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Is Saddam Hussein a scapegoat?

By Syed Atiq ul Hassan - posted Monday, 20 November 2006


One by one key supporters of the war in Iraq - both within the US and around the world - either lost their status or had to change their policy.

For example, in the US, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfield was sacked recently. Colin Powell and Richard Armitage left after the 2004 election. George Tenet, CIA chief who was the producer of Iraq’s WMD issue, was sacked. Jose Maria Aznar, the Spanish Prime Minister, was ousted after the Madrid bombs. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, lost his office last April.

Eventually, the people of the US voted against Bush’s military operation in Iraq. Bush’s Republican Party received an historic defeat in the recent congressional elections.

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But returning to Saddam’s death penalty, some international legal experts and human rights groups have already questioned the impartiality of the Iraqi trial court. When Saddam’s death sentence was announced George W. Bush claimed it as a victory for the United States in achieving her goals in Iraq. But how many of those have really been achieved?

Nevertheless, if Saddam deserves to be hanged would his death bring any change in the present anarchical situation in Iraq? Then, even if democracy and peace is implemented in Iraq - which seems impossible in the present situation - who will be held responsible for the torture and killing of about half a million people in Iraq? Will anyone be held accountable and brought to the international court of justice?

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About the Author

Syed Atiq ul Hassan, is senior journalist, writer, media analyst and foreign correspondent for foreign media agencies in Australia. His email is shassan@tribune-intl.com.

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