Last Saturday at
approximately 6:05 am, former
dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, was executed by hanging at the former
headquarters of Saddam's military intelligence where many of his victims were
executed on the same gallows.
Shortly after the
execution, the Iraqi government released a short film of the execution which
showed the former dictator, very composed, declaring his faith and refusing the
hood, walking to the trapdoor where a noose was placed around his neck. Here
the sound track was either cleaned and/or missing. Shortly after, a new video,
supposedly taken by a mobile phone by one of those present at the scene, was
circulating around the world. This film showed all the gruesome details of the
execution and, most importantly, recorded the sounds in the gallows chamber. In
this film, one can hear Saddam Hussein declaring his faith (similar to the last
rites) while a person shouted �Moqtada is alive� (referring to the Shi�ite
Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr) and �you are going to hell.�
The trial and
execution of Saddam raise important questions: why was he tried and executed
for only one incident: ordering the 1982 killings of
148 Shiite Muslims in Dujail, (�small� as compared to other horrific
atrocities committed during his reign of terror); why was he executed at such a
(religiously) sensitive time; why were the videos were released; and finally
why did the authorities allowed his body to be buried in Tikrit, his home town?
Why was he tried
and executed for one incident
The list of crimes
attributed to Saddam Hussein and his regime is indeed a lengthily one, but to
show that there were much more serious crimes than the massacre of Shi�ites in
Dujail, I shall just list a few of them here.
Saddam�s use of
chemical weapons against both military (Iran) and against civilians (both
Iranian and Iraqis) is well documented. One of the most horrifying acts of
Saddam was his ordering of chemical attack on Kurdish civilians in the town of
Halabja. In this incident, more than 5,000 Iraqis (men, women and children)
were killed in a few hours.
In his book,
�Eastern Gate Ruins," General Wafiq Al Samarae, the former director of the
Iraqi Intelligence Service, admits that Saddam�s government used chemical
weapons against Iraqi people in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala to crush
the popular uprising of March 1991, which followed the defeat of Saddam in
invading Kuwait. Saddam also used chemical weapons against citizens in the
marshes of southern Iraq.
Among thousands of
executions and assassinations, he was also responsible for the killing of Sunni
religious leaders, such as Abdul Aziz Al Badri the Imam of Dragh district
mosque in Baghdad; Al Shaikh Nadhum Al Asi from Ubaid tribe in Northern Iraq;
Al Shiakh Al Shahrazori, Al Shaikh Umar Shaqlawa, Al Shiakh Rami Al Kirkukly,
Al Shiakh Mohamad Shafeeq Al Badri, Abdul Ghani Shindala, etc., etc.
Invasions of Iran
and Kuwait also resulted in deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, not to
mention Iranians and Kuwaitis. When one considers the number of people killed
and the magnitude of Saddam�s crimes, one wonders why he was tried and executed
for killing 148 Shi�ites in 1982? Considering the extensive documentation that
exists, surely it was not difficult to prove the use of chemical weapons on
Halabja.
Keeping the
accomplices hidden
The problem with
trying Saddam Hussein for really big atrocities, such as use of chemical
weapons on civilians was that many enablers of Saddam�s regime, including
Western companies and both Western and Middle Eastern governments, would have
been implicated. During the 1980s, 29 countries supplied him with weapons,
while nine others fronted for him whenever a cover was needed. Countries such
as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, United States, United Kingdom, Germany,
France, China and Russia (just to name a few) had to be named and their
complicity explained.
For example, it is
a well-known fact that it was Saudi Arabian money that helped underwrite Iraq�s
eight year war with Iran. It was Saudi Arabia�s encouragement and guarantees of
financial support that finally persuaded Saddam Hussein to attack Iran. By the
end of 1981, Saudi Arabia had �officially� loaned over $10 billion to Iraq [1].
This financial help was in addition to producing and selling 1 million barrels
of oil per day on behalf of Iraq. But Saudi Arabia, although the chief
financier, was not the only Arab country that wholeheartedly assisted Saddam Hussein.
The so-called moderate Arab countries, such as Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait, were
also heavily involved in assisting Saddam.
But while Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait were providing the money, it was the West that was supplying
the weaponry and the technical assistance that enabled Saddam Hussein to carry
out some of his most horrific crimes against humanity. �The Blue prints for the
construction of the first chemical weapons plant were provided by Pfaulder
Corporation of Rochester, New York.� [2] German, French, Italian and British
companies were all heavily involved in arming Saddam Hussein. Even after
Saddam�s heavy use of chemical weapons against Iranian targets and his own
people, the relationship continued unabated. By 1989 the whole world knew about
the use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein. After all, it was on 16 March
1988 that Iraqi forces gassed the town of Halabja, killing 5,000 and injuring
7,000 Kurds. Yet even this atrocity did not affect the US or British
relationship with Saddam�s regime.
�In 1989 the United
States supplied Iraq with helicopter engines, vacuum pumps for a nuclear plant,
sophisticated communications equipment, computers, bacteria strains and
hundreds of tons of unrefined Sarin.
"Furthermore,
the pro-Iraq activities of the US-Iraq business Forum, led as it was by former
diplomats with solid connections with the State Department, were augmented by
the work of Kissinger Associates, the consulting firm headed by former
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Representing companies such as Volvo, Fiat
and Hunt Oil, this firm was staffed by other insiders who took their signal
from the government. Two of the insiders, Brent Scowcroft and Lawrence
Eagleburger, were to join the Bush administration in the spring of 1989, the
former as National Security Adviser.� [3]
Execution: the
date, the films and the burial place
Muslims celebrate
two Eids (Arabic: festival): One is called Eid ul-Fitr that marks the end of
the holy month of Ramadan, and the other is Eid ul-Adha or in Persian Eid-e Qurban
which is celebrated to commemorate Prophet Abraham�s willingness to sacrifice
his son for God.
Eid Al Adha is
celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja of the lunar Islamic
calendar, after the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This festival
is four days long, starting the day after the pilgrims (during their ceremony)
descend from the mount Arafat (Saudi Arabia). During this festival lambs are
slaughtered and the regular charitable practices of the Muslim community are
demonstrated by the concerted effort to see that no impoverished Muslim is left
without sacrificial food during these days. In other words, these four days of
festivals are to be the time of charity and good deeds. This year�s Eid Al
Adhais began on 30 December, the very day that Saddam Hussein was executed.
The timing
indicates that the Iraqi government was under pressure to remove Saddam from
the scene before the Gregorian calendar New Year. But why? Does this have
something to do with the Bush�s new Iraq strategy? On its own, executing Saddam
on that day did not make any sense except angering the Sunni Muslims of Iraq
even more than they are already.
Videoing of the
execution and releasing it to the public was also a propaganda victory for
Saddam Hussein. He went to his death with dignity and courage. The Sunnis,
especially the Ba'athists, will remember him for his defiance to the very end.
So, why release the video in the first place? And why release the second video?
This video with sound track was shot by a mobile phone. It was clear that all
present were aware that this person was filming them. We know that everyone was
there by invitation and everyone was thoroughly searched. So it was not an
accident, nor the work of a freelance journalist to shoot the video and release
it to the public. Both the central government and the Americans would have had
to okay the release. So why was it released?
If you watch the
second video, you hear one of the executioners (guards) shouting the name of
Muqtada al-Sadr. This video connects the execution directly to al-Sadr. It is
no secret that Muqtada al-Sadr is an Arab nationalist and the one that could
pose the greatest threat to the Americans. He has considerable influence in the
Shi�ia community and has several people in the parliament. He also has a large
militia in Baghdad and elsewhere in southern Iraq. He is also the one that can
easily make common cause with the Sunni insurgents against the occupation
forces. This video tried to portray al-Sadr people as the ones responsible for
the taunting and, in the minds of some, the execution of Saddam.
Then we have the
burial place: Awja, near Tikrit. Why did the government not send the body to
Jordan where most of Saddam�s family live? Or why wasn�t it sent to Yemen for
burial as one of his daughters, Raghad wished [4]?
By sending Saddam�s
body to Awja, the government and the Americans are ensuring that the Sunnis
will have a nationalist shrine right at the heart of the Sunni triangle. The
Ba'athists and the Sunni nationalists will have a shrine dedicated to what they
believe was a national hero, killed at the hands of Shi�ites and the Americans.
Stupidity or
design
By all legal
standards, the trial of Saddam Hussein was unfair and farcical to say the
least. It was a show trial for the public. His hasty execution was also a
disgrace. Those who had suffered most at his hands did not get justice, for
their voices were never heard or their sufferings acknowledged; while those who
supported him did not see a proper legal trial for their leader.
The farcical trial
and hasty execution only achieved one thing: silencing the man that could
expose the hypocrisy and complicity of both the so-called moderate Arab
governments and the major Western powers.
Some may think that
by executing him, the Sunni insurgents will be disheartened and become more
amiable in dealing with the US. This is, of course, an illusion. The existing
Iraqi Ba'ath Party has already appointed Saddam�s former general and number two
party member Ezat Irahim Al Dawri as the new leader and the �president of
Iraq." Al Dawri has been in hiding since 2003 and is believed to be
directing some attacks against the occupation forces. However, it is just
possible that given enough power in the Al-Maliki�s government, some Sunni
elements may join the governing group. But this can only be achieved if Muqtada
al-Sadr is neutralised.
This is the most
likely reason behind the release of the second film. If the US attacks Al-Sadr,
it is hoped, it will show Sunnis that the US is attacking a hated Shi�ia who
was taunting Saddam on the gallows. So far, the US has had an uneasy truce with
al-Sadr, something that the US is no longer is interested in. It is evident
that the United States will, in the near future, attack Al-Sadr forces in Baghdad
and will try to crush and disband his militia, the Mahdi Army. This attack will
result in the resignation of al-Sadr�s supporters in the parliament, creating a
vacuum which can then be filled with the Sunnis. In this way, a new Shi�ia
government can be constructed with enhanced Sunni representation which can then
embark on a new pacification campaign of the Sunni Triangle.
All this, of
course, is based on the assumption that Mahdi army of Muqtada al-Sadr is
swiftly defeated and that it does not spread to other parts of Southern Iraq.
Considering the popularity and strength of al-Sadr, it is highly unlikely that
this can be accomplished easily or swiftly. Most likely the situation will
deteriorate fast and southern Iraq will turn into another hotbed of
anti-American insurgents.
In its campaign in
Iraq, the United States has made many mistakes, but attacking Al-Sadr will be
one move that will either make or break the US in Iraq.
References
1. Dilip Hiro, �The
Longest War: The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict,� Paladin, 1990. pp.76
2. Abdel Darwish and Gregory Alexander, �Unholy Babylon: The Secret History of
Saddam�s War,� Gollancz, 1991, pp. 104
3. Said K. Aburish, �Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge,� Bloomsbury,
2000, pp.269.
4. The Age, �Saddam�s
daughter wants Yemen burial,� December 30, 2006
Copyright � 2007 Abbas Bakhtiar. All rights reserved.
Dr. Abbas Bakhtiar lives in Norway. He is a management
consultant and a contributing writer for many online journals. He's a former
associate professor of Nordland University, Norway. Contact him at Bakhtiarspace-articles@yahoo.no.