Sounds of silence

July 2, 2004 12:49 PM

Sounds of silenceYou may not support the Bush plan to invade Iraq, but here is how he has helpeed bring democractic values to a country run by a tyrant.
posted by Postroad (9 comments total)

by playing Simon & Garfunkel songs?
posted by matteo at 1:03 PM on July 2, 2004

hey! : >
posted by amberglow at 1:09 PM on July 2, 2004

I expect that all content related to the trial to be heavily edited.

At some point. Saddam will talk and explain how he was favored by the ones that brough him down. He will probably talk about
the ties he had with other coutries (France, Germany, the USSR, etc...)
posted by NewBornHippy at 1:11 PM on July 2, 2004

he totally will--he's never been a fool, and it'll be a real test of democracy and openness there (and here, btw) if they show it at all.
posted by amberglow at 1:14 PM on July 2, 2004

Why were the journalists such cowards and fools for buying into this censorship? I do not wish to give a forum to an evil tyrant like Saddam. He should have been a real man and used his pistol on himself before they could pull him out of that hole. However, a free and vigorous press is necessary for any democracy, in Iraq or here.
posted by caddis at 1:55 PM on July 2, 2004

From the Globe and Mail:

The 40 or so men crowding the al-Dakl sidewalk tea house in the commercial Karada district of Baghdad could not believe their ears — that someone would talk like that to the once powerful dictator.

“He looks just like a common criminal,” Laith al-Amri, 37, said as he served tea to the crowd watching the hearing on television. “It's so surprising to see . . . so wonderful.”

“I lost two brothers in [the war in] Iran,” said Khaled Toma Pols, a 50-year-old unemployed labourer. “I'm happy to see him treated this way. He destroyed our country.”

Most people were pleased by the proceedings and didn't want to hear any dissenting views. When Ali Hussein, 46, said he only wished a real Iraqi court were trying the former leader instead of a U.S. court, another man rushed over and shoved him. “This is an Iraqi court; what are you talking about?” he shouted before throwing a dish of water at Mr. Hussein.

I agree with you, I don't know how the whole trial will play out. I cannot imagine that he would ever be given a free hand to say whatever he likes. I would love to hear it though.

I don't think, however, that his trial is the place to allow him to stand at the pulpit. Would blaming others for your bad deeds even be admissible in a criminal proceeding here, to draw an admittedly flawed parallel? I would hope, however, that his gagging would be ordered by the court as part of the procedure rather than by the Pentagon in the editing room. If he is not put to death (most Iraqis seem to favour a life sentence), presumably he will have the opportunity to give his full story to journalists. I bet it would outsell Clinton's.
posted by loquax at 2:04 PM on July 2, 2004

Nope, the US is going to kill him quick. He could bury both Bush administrations. The Pentagon will kill him, and switch off all the recorders while they do it. Click. Night-night, agent Hussein!
posted by squirrel at 7:17 PM on July 2, 2004

what squirrel said...but they'll get an Iraqi to do it, and it'll play like that Ruby/Oswald thing.
posted by amberglow at 7:28 PM on July 2, 2004

Bush pulls a Noriega? Not so sure. I would like the see a variety of coverage.
posted by infowar at 4:54 PM on July 3, 2004