Top Items:
John F. Burns / New York Times:
Feared and Pitiless; Fearful and Pitiable — NOBODY who experienced Iraq under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein could imagine, at the height of the terror he imposed on his countrymen, ever pitying him. Pitiless himself, he sent hundreds of thousands of his countrymen to miserable deaths …
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Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:
Saddam Husseined … So it is done. — And truth be told, I have very little to say about the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Was his public execution justified? Of course it was. Will his death halt the insurgency? Of course it will not—though I believe it will have a greater impact …
Discussion:
Bill's Bites, Watcher of Weasels, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, Confederate Yankee and Sensible Mom
Lauren Frayer / Associated Press:
Dec. deadliest month in Iraq for U.S. — BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 46 Iraqis died in bombings Saturday, including one planted on a minibus that exploded in a fish market in a mostly Shiite town south of Baghdad. — The man blamed for parking the vehicle in Kufa, a Shiite town 100 miles south …
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Joy of Capture Muted at End — The capture of Saddam Hussein three years ago was a jubilant moment for the White House, hailed by President Bush in a televised address from the Cabinet Room. The execution of Mr. Hussein, though, seemed hardly to inspire the same sentiment.
Robert Scheer / Truthdig:
Silencing Saddam — It is a very frightening precedent that the United States can invade a country on false pretenses, depose its leader and summarily execute him without an international trial or appeals process. This is about vengeance, not justice, for if it were the latter …
Discussion:
Roger L. Simon, The Huffington Post, The American Street, Balloon Juice, The Thunder Run and DownWithTyranny!
The Big Trunk / Power Line:
FAMOUS LAST WORDS — Echoing the recently deceased American …
FAMOUS LAST WORDS — Echoing the recently deceased American …
Discussion:
ScrappleFace
Paul Richter / Los Angeles Times:
Impact of Hussein's death likely to be limited
Impact of Hussein's death likely to be limited
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
DEBKAfile:
Saddam Hussein, deposed ruler of Iraq, was executed by hanging …
Saddam Hussein, deposed ruler of Iraq, was executed by hanging …
Discussion:
Associated Press
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 …
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Independent:
Robert Fisk: A dictator created then destroyed by America — Saddam to the gallows. It was an easy equation. Who could be more deserving of that last walk to the scaffold - that crack of the neck at the end of a rope - than the Beast of Baghdad, the Hitler of the Tigris …
Juan Cole / Salon:
Saddam: The death of a dictator — Through the bumbling of the U.S.-backed regime, justice becomes revenge, and a despot becomes a martyr. — Saddam Hussein in court in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 7, 2006. — The body of Saddam, as it swung from the gallows at 6 a.m. Saturday Baghdad time, cast an ominous shadow over Iraq.
Robert Hodierne / militarycity.com:
Down on the war — Poll: More troops unhappy with Bush's course in Iraq — The American military — once a staunch supporter of President Bush and the Iraq war — has grown in creasingly pessimistic about chances for victory. — For the first time, more troops disapprove of the president's han dling of the war than approve of it.
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Editor and Publisher:
Poll for Military Papers Finds Troops' Support for War Plunging — NEW YORK It's often written or said in the media that, despite public opposition to the Iraq war here at home, military personnel strongly back President Bush's handling of the conflict. But a poll for the Military Times newspapers …
Washington Post:
Iraq Expels 2 Iranians Detained by U.S. — American Defense Official Calls Release 'Obviously Troubling' — Two senior Iranian operatives who were detained by U.S. forces in Iraq and were strongly suspected of planning attacks against American military forces and Iraqi targets were expelled …
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Edmund L. Andrews / New York Times:
U.S. Official Overseeing Oil Program Faces Inquiry — The Justice Department is investigating whether the director of a multibillion-dollar oil-trading program at the Interior Department has been paid as a consultant for oil companies hoping for contracts. — The director of the program …
CNN:
Madrid bombing 'breaks ETA pact' … MADRID, Spain (CNN) — Spain has blamed a powerful car bomb explosion at the country's busiest airport Saturday on Basque separatist group ETA, declaring it a violation of a nine-month cease-fire. — Several people suffered minor injuries in the parking lot blast …
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Edward M. Kennedy / Washington Post:
We Can't Ignore Iraq's Refugees — With the nation still at war in Iraq, each of us is deeply grateful to the brave men and women in our armed forces who celebrated the holidays this year with half their hearts at home and half in Iraq. But this year especially it is essential that we also reflect …
Jeffrey Jones / Reuters:
Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north — Source: Reuters — CALGARY, Alberta, Dec 29 (Reuters) - A chunk of ice bigger than the area of Manhattan broke from an ice shelf in Canada's far north and could wreak havoc if it starts to float westward toward oil-drilling regions …
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.