Thursday, January 04, 2007
Iraqi authorities report arrests of three men from Saddam's execution
Saddam Hussein
Iraqi authorities report the arrests of two guards and an official in the investigation into who taunted Saddam Hussein as he stood on the gallows and took cell phone pictures showing his body dangling at the end of a rope. The unauthorized video has ignited protests by Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs in various Iraqi cities and threatens to make a martyr out of the ousted dictator. Saddam was shown never bowing his head as he faced death, and asking the hecklers if they were acting in a manly way.
The Bush administration sent conflicting signals Wednesday about the conduct of the execution, with the White House declining to join criticism and the State Department and U.S. military publicly raising questions about it. National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie and two other top officials variously reported one to three men were detained in connection with how Saddam's execution was conducted. "The investigation has already had an arrest warrant against one person and two to follow," al-Rubaie told CNN. He said the guard force at the execution was infiltrated by an Arab television station or another outsider. al-Rubaie admits things did not go to plan. Another Iraqi official says the hanging was supposed to be carried out by hangmen employed by the Interior Ministry, but that militias infiltrated the executioners' team.
The clandestine footage appeared on Al-Jazeera television and Web sites just hours after Saddam was hanged Saturday. The tumultuous scenes quickly overshadowed an official execution video, which was muted and showed none of the uproar among those on the floor of the chamber below the gallows. Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon, one of 14 official witnesses to the execution, told The Associated Press that he saw two government officials using camera phones at the hanging but did not know their names. Caldwell said no Americans were present for the hanging and that the tumultuous execution would have gone differently had the Americans been in charge. The White House declined to join in the criticism.
The Bush administration sent conflicting signals Wednesday about the conduct of the execution, with the White House declining to join criticism and the State Department and U.S. military publicly raising questions about it. National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie and two other top officials variously reported one to three men were detained in connection with how Saddam's execution was conducted. "The investigation has already had an arrest warrant against one person and two to follow," al-Rubaie told CNN. He said the guard force at the execution was infiltrated by an Arab television station or another outsider. al-Rubaie admits things did not go to plan. Another Iraqi official says the hanging was supposed to be carried out by hangmen employed by the Interior Ministry, but that militias infiltrated the executioners' team.
The clandestine footage appeared on Al-Jazeera television and Web sites just hours after Saddam was hanged Saturday. The tumultuous scenes quickly overshadowed an official execution video, which was muted and showed none of the uproar among those on the floor of the chamber below the gallows. Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon, one of 14 official witnesses to the execution, told The Associated Press that he saw two government officials using camera phones at the hanging but did not know their names. Caldwell said no Americans were present for the hanging and that the tumultuous execution would have gone differently had the Americans been in charge. The White House declined to join in the criticism.
