Clark: Hanging Saddam will cause "Catastrophic Violence"

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a member of Saddam Hussein's defense team, predicted on Thursday that a bloodbath would follow should an Iraqi court trying the former president have him executed.

At a news conference, Clark said he feared that should Saddam and the others be hanged, "catastrophic violence" would follow that would lead to "the end of civilization as we know it in the birthplace of civilization, Mesopotamia. Total, unmitigated chaos."

Saddam's Sunni Muslim tribe of 1.5 million would be enraged over what they would consider the revenge killing of the former president by the Shiite-controlled and U.S.-sponsored government, Clark said.

www.washingtonpost.com

Well, that settles it. Saddam should definitely should be hanged. Justice should under no circumstances ever be influenced by threats of lawlessness. That would set a bad precedent in Iraq. Hanging Saddam will create problems, but in the long run, bowing to criminals will create far more.

[edit on 2006/10/5 by GradyPhilpott]

"Catastrophic violence"? Wouldn't that be a step down from the current violence? They must have run out of superlatives.








[edit on 5-10-2006 by kegs]

Which genius took the decison to have him taken alive in the first place? The whole trial thing has been a farce / bound to end in tears.

I was never in favour of this stupid war in the first place but surely the 'grenade first, look second' option to an underground hideout would have been the most sensible solution?

There was no justice in launching an illegal war in the first place - why put a band-aid of trial on the end of a catalogue of illegality?

[edit on 5/10/2006 by Strangerous]

Hanging Saddame is now the only sensible thing to do given the security situation in Iraq it isnt a good idea to keep Saddam locked up after his farce of a trial ends.
Strangerous is correct everyone would have been better off if Saddam had gone the way of his sons. As for Saddams death causing catastrophic violence thats hardly any differnt from what were seeing in Iraq now.

I wonder if Ramsey Clark is grasping at straws ?




[edit on 8-10-2006 by xpert11]