OT: Saddam Hussain

[Sark79]

Regardless of what you thought about him as a leader, Iraq seemed a safer place to be when he was in control than it is now with our help. The level of violence is far greater without proper control even if that control was through fear rather than a fair Government

Oh my !!!    I am shocked.

How do you mean?  lol.   I am not supporting the guy, but in a country such as Iraq who haven't had a democracy before, giving them it is going to cause confusion and grief for many years to come. It can't be done straight away. That is why I feel a dictatorship is a better option in some occasions, as long as it is overseen by civilised authority to prevent human rights infringements. 

[AndrewT]

The crime that Saddam was ultimately hanged for was getting on the wrong side of the US.

As long as you're doing the big boys' bidding, you can do whatever you want.

Personally, I'm against the death penalty only because of the risk of wrongful convictions - I have no objection on moral grounds. Therefore the hanging is correct. The real scandal is that it came 20 years too late.

[ItsMrAlex2u]

amnesty and the human right groups need to work out what they want

they point out human rights abuses and ask for the rest of the world to intervene

then when the do intervene they complain about people intervening where it doesnt concern them

i believe that in extremme cases of murder where the evidance is undeniable that the death penalty should be implemented

but i dont think it should be in place for most murders etc due to the fact that you can bring the person back

when 20 years later they work out its a misscarridge of justice

Agreed not for all murderers but for the worst cases deffo, Saddam should be hung again just for good measure

[TightEnd]

a dictatorship overseen by a civliised authority?

of course a dictactor would welcome that. I just rang the North Korean Presiudent and asked him, he was in a conferene with Unicef and Amnesty and asked not to be disturbed.

[The Baron]

The crime that Saddam was ultimately hanged for was getting on the wrong side of the US.

As long as you're doing the big boys' bidding, you can do whatever you want.

Personally, I'm against the death penalty only because of the risk of wrongful convictions - I have no objection on moral grounds. Therefore the hanging is correct. The real scandal is that it came 20 years too late.

Good post Andrew - this is what I was trying to say earlier.

[AndrewT]

Regardless of what you thought about him as a leader, Iraq seemed a safer place to be when he was in control than it is now with our help. The level of violence is far greater without proper control even if that control was through fear rather than a fair Government

Oh my !!!    I am shocked.

How do you mean?  lol.   I am not supporting the guy, but in a country such as Iraq who haven't had a democracy before, giving them it is going to cause confusion and grief for many years to come. It can't be done straight away. That is why I feel a dictatorship is a better option in some occasions, as long as it is overseen by civilised authority to prevent human rights infringements.

People are always criticising Adolf Hitler, but people forget that he made the trains run on time.

We only ever hear the bad stuff...

*can't find the right smiley but I'll assume you'll all get the point*

[Sark79]

a dictatorship overseen by a civliised authority?

of course a dictactor would welcome that. I just rang the North Korean Presiudent and asked him, he was in a conferene with Unicef and Amnesty and asked not to be disturbed.

lol,  What I should have said was, taking away a man who brought control to a region before planning for a suitable replacement Government is bad planning in my view.  It is better to have control of any kind rather than none at all.  If the US and Brits left Iraq now, there would be absolute chaos And destruction. Surely brutal control is better than none at all.

[The Baron]

a dictatorship overseen by a civliised authority?

of course a dictactor would welcome that. I just rang the North Korean Presiudent and asked him, he was in a conferene with Unicef and Amnesty and asked not to be disturbed.

lol,  What I should have said was, taking away a man who brought control to a region before planning for a suitable replacement Government is bad planning in my view.  It is better to have control of any kind rather than none at all.  If the US and Brits left Iraq now, there would be absolute chaos And destruction. Surely brutal control is better than none at all.

Not for 5000 dead Kurds it wasn't.

[wader leg]

What annoyed me most was the politicians who continually vote against the death penalty in this country and refuse to deport foreign murderers back to their own countries because those countries have the death penalty couldn't contain their glee when it was announced that Saddam was going to be exucuted.
Margaret Beckett and Jack Straw to name two.
Remember Straw refusing to deport Pinochet?
Hypocrites the lot of 'em

[Colchester Kev]

  It's going to take a long time to rebuild Iraq and restore it to a peaceful place.

OH MY GOD

[TightEnd]

Surely brutal control is better than none at all.

that is ludicrous. Its the brutality that is the key not the lack of control.

I reckon  people might do without a bus timetable for a while if they know that they and families aren't unsafe, persecuted, tortued etc

[wader leg]

Wasn't it Mussolini who made the trains run on time?

[Sark79]

ok, before I get a knock on my door by someone  ( I am a proud Brit, I even have Union Jacks as my avatars ).

I hate what he was and I think he was a terrible man. However he did bring control to the Country. I think it could have been planned better than it was.  People would not be getting kidnapped, murdered and raped now had the planning been better.  Sectarianism within Iraq has always been an issue of course, but now it would spiral out of control if we were to leave.  We will be there for many years to come, probably the rest of my life and I am 27.

[TightEnd]

yes Sark, the planning has for a post Saddam era completely gone to Pol pot. We can agree on that.

[snoopy1239]

I for 1 am totally for the death penalty. Brutal murders and violent rapists and child abusers should be executed or at the very least castrated in the case of the latter 2.

Stick em in a cell for 30 years and it costs the state a fortune.

Why should the likes of Ian Huntley be allowed to stay alive??

I understand what you are saying, but I don't think we should consider 'running costs' when it comes to life and death.