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February 05, 2006
How The Mighty Have Fallen: A Cautionary Tale For Dictators And Tyrants Everywhere
He should never have crawled out of the spider hole.
In 1945, Adolf Hitler took his own life and the life of his new bride, Eva Braun, rather than be taken alive by the Allies. Saddam Hussein might have done himself a favor to follow the example of the ultimate iconic dictator.
Instead, he ended up captured, pictured-and-printed all over the world, de-loused on international television, and now tried before the world for crimes against humanity. The circus has not disappointed.
In the course of this bizarre event, lawyers have been killed, judges threatened, law turned on its head, and Saddam himself allowed to cavort and declaim, becoming a figure of utter foolishness.
It is almost incomprehensible that, after hearing the stories from survivors of this madman’s torture and summary execution of his own people, anyone could deny that going into Iraq—for any reason whatsoever—was a good idea, if it removed this lunatic from any position of power. As Saddam pounds the table and stalks out of the courtroom, as he whines about how badly he’s being treated, as he asserts his continuing right to remain president of Iraq, he merely assures those who wanted him gone that they were right all along.
It’s hard to believe that this sorry little man once controlled the destinies of millions of people. It’s chilling that someone so clearly prone to abuse of power could, with his sons, embark on a reign of utter terror that lasted decades and was only ended by his own hubris. Had Saddam merely come clean and showed the inspectors that his WMDs had been dispensed with (if in fact that were the case), it is doubtful that the US or anyone else would ever have taken the step of removing him from office. Instead, he would probably have lived out his life, like Idi Amin Dada or Pol Pot, someday driven from power, perhaps, but never really brought to justice.
I urge you to pay close attention to this spectacle, as it is a window into not only the wicked soul of a man drunk with power, but also into the horror that was life in Iraq under Saddam’s regime. At the same time, in our nation, as so many continue to question why we fight, why we had to overthrow the dictator and why the Iraqi people were so desperate to be free (and why it is so hard for them to understand and embrace that freedom, even now), we must look hard at this man and the things he has done. We must see the face of evil, and see its consequence.
For it is both in the revelations that come through the testimony of this trial and in the debased condition in which the defendant finds himself that we learn vital lessons about human nature and the need for justice. Looking upon Saddam, as his eyes roll with disdain for the Court and its authority, we become no longer afraid of what he can do—only contemptuous of what he has done. In the clear light of justice, the man of shadows becomes just another power-crazed killer, no more deserving of the respect due a world leader, but only fit to be punished and put away, raised up no longer as a man of power, but merely as an example to be avoided.
Like his heavy and hideous statuary, Saddam has at last been toppled. Now we see how far the mighty can fall. And though he thinks he will escape man’s justice, it is in the process of being tried that he will truly face his punishment. For now, before all the people of the world—and even those that once were his people, Saddam is shackled, given orders, abased, and rebuked. The judges he once would have appointed himself now pass judgment on him. The once-quaking people of a now-free nation no longer need fear the knock in the night, the unexpected consignment to a dark prison cell, the capricious requests of a tyrant for unpaid and involuntary services.
Saddam the once-fierce torturer could, just a few years ago, have nonchalantly gouged out the eyes of the very people who now are permitted to stare at him with hatred, yet without fear. Day after day--as he babbles incoherently about power, as his rants try the patience of the world, as he ridiculously absents himself from a trial to which he refuses to submit—he becomes more and more small and foolish.
Eventually, this will all be over. Saddam may finally be punished in accordance with the deeds he has done. Regardless of the outcome, however, the trial has shown him up for what he was—a petty tyrant, mad with power—and what he now is: infamous, pathetic, and ultimately powerless.
Posted by Kerry at February 5, 2006 11:08 PM
Copyright © 2007 by author. May not be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for brief quotes) without express permission of author. Articles published with permission by Pardon My English.
-->Comments
As I read the fifth paragraph I visualized Rumsfeld shaking Saddams' hand. With a few words changed your article seems tailor made for "W."
A call to the Kremlin would secure reservations for you in one of Mr. Ks' "Club Med Barracks."
Posted by Russ ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.pardonmyenglish.com//nav-commenters.gif)
at February 7, 2006 10:27 AM
While Saddam might not have the tightest grip on reality, our own guy took the opporotunity to speak out against human-animal hybrids. perhaps he's been reading too many comic books.
Posted by mattk at February 7, 2006 12:42 PM
Actually, mattk, I think he's been talking to scientists and bioethicists.
There are such things in the pipeline, and he's going on record with an "American" position against. No harm in that.
Posted by Kerry at February 7, 2006 10:48 PM
>>I think he's been talking to scientists and bioethicists.
dear lord, what would give you that impression?
>>There are such things in the pipeline,
please show me some proof
Posted by mattk at February 7, 2006 11:34 PM
Hi mattk,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0125_050125_chimeras.html
That was easy.
You're welcome.
Posted by Kerry at February 8, 2006 11:10 AM
Kerry,
Do you know how insulin is produced for diabetics? The human gene for insulin production is put inside E. coli. Many, many lives have been saved because of this.
I see nothing in that article that is worth of ethical concern. Was there something that concerned you?
Posted by mattk at February 8, 2006 06:27 PM
mattk:
Perhaps you didn't read the article.
Or perhaps you are undisturbed by the idea of human-animal hybrids (though I thought your initial challenge was to their factual existence.)
Apparently, someone (the Canadian government, for example) thinks the idea is cause for concern:
"Last year Canada passed the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, which bans chimeras. Specifically, it prohibits transferring a nonhuman cell into a human embryo and putting human cells into a nonhuman embryo.
Cynthia Cohen is a member of Canada's Stem Cell Oversight Committee, which oversees research protocols to ensure they are in accordance with the new guidelines.
She believes a ban should also be put into place in the U.S.
Creating chimeras, she said, by mixing human and animal gametes (sperms and eggs) or transferring reproductive cells, diminishes human dignity."
All I meant was that the president wasn't making the whole thing up, the way you seemed to imply he was. It's a legitimate concern of bioethics, and he is staking out ground for US policy. That's his job.
And what any of it has to do with Saddam I cannot begin to guess.
Posted by Kerry at February 8, 2006 06:47 PM
>>Creating chimeras, she said, by mixing human and animal gametes
It doesn't do anything.
Posted by mattk at February 8, 2006 10:07 PM
"It doesn't do anything."
That response reminds me of:
I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!
No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.
Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!
The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.
Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!
All right then, if he's restin', I'll wake him up! 'Ello, Mister Polly Parrot! I've got a lovely fresh cuttle fish for you if you show...
There, he moved!
No, he didn't, that was you hitting the cage!
I never!!
Yes, you did!
I never, never did anything...
'ELLO POLLY!!!!! Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call! Now that's what I call a dead parrot.
No, no.....No, 'e's stunned!
STUNNED?!?
Yeah! You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Norwegian Blues stun easily, major.
Um...now look...now look, mate, I've definitely 'ad enough of this. That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not 'alf an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein' tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk.
Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords.
Posted by MJohnson at February 8, 2006 10:14 PM
MJohnson - excellent point. But why was the president talking about dead parrots?
Posted by mattk at February 9, 2006 11:33 AM
Markie O.D's on Sugar Puffs again!
"It doesn't do anything"
This actually has a marked resemblance to the Prez. You look at him and realize he/"it" does nothing/"anything"! It't the voices in his earpiece we need to be concerned about.
Posted by Russ at February 9, 2006 01:03 PM
What do you mean by "it doesn't do anything."?
And how would you know?
You have some inside information the bioethicists don't?
Posted by Kerry at February 9, 2006 10:40 PM
"All I meant was that the president wasn't making the whole thing up, the way you seemed to imply he was. It's a legitimate concern of bioethics, and he is staking out ground for US policy."
No he isn't! We already know his position on stem cell research....and we don't have one of these.... "Stem Cell Oversight Committee," which oversees research protocols to ensure they are in accordance with the new guidelines.....so what was his point?
"And what any of it has to do with Saddam I cannot begin to guess."
That's easy! Saddam's behind bars and Curious Geo should be also.
Posted by Russ at February 9, 2006 10:51 PM
I can only conclude this is an attempt at obsfucation on a scale that would make Johnny Cochrain's head explode. Stun and confuse the enemy, strike while they're disorganized and retreat before they can regroup.
Mattk in this instance, and Russ allways, is a rhetorical flash-bang.
Loud, bright, flashy, but doesn't do any lasting damage...
Posted by MJohnson at February 10, 2006 11:22 PM
>>And how would you know?
I took biology in high school.
>>I can only conclude this is an attempt at obsfucation
Would you mind submitting the ethical dilemma the president had in mind?
Posted by mattk at February 11, 2006 01:04 AM
mattk,
the president thinks there's something wrong with mixing human and animal genes. Many people agree with him. If you don't see this as an ethical dilemma there's not much we can do for you by way of explanation.
Posted by Kerry at February 12, 2006 09:05 PM
Kerry,
The best you've done is a good comparison of Saddam and President Bush.
Your point toward an ethical dilema might hold water if we (the US) had a program where this issue might be called in to play. What kind of a response do you think you would get if W were asked to explain his comment? Probably as much as you have explained so far, Nothing!
Are you aware of anyone with a desire to create a human/animal play toy? With the exception of mythology there's no record of this happening. When these freaky accidents happen in humans and animals (separately I add) doctors are testing to see what happened and not with the intention of blending the two.
With the problems of the US and the world and again given that W doesn't even suppot stem cell research, where's the dilema? This topic doesn't even deserve a sidebar comment! (_?_)
Posted by Russ at February 13, 2006 12:53 PM
"Actually, mattk, I think he's been talking to scientists and bioethicists."
Actually, I would like to hear what they told him and what he heard!
Posted by Russ at February 13, 2006 12:55 PM
Markie, you make a bit more sense when you eat your Sugar Smacks before they get soggy.
Posted by Russ at February 13, 2006 12:58 PM
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