memeorandum: DNI Awards $2 Million in Hush-Hush Money (Elizabeth Williamson/Washington Post)

5:30 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: The Belmont Club, Clarity & Resolve, Shakespeare's Sister, PrairiePundit, Tammy Bruce, Ezra Klein and Dr. Sanity

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: driftglass, The American Street, Balloon Juice, Boing Boing, The Reaction, The Democratic Daily and Lawyers, Guns and Money

See-Dubya / Hot Air:

Report: Saddam hanged; Update: Last word — "Muqtada" (Update: Video added) — 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.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Editor and Publisher, Mudville Gazette, Associated Press, A Blog For All, Tammy Bruce, The Sundries Shack, BizzyBlog, New York Times, Blue Crab Boulevard and Wake up America

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: Democrats.com and In the Bullpen

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

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: Agence France Presse, The BRAD BLOG, Counterterrorism Blog, Overlawyered, The Democratic Daily, Murdoc Online, Baghdad Burning and Upper Left

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.

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 …

Discussion: New York Times and Guardian

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.

Michael Hastings / Newsweek:

'I Saw Fear, He Was Afraid' — In a NEWSWEEK exclusive, the man hired to videotape Saddam Hussein's execution recalls the brutal dictator's humble final moments. — Ali Al Massedy was 3 feet away from Saddam Hussein when he died. The 38 year old, normally Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al …

Human Rights Watch News Releases:

Iraq: Saddam Hussein Put to Death — Hanging After Flawed Trial Undermines Rule of Law — The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein following a deeply flawed trial for crimes against humanity marks a significant step away from respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said today.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Michelle Malkin:
Report: Saddam is dead

Discussion: Blogs of War, Gun Toting Liberal ™, Obsidian Wings, Bark Bark Woof Woof, the talking dog, QandO, Big Brass Blog, CNN and AMERICAblog

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

Discussion: On Deadline and Liberty Street

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
It's Over (Live Blog)

Discussion: Sky News, USA Today, Theodore's World, Patterico's Pontifications and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

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

Discussion: IRAQ THE MODEL, Bill's Bites and ABCNEWS

Guardian:
Saddam executed — End of tyrannical era as former dictator …

Discussion: Blogcritics Section and TigerHawk

George Moneo / Babalu Blog: Sic semper tyrannis

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

Discussion: Associated Press and Tennessee Guerilla Women

White House:
President Bush's Statement on Execution of Saddam Hussein

Discussion: New York Times, Blogs of War and Blogs for Bush

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

Discussion: Firedoglake, Townhall.com Blog's …, NewsBusters.org, Crescat Sententia and Political Satire Fake News

Bryan / Hot Air: Remembering Saddam — He was a street tough who took power …

Jim Henley / Unqualified Offerings:
Any Man's Death? — Josh Marshall tells it like it is.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

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

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

Lara Setrakian / ABCNEWS:

DAs Call for Prosecutor in Duke Lacrosse Case to Step Down — Nifong to Be Tried for Ethics Violations — ABC News Law & Justice Unit — In yet another moral blow to Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys called for the prosecutor to step down from the Duke lacrosse case.

Discussion: La Shawn Barber's Corner and Sister Toldjah

Mike / Techdirt:

And By The Time Anyone Reads The Sneaky Fine Print On AT&T's Concessions, The Merger Will Be Done — from the fooled-ya dept — A few hours ago, we wrote about the concessions AT&T agreed to in order to get their merger with BellSouth approved — possibly today.

Discussion: MyDD, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Beltway Blogroll, BizzyBlog and The Navel of the Internet