to believe and you chose not to believe and I respect that! But in the End, you'd better be right!

[annd2302]

Quote:

Posted by singinrick at 05:34 PM : Jan 04, 2007

"AND it's also a crime to carry a Bible, from what I've read."

Now, just where in the hell did that come from you gunzel-head.

[grazinggoat]

SickRick,
you just said it U are ridiculous and a biggot. You need to repent and express apologies for the blasphemies you said about all other religions.

but indeed Im hateful, toward the skepticism about all the magical stories that are told in the holybooks. Unfortunately Just can't be as easy to convince as you, with all the discrepencies with the cartesian logics that WE've been taught. Not criticising a fairy tale and gobble it as is, man, we're heading down to hell.

Shame on you SickRick and I reiterate if you still think that others' religion are not as good as yours (I'd say as bad), well up to you to be happy that way. I prefer to be tormented now and later in my life, to being taken as another individual into the hurd of sheeps.

You started from a prejudiciable vision toward the others... and that is bad, so sad. All humans have been created EQUAL and FREE at their birth, and Equal and Free shall they stay untill they naturally die, according to United Nations Charter of Rights, a sacred text that preserved the rights of humans all over the world, much more than religions did ever. Never ever the human race has been in a better condition than since the adoption of the UN charter of rights. So please keep your convictions for yourself and stop smearing others' beliefs. Nobody is preventing you from believing in all fairytales you wish. But please don't impose it on others...

[pakaal]

There are tons of references to violence and killing in the Christian Bible. Allah's exhortations are hardly less vicious than the Christian God's, here's just a few....

The prophet Samuel gave Saul these instructions from the Lord: "Go now and fall upon the Amalekites and destroy them. . . . Spare no one; put them all to death, men and women, children and babes in arms, herds and flocks, camels and *****."

Jeremiah denounces those who won't do the killings desired by the Almighty. He declares: "A curse on him who is slack in doing the Lord's work! A curse on him who withholds his sword from bloodshed!"

God promised to make an end of the people of Judah by "sword, with famine and pestilence." And the Lord pledged to do the same to any nation that would not submit to his "servant" Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian king.

But of course when it's Christians fighting against "nonbelievers" they tell people it's different, because the Christian God (as they tell us) is the only true god, and he has every right to kill whomever he wants.

[grazinggoat]

SickRick:
Sura (2:191) - And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution [of Muslims] is worse than slaughter [of non-believers]

No intention here to defend anything, but this seems to be what we call self-defense/Resitance for occupied land and its retake.

The word drove is the past form of the verb drive (not a car) but rather push, kick someone out of his home, land. This is written in the United Nations' Charter of Rights.

The other part about 'terror in the heart' is quite terrifying, but doesn't say nothing about killing Christians as you pretend.

[grazinggoat]

Yo my friend Rick,
why don't you have a look at the last version of the UnitedNations Charter of Rights. It has eliminated all discriminations against people no matter what religion, what race, what nationality and what gender, or s3xual orientation they are.

No confusion, clearly written and full of commomn sens. Jesus, Abrahma, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna and all the other prophets would have adopted it as their Charter of Human Rights. Actually if you look at it, you can see it's much inspired from the Noble Books throughout history. This charter of rights could be a reference into human rights and obligations for centuries to come...

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

[grazinggoat]

...Continued
One should not restrict this generosity only to one controversial but special Creature. Look at all the controversies that have been documented about the life of Jesus ( Maria-Magdalena, lack of knowledge about Jesus from the Adolesence to thirty) etc...

As previoulsy stated, the blessing of knowledges continues to pour on Humanity and all the scientific discoveries are the perfect illustration of 'miracle-making'. Medical Cures discoveries, unavailable less than 20 yrs ago, are a perfect example of such continuous blessing and revelation... You may be blaspheming if you just restrict the revelations of The Creator just to the period of Jesus. The Creator is Eternal and time is not a limitation to Him. As stated previously, the Past, the Present and the Future are sizable at the same moment for Him, so please don't squat strictly on the previous revelations. There are many to come...

[grazinggoat]

Heard this fairy tale for 50 yrs now. What you don't understand is that Jesus is not the only case of Godly humans to have come to earth and suffered for their sisters, brothers, neighbors, nations... Humanity is full of sacrifices. And they are all 'willed' by The Creator.

The last case was a man who tried to save another one who fell off a train, very recently in the State. They both had to creep under the incoming train on the other track. He put his life at risk to save the other's.

No one can recount all the sacrifices of one's life for the others. And most of them were genuine, coming instantanously, without any prior reflection. They are all Godly gestures.
Continue please...

[grazinggoat]

Really need to sleep, bye now and yall have a great night.