Saturday, November 04, 2006

Just coincidence, surely

I notice that Iraq is bracing for the verdict in the first of Saddam Hussein's various trials for crimes committed against the Iraqi people. All army officers' leave has been cancelled and the entire country is in state of high alert, anticipating outbreaks of protest and violence upon the reading of the verdict, which will certainly be guilty and carry with it a death sentence.

I'm just wondering, if this is the first of several trials, why we must hear this verdict at this time? Is it really necessary to stir up more trouble in Iraqi cities at a time when ethnic tensions and violence have reached historic highs? Why not read all the verdicts at once, when the trials are all concluded?

Could it be that the American authorities have imposed the reading of this verdict to coincide with the last days of the midterm elections, perhaps to be able to claim some small, peripheral credit? Is it really possible that they don't care what havoc will be visited upon the Iraqi people with this verdict, as long as they can crow about it for one news cycle?

Naah, forget it, i'm just SOOO cynical...just a coincidence, i'm sure.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was disheartened by a couple of quotes from Iraqi citizens on this. Both considered the verdict in consequential because there was nothing Sadam did that the US hasn't done since, and "at least he was doing in self defense."

When public opinion in Iraq can be found to suggest that we're worse than Sadam, or that apparently he wasn't so bad -- what does that say about where the US is today in that country?

Shame doesn't come close to covering it.

5:18 PM  

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