Saddam verdict deepens Iraq's sectarian divide

[ProSense]

Saddam verdict deepens Iraq's sectarian divide

by Sabah Jerges 1 hour, 18 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) - Shiites have taken to the streets in delight while their Sunni neighbours protested, as the prospect of Saddam Hussein mounting the gallows widened Iraq's bitter sectarian divide.

While the sprawling east Baghdad suburb of Sadr City erupted with joy at the news that the hated despot had been sentenced to hang, there was an angry reaction on Saddam's home turf in Sunni regions in the north and west Sunday.

"Give him to us, we will execute him ourselves," chanted the Sadr City mob.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Malki, a Shiite and a long-term opponent of Saddam's former Sunni-dominated regime, reflected the mood in his own community when he declared: "The Iraqi martyrs now have the right to smile."

But the mood in Sunni towns was darker, and talk of conspiracy was rife.

"With our souls and our blood we redeem you, Saddam. Death to traitors and spies. Damn Bush and his agents. Yes, yes to the resistance. No option but to get rid of the occupier," chanted a crowd in Hawija, west of Kirkuk.

Thousands of Sunnis defied a curfew to march in support of Saddam in his hometown, the northern city of Tikrit, some of them firing wildly in the air as US helicopters circled overhead.

"The hanging of the former Iraqi president is part of an American scheme. He was a symbol of liberation in Iraq," declared Dr Muzahim Allawi, a Tikrit university professor.

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[Blue_Roses]

1. Get our troops out!

[ProSense]

2. What was the rush?

Given the flare up of violence over the past several month, why would they trigger more violence (they knew it would) with American troops caught up in the middle?


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2927931#2928018

[LynnTheDem]

3. Rush was they had to find Hussein guilty in bringing 145 Iraqis to court

& sentenced to death for their conspiracy to murder Iraq's prsident.

Otherwise they'd have to try & prove that "300,000 mass graved" bullshit which would then be exposed as the utter bullshit it is.

After all, first thing they'd have to do is explain where that "300,000" figure came from, and when HRW explained (again) that it was never about number of Iraqis murdered by Hussein but only an estimate of an estimate of an estimate (by Chalabi's goons) of Iraqis whose whereabouts were unknown...

Well gee, that sure wouldn't do.

A fair trial would bring out all sorts of pesky facts that would put America, bush in particular, in a very bad light. Can't have that.

[cal04]

4. Fighting erupts in Baghdad after verdict

Fighting has broken out in Baghdad between Sunnis and the Iraqi army after Saddam Hussein, the former president, was sentenced to death.

Heavy firing was reported in Adhimiyah, a mainly Sunni district of Baghdad, within half an hour of Saddam Hussein's death sentence being announced on Sunday morning.

Several mortarshells also reportedly landed near the Abu Hanifa mosque in Adhimiya. The mosque is a focus for Sunni armed groups in the area.

Before the verdict was announced, Iraq's army imposed a complete curfew in Baghdad, in Diyala province, a mainly Sunni region and around Tikrit, Saddam's hometown.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4755BC5C-9C84-45C8-9D26-C81DCA14AA5A.htm