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Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Iraq PM worried Saddam would avoid hanging

BAGHDAD, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki was concerned that if Saddam Hussein was not hanged quickly he would somehow avoid the gallows, a senior U.S. official in Baghdad was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The official told The New York Times that Maliki, who rushed to execute Saddam four days after an appeal on his death sentence on crimes against humanity failed, was worried insurgents would stage a mass kidnapping and use it as a bargaining chip to secure the release of the former president.

"His concern was security, and that ... maybe there would be a mass kidnapping to bargain for Saddam Hussein's release," the official said.

"He was concerned that he might somehow get free."

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Ohhhhhhhhh Shit don't you just love this sentence, what friking Iraqi sovereignty, They are occupied for Gods sake, their sovereignty hasn't stopped you before

But when Mr. Maliki decided to go ahead with the hanging, the Americans said they made no further attempts to stop it, having concluded that they could advise the Iraqis against the execution, but not prevent it if the Iraqis persisted, out of respect for Iraqi sovereignty.

From the NYT's

The American official said that Mr. Maliki had never fully explained his urgency in carrying out the death sentence, which was upheld last Tuesday in an appeals court ruling that set off a 30-day countdown for executions to be carried out after a final appeal has been turned down. But the prime minister gave one explanation that appeared to weigh heavily on his mind, the American said, and that was his fear that Mr. Hussein might be the subject of an insurgent attempt to free him if the procedural wrangling over the execution were protracted.

“His concern was security, and that there was a danger that if it continued, maybe there would be a mass kidnapping to bargain for Saddam Hussein’s release,” the official said. “He was concerned that he might somehow get free.”

The American decision to confirm that they had opposed the quick execution came after days of silence from the American Embassy and the United States military command in Baghdad, which appeared to have been shocked, like so many others, by the unofficial video recording that showed the bedlam at the gallows.

With some Iraqi politicians raising fresh demands for Mr. Maliki’s dismissal, the Americans, in offering to have a senior official discuss the matter in a telephone interview with The New York Times, appeared eager to protect the Bush administration from a fresh surge of criticism for its handling of events in Iraq.

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