memeorandum: Iraqi-Americans pray for Saddam's death (Kristin Longley/Associated Press)

1:35 AM ET, December 30, 2006

Top Items:

Saddam Hussein hanged, says Al Hurra TV station — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi television station Al Hurra said Saddam Hussein had been executed by hanging shortly before 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Saturday. — The former Iraqi president ousted in April 2003 by a U.S.- led invasion …

Discussion: Clarity & Resolve, Shakespeare's Sister, Tammy Bruce, PrairiePundit and Ezra Klein

Associated Press:

Official: Saddam to be executed tonight — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The official witnesses to Saddam Hussein's impending execution gathered Friday in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone in final preparation for his hanging, as state television broadcast footage of his regime's atrocities.

See-Dubya / Hot Air:

Report: Saddam hanged; Update: Witnesses danced around the body? — Word just in from al-Arabiya that Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti is dead. — Sic Semper Tyrannis. Watch this space for more details. — Update (AP): Al-Hurra is reporting it too. I'm monitoring Al Jazeera in the expectation …

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, The Sundries Shack, BizzyBlog, Wake up America and Blue Crab Boulevard

Martin Lewis / The Huffington Post:

WELL HUNG! Saddam Hung To Prove Bush is BETTER Hung... (Than His Dad) — (Photo of well-hung leader by www.wacotrib.com) — We Got Him!!!! Only $354 Billion & 3,000 US Military! — (I'd call that a Bargain. The best we've ever had...) — Some thanks are in order: — 1) To George W. Bush.

Discussion: Gun Toting Liberal ™, Confederate Yankee, Theodore's World and Liberty Street

Associated Press:

Saddam Hussein executed for war crimes — Saddam Hussein, the shotgun-waving dictator who ruled Iraq with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century and was driven from power by a U.S.-led war that left his country in shambles, was taken to the gallows clutching a Quran and hanged Saturday.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and In the Bullpen

MSNBC:

Saddam Hussein executed — Deposed Iraqi dictator hanged for deaths of 148 Shiites in 1982 — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three years after he was hauled from a hole in the ground by pursuing U.S. forces, Saddam Hussein was hanged Saturday under a sentence imposed by an Iraqi court, an Iraqi official told NBC News.

Discussion: New York Times, The BRAD BLOG, Counterterrorism Blog, Overlawyered, The Democratic Daily and Murdoc Online

New York Times:

Dictator Who Ruled Iraq With Violence Is Hanged for Crimes Against Humanity — Saddam Hussein, the dictator who led Iraq through three decades of brutality, war and bombast before American forces chased him from his capital city and captured him in a filthy pit near his hometown …

Discussion: Boing Boing, The Reaction and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Reuters:

Saddam Hussein hanged: witnesses — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn on Saturday, a dramatic end for a leader who ruled Iraq by fear for three decades before a U.S. invasion toppled him and was then convicted of crimes against humanity.

Michelle Malkin:

Report: Saddam is dead — ***11:30pm Eastern update...CNN and Arab media reporting that pictures/video expected soon...Iraqi state TV reporting it will air images...11:46pm Eastern...CNN correspondent says a witness reports there was "fear in Hussein's face" as he headed to execution...Celebration...***

Discussion: Blogs of War, A Blog For All, Bill's Bites and Obsidian Wings

Times of London:

Obituary - Saddam Hussein — Former Iraqi dictator who ruled his country without mercy and struck fear into the heart of millions — Saddam Hussein was a tyrant whose actions brought down unimaginable catastrophe on Iraq and its peoples. From an early age, he had enjoyed inflicted suffering …

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:

It's Over (Live Blog) — Three Arabic news stations and MS-NBC are broadcasting the report that Saddam Hussein has been executed this evening, right around 10 pm ET. — Right now, without any text reports, MS-NBC is telling viewers that a delegation of seven witnesses saw Saddam hanged a few minutes ago.

Discussion: CNN, USA Today, Tammy Bruce and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Bill Carter / New York Times:
TV Executives Debate Whether to Show Execution

Discussion: On Deadline and Liberty Street

Human Rights Watch News Releases:
Iraq: Saddam Hussein Put to Death

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Kristin Longley / Associated Press:
Iraqi-Americans pray for Saddam's death

Discussion: The Sundries Shack

Vinnie / The Jawa Report:
Saddam Meet Satan, Satan, This Is Saddam

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Power Line, Big Brass Blog, the talking dog and bRight & Early

Marc Santora / New York Times:
Iraq Prepares to Execute Hussein

Discussion: Firedoglake, Townhall.com Blog's …, NewsBusters.org, It Shines For All, Crescat Sententia, Political Satire Fake News and On Deadline

Associated Press:
Hussein Still in U.S. Custody, Iraqi Officials Say

Discussion: Associated Press and Unqualified Offerings

Mohammed / IRAQ THE MODEL:
Year 2007 will definitely be without Saddam walking on the ground....

Discussion: Associated Press, Mudville Gazette, Flopping Aces, Washington Post, Gateway Pundit, It Shines For All, Blogs of War, The Strata-Sphere, Right Wing Nut House, bRight & Early, Confederate Yankee and jules crittenden

Michael J. Totten:

Hezbollah's Christian Allies — This is the second installment in a series. You can read Part One here if you missed it. — BEIRUT - While Hezbollah staged a mass protest and sit-in downtown Beirut with the hopes of ousting the elected anti-Syrian "March 14" government, I watched from the patio of a café across the street.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Newsweek:

CAIR Play? — Sen. Barbara Boxer recalled an award she recently gave to an Islamic activist because of his ties to a major American Muslim organization—that critics say has ties to terrorist activities. — Dangerous Group? President Bush met with Muslim-American representatives on Sept. 17, 2001.

Discussion: Power Line, Little Green Footballs, Gates of Vienna, Solomonia and Atlas Shrugs

Matt Stoller / MyDD:

AT&T Concedes to Net Neutrality — One of the things I've learned is that building an open and neutral communications environment is a slugfest, a game of inches. America has a top-down mass communications environment and a populace that is used to being marketed to.