White House Tries To Divert Debate Over Saddam Execution Video
The White House response to questions regarding the uproar over the cellphone video version of Saddam Hussein’s execution underscores why the administration is losing support on many fronts:
(CBS/AP) The U.S. government worked Wednesday to distance itself from the ugly details of Saddam Hussein’s execution and tried to focus on the symbolism of the former dictator’s death sentence.
“There seems to be a lot of concern about the last two minutes of Saddam Hussein’s life and less about the first 69 (years), in which he murdered hundreds of thousands of people,” White House press secretary Tony Snow said. “That’s why he was executed.”
CBS News correspondent Karen Brown reports that the president hasn’t even seen the video of Hussein’s hanging.
But the Bush administration was sending conflicting signals about the taunting and baiting that accompanied Hussein’s execution, with the White House declining to join criticism of the procedure and the State Department and U.S. military raising questions about it.
Dear Mr. Snow:
It does NOT automatically stand to reason that if people are noting that the official version of the execution that showed an orderly procedure contrasted with the clandestine cellphone version that showed taunting, cursing and a near lynch mob setting they’re downplaying or don’t care about Hussein’s crimes.
This is typical of the way you and the White House choose to answer questions: by going on the offensive and trying to characterize and discredit those who ask questions so an original controversial original issue is obscured or diverted so that the people asking questions have to drop the questions or analysis and try to defend themselves. Or they would then be too intimidated to ask more questions.
This response and the news report also point out a fact: the history of this administration is most noted for it’s brushing aside accepted methods of diplomacy and criticism in a way that has placed itself at odds frequently with the professionals in the State Department. And, here too, we see the White House at odds with how the military chooses to respond (perhaps this means there will be announcements of more retirements?).
We’ve done posts here noting the controversy. No one on this site downplays what Hussein has done. And members of the press who are reporting this controversy and noting that the original version left out some little details (the taunting, the cursing, the very politicization of the hanging moment in a way that further inflamed some tensions in Iraq) are not ignoring what Saddam Hussein did.
If fact, you are the one trying to ignore something: the fact that the original video should not have been released in that form so that when the raw cell phone video came forward it didn’t raise a credibility issue for the already beset Iraq government. No one is trying to divert attention from Hussein’s horrirific crimes. The real diversion efforts are coming from other quarters. And then there’s this: Mr. Bush said the execution was going to be a “milestone.” That has opened the door to legitimate questions as to whether it is proving to be just that and what kind of a milestone it is. And those questions aren’t attempts to forget about Sadaam Hussein and his family’s regime of blood.
7 Responses to “White House Tries To Divert Debate Over Saddam Execution Video”
You are correct in pointing out that discussing the particulars of Saddam’s death does not mean ignoring his deeds during his life. The reason for discussing the way he died is in what it says about the people that executed him.
There is a fine line between execution and murder and in my mind, the video of Saddam’s death is clearly a lynching and a murder, not an execution. In an execution, there is a sadness at the need to perform a deed that society finds abhorant. This video shows joy and celebration of another person’s death. This says that the Iraqi government that we have brought into being does not have the respect for life that we would expect a competent government to have.
This action was no different than the actions we’ve seen in videos where kidnappers kill their victims for the camera. This was not justice, it was revenge.
This thread brings to mind Shaun Mullen’s commentary on how we are a nation of sheep. Quite honestly, those who continue to buy the official White House version of anything- obviously must be. Their credibility gap yawns as wide as the Grand Canyon—even the talents of Tony Snow can’t bridge it.
As far as Sadaam goes, yes it is wonderful that he will no longer brutalize and terrorize his people. It would be equally wonderful if we could encourage the fledgling Iraqi government to act in the interest of the nation as a whole, and not like a bunch of partisan thugs.
Unbelievable how you leftist can turn this into another Bush Bash. How about you all head to Gitmo and adopt a terrorist and take him home and hug him, feed him and hope he doesn’t cut your throat.
Pathetic, but just as pathetic over your mourning over the Devil.
Mac –
There is no mourning Saddam. He is dead, a punishment befitting the crimes he was convicted of in an Iraqi court, as well as those he will be convicted of in the eternal afterlife.
But make no mistake, what was captured on the video of a cell phone was not justice. It was revenge, a concept I hope is absent from an official action enacted by any government. For it is only the swift dispassionate action of justice that legitimates a system of laws. When vengence is allowed into the process, the process risks illigitimacy.
I thought we wanted to see Democracy bloom in Iraq? I thought we wished a true system of justice for all Iraqis? Does that not begin with Saddam?
You do a great service – even thoguh the rabid will always find cause to disagree with you, your effort to seek silly things like accuracy, fairness, truth – are really refreshing. The fact is that we as U.S. citizens, should be ashamed of our participation in the murder of Saddam in Iraq – no matter how evil he was, and he was evil, we cannot be proud to use the same execution chamber in just the same way as he did.
Great post, Joe.
mac- We’re not mourning Sadaam, but the rule of law in Iraq. There’s no point in substituting one brutal regime that disregards human rights for another one that does the exact same thing. I thought you “righties” cared more about the human rights of Iraqis than that.
If Bush has his head in the sand on this (reports that he hasn’t even watched the execution video!) then, just like in Katrina, he will receive criticism for disengagement on an issue that is gaining momentum worldwide.