Rumors around the Saddam execution
In an effort to clear itself, the Maliki government is just making things worse.
So, is this intended to make Sadr the villain of the piece and clear the Maliki government of any wrongdoing? (The Interior Ministry is run by SCIRI, Sadr's Shia rivals.)
(And the rumor that Moqtada al-Sadr himself was one of the masked executioners doesn't help matters.)
"There was an infiltration at the execution chamber."
Echoing those accusations, a senior Interior Ministry official said the hanging was supposed to be carried out by hangmen employed by the Interior Ministry but that "militias" had managed to infiltrate the executioners' team.
"The execution was carried out by militias and outsiders. They put aside the team from the Interior Ministry that was supposed to carry it out," the official said.
So, is this intended to make Sadr the villain of the piece and clear the Maliki government of any wrongdoing? (The Interior Ministry is run by SCIRI, Sadr's Shia rivals.)
(And the rumor that Moqtada al-Sadr himself was one of the masked executioners doesn't help matters.)
posted by mikevotes at
8:41 AM
5 Comments:
The Iraqi Minister of Security was in the execution chamber. He was interviewed on NPR last night, and said he saw guards (yes, plural) using cell phones to record the execution. He made it clear how outraged he was that this was happening.
When asked why, as Security Minister, I didn't do something -- postpone the execution, confiscate the cell phones, raise an objection -- this guy was flummoxed. He went into an embarrassing contortion of verbal nonsense in an effort to both condemn others and excuse himself.
The execution of Saddam was carried out by a Shia militia. However deserving Saddam was of being executed, one cannot, by any stretch of the definition, say justice was served.
By
-epm, at 9:49 AM
Talkingpointsmemo.com has been doing a ton on this.
The early indications were that the video was taken by top government officials, maybe even rubaie.
I have not really tracked who took the pictures all that closely because, unless it was a governmental decision, it's not as important as the fact that the video is out there.
However, if the government did turn the execution over to Sadr, or was directly responsible for the event or the propagation of the video, suddenly, it becomes a much bigger deal.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 10:57 AM
That's why they're pushing so hard to externalize every element.
The abuse, that was infiltrators.
The video, that was just a guard.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 10:58 AM
Makes you think a little more about the three times Moqtada's name was chanted.
By
Bravo 2-1, at 2:14 PM
Very much.
I think the question at this point is just how involved the government was involved in all this.
(You know, There may be no greater statement of the political chaos that is Iraq than the fact that I have to ask "Just how involved was the government in the execution?"
There shouldn't be any questions, you know?)
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 3:01 PM
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