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 …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Belgravia Dispatch, ¡No Pasarán!, Power Line, Don Surber and The Huffington Post
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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 …
Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Saddam Hussein Is Put to Death — Former Iraqi President Hanged Before Dawn in Baghdad to Divided Reaction — Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was hanged in the predawn hours of Saturday for crimes against humanity in the mass murder of Shiite men and boys in the 1980s …
Robert Scheer / Truthdig:
Silencing Saddam
Silencing Saddam
Discussion:
Roger L. Simon, The Huffington Post, The American Street, The Thunder Run and Balloon Juice
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
The President's praise of fair trials and the rule of law
The President's praise of fair trials and the rule of law
Discussion:
Slate
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
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 …
Discussion:
Dr. Sanity, Liberty Street, NewsHog, Middle Earth Journal, Decision '08, Associated Press and Democrats.com
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.
Discussion:
electioncentral.tpmcafe.com, TPMCafe blogs, DownWithTyranny!, Prairie Weather and The Democratic Daily
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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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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 …
Discussion:
Liberal Values
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 …
Marc Santora / New York Times:
Hussein Video Grips Iraq; Attacks Go On — Saddam Hussein never bowed his head, until his neck snapped. — His last words were equally defiant. — "Down with the traitors, the Americans, the spies and the Persians." — The former ruler of Iraq's final hour began about 5 a.m. …
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 Gettleman / New York Times:
Ethiopia Advances on Somali Islamists' Last City — A phalanx of Ethiopian tanks and armored personnel carriers chugged toward the last city occupied by Somalia's diminished Islamist movement, witnesses said today, setting the stage for one final major battle.