Dec 30 2006
The Body Count and The Execution of Saddam Hussein
As you may recall, when President Bush's invasion of Iraq, codenamed "Operation Iraqi Freedom", officially began on March 20, 2003, the three (3) stated objectives were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD's), to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people" (emphasis supplied).
Well, we all know about the non-existent WMD's (via BBC), and that Hussein had no ties to Al-Qaeda (via WaPo).
Now, it seems that the death toll from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" may, in fact, be more than in 25 years of Saddam brutality.
Several weeks ago, research published in the respected medical journal, The Lancet (pdf file), suggests that an estimated 655,000 Iraqis may have died since the 2003 Iraqi invasion. The survey compared mortality rates before and after the war from 47 randomly chosen areas in Iraq. The overall fatality figure is far higher than estimates by official sources or the number of deaths reported in the media and by other lobby or academic groups. (via BBC News)
Strike three? Not so fast.
Earlier today Saddam Hussein was executed by the Iraqi government. The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail. Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days.
President Bush said in a statement issued from his ranch in Texas that bringing Saddam to justice "is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror."
The irony and the hubris is incredible.
At this point, U.S. soldiers continue to be killed in droves, with December being the deadliest month in Iraq for U.S. troops. (via Yahoo). Who here thinks that number is going to go down because Hussein was executed?
I shed no tears for Saddam Hussein, but the taking of one despicable life is rarely justification for the almost guaranteed loss of many other innocent ones.
UPDATE: This is another interesting analysis of the execution by Josh Marshall over at the Talking Points Memo — "I just find it embarrassing. This is what we're reduced to, what the president has reduced us to. This is the best we can do. Hang Saddam Hussein because there's nothing else this president can get right."
