Before Hanging, a Push for Revenge and a Push Back

“The 'New Iraq' Under Maliki Is Starting To Resemble, Albeit In Paler Shade, The Repressive, Vengeful Place It Was Under Mr. Hussein”...

The New York Times John F. Burns January 6, 2007 07:38 PM

From The New York Times:
When American soldiers woke Saddam Hussein in his cell near Baghdad airport at 3:55 a.m. last Saturday, they told him to dress for a journey to Baghdad. He had followed the routine dozens of times before, traveling by helicopter in the predawn darkness to the courtroom where he spent 14 months on trial for his life...

...In interviews with dozens of American and Iraqi officials involved in the hanging, a picture has emerged of a clash of cultures and political interests, reflecting the widening gulf between Americans here and the Iraqi exiles who rode to power behind American tanks. Even before a smuggled cellphone camera recording revealed the derision Mr. Hussein faced on the gallows, the hanging had become a metaphor, among Mr. Maliki's critics, for how the "new Iraq" is starting to resemble, albeit in paler shade, the repressive, vengeful place it was under Mr. Hussein.

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