+1 862 207 3288 How did the war on Iraq start? In theory US military and then following the US, the British military invaded Iraq to quote �democratise the country from Saddam�s tyrannical rule�. The US invaded Iraq in 2003 and on 30 June 2004, Saddam Hussein, held in custody by U.S. forces at the U.S. base “Camp Cropper”, along with 11 other senior Ba’athist leaders, were handed over legally (though not physically) to the interim Iraqi government to stand trial for crimes against humanity and other offences. Saddam�s trial proceedings were not public however the punishment was public. A few weeks later, he was charged by the Iraqi Special Tribunal with crimes committed against residents of Dujail in 1982, following a failed assassination attempt against him. Specific charges included the murder of 148 people, torture of women and children and the illegal arrest of 399 others. Among the many challenges of the trial were: Saddam Hussein�s lawyer�s defence that because he was in fact president he must be granted pardon along wit the fact that there were attempts on the lives of several of his lawyers and also the tribunal which was the interim government replaced the chief presiding judge midway through the trial. Also, halfway through the trial the judge was changed without any formal explanation as to why.
Scientific surveys of Iraqi deaths resulting from the first four years of the Iraq War found that between 151,000 to over one million Iraqis died as a result of conflict during this time. A later study, published in 2011, found that approximately 500,000 Iraqis had died as a result of the conflict since the invasion. Counts of deaths reported in newspapers collated by projects like the Iraq Body Count project found 174,000 Iraqis reported killed between 2003 and 2013, with between 112,000-123,000 of those killed being civilian noncombatants.
This begs the question of why did US military only begin withdrawing from Iraq in 2007? Based on interviews conducted with British troops they claimed to get so bored in a war zone mind you because they weren�t doing much. They came up with quote really stupid games to pass the time. Which might have been the result of US military thinking it would be fine for them to kill innocent civilians for the sole reason of being in a war zone. This begs the question of hypocrisy in the US� intentions all along in this particular war. At first they invaded Iraq an action many American people opposed. They then followed by handing Saddam over to an in-term government without attempting to ensure any future political stability and when the inevitable of different religious groups fighting for power, some soldiers felt the need to take the lives of civilians. Also Saddam was CIA trained during the previous Iraq war.
On 5 November 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam’s half brother, Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court in 1982, were convicted of similar charges. The verdict and sentencing were both appealed, but subsequently affirmed by Iraq’s Supreme Court of Appeals. On 30 December 2006, Saddam was hanged. Saddam was hanged on the first day of Eid ul-Adha, 30 December 2006, despite his wish to be shot (which he felt would be more dignified). The execution was carried out at Camp Justice, an Iraqi army base in Kadhimiya, a neighborhood of northeast Baghdad.
Video of the execution was recorded on a mobile phone and his captors could be heard insulting Saddam. The video was leaked to electronic media and posted on the Internet within hours, becoming the subject of global controversy. It was later claimed by the head guard at the tomb where his body remains that Saddam’s body was stabbed six times after the execution.
There is undoubtably no question that Saddam Hussein�s acts were criminal inhumane and unjust. However regardless of however heinous crimes are. Is a public execution just? Especially when the legal proceedings were not as public. Though on a human level execution at all seems inhumane punishment. I question if any of us would feel that way if we lived under a convicted criminal leader who has murdered and tortured countless women children and also men. I can�t pretend to know how it feels like to live in Iraq or under those particular circumstances.
However I do question the Iraqi court for choosing not to make the legal proceedings public and I question the US governments� decision in handing him over to the Iraqi officials knowing what would come of him being handed over. The execution was on the first day of Eid which is a Muslim religious holiday. Also the change of the judge halfway through??
Do political leaders that commit crimes against humanity deserve a just trial? Do individuals of the state deserve a fair trial for committing crimes against humanity? Does who you are matter in the kind of trial and punishment you receive? Or do the acts themselves carry heavier weight? If a citizen committed a crime that an elected official committed should the fact that he is a political leader impact the perception of how heinous the crimes are? Can the justice system tailor the law to each specific case or is justice in it�s essence an anonymous system that provides equality? Is it just to cheer at an execution?
Saddam asked to be shot to death rather than hanged did he deserve to make that choice? Is it just if a criminal is brought to justice under corrupt legal process?
punishment being directed to the body (Damien) versus the soul
avoid public private more as visible invisible
enlightenment – not direct – idea of humans having rights and are rational beings, consenting to the laws they are abiding
having to show people breaking the law and inflicting punishment
braveheart??
losing identity when in prision by becoming a number
making decisions based on evidence, being anonymous, making a case
fairness of having the same punishment on each crime that is alike (i.e. 5 years versus 7)
-sometimes seeing the �criminal� could also create empathy during the ruling
panopticon
Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison, trans. Alan Sheridan (New York: Vintage, 1977), 3-69.
February 5, 2015
Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison, 135-69, 195-228. (Please reference + use)
