This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004337
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/PPD, NEA/PPA, NEA/AGS, INR/IZ, INR/P
E.0. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO IZ
SUBJECT: DAILY IRAQI WEBSITE MONITORING - October 20, 2005
SUMMARY: Discussions of Saddam's trial and its significance
for Iraqis and all Arabs were the major editorial themes of
Iraqi, Arabic language websites on October 20, 2005. END
SUMMARY.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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A. "The Trial" (Iraq 4 All News, 10/20)
B. "Saddam's Trial Should Not Be Personal" (Kitabat, 10/20)
C. "Saddam in the Prosecution's Cage" (Sawt Al-Iraq, 10/20)
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES
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A. "The Trial"
(Editorial by Abdul Wahab Baderkhan - Iraq 4 All News -
http://iraq4all.org/viewnews.php?id=10385 )
"Finally.the trial. Finally Iraqis have the chance to see
their dictator in a cage after seeing him brag and boast for
thirty years, then disappear after the fall of Baghdad, only
to reemerge from a hole and open his mouth for a medical
exam. After that he was seen in investigations, and finally
in court.
"This is the first Arab president to stand trial in front of
his people, answering a long list of charges that do not
actually cover all his crimes. He was deposed by the
occupation and stands trial today thanks to the
occupation-without which he would have been killed long ago.
This is the first Arab president to stand trial not only for
his crimes, but also for miscalculating foreign policy
issues.
"Victims all over Iraq have the right to consider this trial
as the start of their legal condolence after all the
suffering caused by the previous regime's power and
indifference. This suffering had wiped out the word
`justice' from their world; for a long time [Iraqis] felt
they were chosen to suffer every injustice in the world,
both from their ruler and from U.N. sanctions. Perhaps this
trial could be seen as an attempt to set justice back on
track.
"Whatever this court does, it can never do Saddam and his
colleagues more injustice than what was inflicted on [the
Iraqi] people. As for restoring respect for justice, that
remains to be seen. It seems that Iraqis currently in power
have set unrealistically high standards; unfortunately, we
witnessed yesterday a contradiction between the court's
vision of the accused and his crime. The criminal was
considered normal, but the crime was a `state crime.'
"There has been an overwhelming desire for unprofessional
conduct to undermine the accused, and this might be the
reason behind beginning with the Dujail case-and maybe end
with it, since the crimes were strictly related to the
aggressive bloody psychology of the defendant and not
related to any political objective. In all other cases,
including the gassing at Halabja, the invasion of Kuwait,
and the suppression of the 1991 uprising, it is impossible
to avoid politics. No one can talk of mood-related crimes,
and this raises the question: How long can these trials
continue without showing the fingerprints of U.S. politics?"
B. "Saddam's Trial Should Not Be Personal"
(Editorial by Mahdi Qasim - Kitabat - "Writings" -
http://www.kitabat.com/mahdi_294.htm )
"The tyrant, Saddam Hussein, symbolizes an Arab trend of
savageness and barbarianism that dominated the previous era.
It is not surprising that this tyrant is still popular among
Arab nations and is idolized in some areas, despite the
countless number of terrible crimes and atrocities [he
committed] that human consciousness cannot even begin to
imagine.
"Saddam represented the most extreme pattern of violence and
brutality. He spread death and destruction not only in Iraq,
but also in neighboring countries through his many Ba'athist
wars; despite all of this, they still glorify him and
justify his horrific wars as defending Islam and
Arabs-failing to mention that he was the main reason for
U.S. troop presence in the Gulf previously, and in Iraq
currently, and was a loyal servant to U.S. interests in the
Middle East for a while.
"If Saddam was more brutal than other Arab leaders, it does
not preclude the fact that they are no different from him in
their mentalities of suppressive dictatorship. Many of these
rulers have died or stepped out of the spotlight without
being tried for their crimes and destructive roles that led
to the decline of the Arab nation. Saddam's trial should be
a trial for all Arab regimes and dictatorships in the past,
present, and future. When Saddam is tried and
convicted.based on significant evidence, the barbaric type
of thinking that sees humans as nothing more than cheap
sacrifices should also be convicted.
"Saddam might be sentenced to death or life imprisonment,
but sooner or later he will be wiped out from the Arab
memory; however, the barbarian mentality he represents will
continue to live on in the millions of Arabs who support
him. This mentality should be eradicated by exposing his
crimes and the nature of his empty personality.
"Let Arabs discover that their historic leader and the
symbol of their Arab nation is nothing more than a thug. He
might have been a hero in ruining a country like Iraq-a
country with deep roots in civilization-that continues to
suffer the effects of barbaric policies to this day."
C. "Saddam in the Prosecution's Cage"
(Editorial by Dr. Ahmed Abdul Allah - Sawt Al-Iraq - "Voice
of Iraq" - http://www.sotaliraq.com/articles-
iraq/nieuws.php?id=17725 )
"Innocent Iraqis who were victims of Saddam's bloody rule
were pleased on October 19, 2005. Saddam tried hard to act
and pretend to be a strong man, but his gaze and garbled
words showed he was in low spirits and psychologically
beaten.
"Saddam led the orchestra that sat with him and announced he
was innocent of the Dujail charge! This is shocking for
Iraqis because they know what he did in Dujail: starting
with mass killings, destruction of the property of the
people of Dujail, displacing families and establishing a
court of `revolution' to issue death sentences within
several hours and execute the sentences within two days.
That is a tragedy that reminds me of Dante's hell!
"Saddam Hussein and Taha Yassin Ramadhan may still be living
under their illusions as they struggle to act strong and
attract national sympathy. We also might smile mockingly as
we hear Saddam's objection to the court's legitimacy. This
court was formed according to a law legislated by the
elected National Assembly. He violated Iraqi law for decades
as he ruled with iron and fire. He killed hundreds of
thousands, disabled hundreds of thousands, and caused many
others to go missing or to become displaced as they fled
Iraq as far as they could to escape his tyranny.
"We do not know if people sympathetic to Saddam's rule have
awoken from the shock of seeing their former commander
sitting in a cage. This should show the deceived Arabs the
truth; they should now believe what millions of Iraqis have
been saying-that Saddam's era is gone forever.
"Let this first session be a beginning of trials for anyone
who harmed and committed unjust acts against our people. We
hope every Iraqi becomes convinced that the new Iraq is
standing on the right path and is moving toward democracy
and freedom-that is, if it is God's will."
SATTERFIELD