by Free Arab Voice - December 16, 2006



The legitimate leader of what is supposed to be a sovereign state has been condemned to a criminal's death by hanging and the response of the world is totally out of proportion to the event. Instead of an international outcry of outrage, there is nothing much in the way of condemnation of this illegitimate attempt to finish off one of the last symbols of Iraq's independence. This should not be a surprise, however, as the entire chain of events that led to this point has been the product of international intimidation and bullying on the part of the U.S. and its Zionist ally.

Saddam Hussein remains the President of Iraq. Foreign invasion and occupation of Iraq cannot change that fact. In fact, it is the President of the United States and his underling Tony Blair who should be tried and convicted of war crimes. The sequence of events that led to Saddam's Hussein's conviction at the hands of a kangaroo court will become one of the more shameful chapters in World History.

Iraq was a progressive and successful country when the U.N., goaded by the U.S., imposed economic sanctions on it over a decade ago. To describe the sanctions as crippling would not be an overstatement. Iraq struggled for thirteen years to maintain its existence beneath the burden of those inhumane sanctions. Its President, Saddam Hussein, in the face of overwhelming international pressure, refused to compromise his political position with respect to the illegitimate Zionist Occupation of Palestine, as well as maintaining unwavering support for the Palestinian people.

This is one of the real reasons he has been sentenced to death. It has nothing to do with the Shi'a or the Kurds. It is because he dared to challenge U.S. foreign policy and to condemn its Zionist ally and to remain steadfast in that position through a decade of bullying, blackmail and collective punishment by foreign powers.

Collective punishment is prohibited by International Law and yet the people of Iraq were subjected to collective punishment for more than a decade by the U.N. The economic sanctions against Iraq affected every Iraqi. In fact, Madeleine Albright's notorious declaration that the death of over half a million Iraqi babies was a price worth paying made it clear that the U.S. recognised the enforcement of these sanctions to be tantamount to genocide. When the Iraqi people continued to support their President and to remain steadfast under this inhumane and illegal policy, the U.S. decided that it had to invade Iraq openly. The entire world now knows the truth about the spurious allegations of 'weapons of mass destruction' that was the ostensible reason for the invasion. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. All weapons of that nature were being stockpiled by the Zionists, manufactured and paid for by the United States.

The only mistake that Saddam Hussein made was when he surrendered what weapons Iraq did possess to the U.N. In the effort to spare his country the additional hardship and destruction of a war, he acceded to the demands of the U.N. and relinquished the weapons that he had in lieu of the 'weapons of mass destruction' that did not exist.

The U.S. then proceeded to invade Iraq, declaring that the country would welcome its armed forces with open arms and be grateful for the defeat of its leader. We all know the tortuous and disgraceful course of that ongoing war. Rather than accepting the U.S. definition of its military as 'liberators', the Iraqi people denounced the U.S. and refused to see it as anything but a foreign invader. Rather than surrendering to the overwhelming foreign military force, the people of Iraq have fought the invaders at every turn. Rather than surrendering its President to the Americans, the people of Iraq kept him safe for a year under the repressive foreign Occupation of the U.S. and its allies.

The Iraqi Resistance against a puppet government set in place by the foreign occupiers remains fierce and committed. The shameful travesty of the trial of Iraq's President, Saddam Hussein, has not diminished his standing among true patriots. In fact, so terrified were the 'powers that be' of the possible outcome even of this ridiculous charade that they felt compelled to assassinate lawyers who acted in his defence. These supposed 'legal proceedings' never would bear scrutiny by any legitimate legal standards.

Why is international outcry against this war crime not greater? It is because the U.S. has demonstrated its ability to act swiftly and unconditionally against any one who demonstrates any resistance to American/Zionist foreign policies. The U.S., despite the fact that its forces are stretched thin between a losing war in Afghanistan and one in Iraq has stated very clearly that it is happy to extend its military machine into Syria and Iran if a convenient excuse presents itself. North Korea, the other member of the so-called 'axis of evil' defined by Bush, must be handled with kid gloves in this respect, only because it has been rather overt in displaying its nuclear arsenal, a necessary act of self-defence, apparently, for any Nation that dares to oppose U.S. hegemony.

The fact that the U.S. and its allies will be defeated ultimately in Afghanistan and in Iraq as well as any other theatre of Occupation they open in the future does not make it less critical that we denounce the so-called 'war on terror' at every turn. Saddam Hussein is in danger of becoming one more victim of this spurious war. Whether as private individuals, members of any organisation or even as rulers of sovereign nations, the so-called 'war on terror' threatens the freedom of each and every one of us. It is a weapon designed to silence significant opposition of any kind, and it is a propaganda tool that has subverted both law and reality in order to attempt to portray heroes as villains and villains as heroes.

Robbed of power and his liberty, Saddam Hussein nonetheless has maintained his dignity along with his legitimacy throughout his illegal detention. Attempts to demean him or to force him into submission have failed utterly. He remains a strong leader, even behind prison bars.

The voice of Saddam Hussein is the voice of the Arab Nation. In condemning him to death by hanging, the very existence of the Arab Nation has been condemned. In medieval times, the government would execute political enemies and then display their bodies in prominent positions at the gates of the city as a warning to others. Saddam Hussein's conviction is designed to serve the same purpose, a declaration to others who oppose American and Zionist policies. 'Such is the fate of all who oppose us' is the message to heads of state throughout the world.

We must counter this message with our own message of unequivocal support of the Arab Nation and those who symbolise it. Silence can be misinterpreted. A strong message of support is a slap to the face of the enemy and a declaration to the effect that the Arab Nation cannot be crushed or bulldozed into oblivion. Especially in view of so-called 'anti-terrorism' legislation purporting to criminalise opposition to 'American interests' or Zionist interests, we must make our protest one that echoes throughout the world.

Even if public outcry and whatever 'legal' action is allowed by the puppet government does not reverse this 'conviction', the death of Saddam Hussein will not serve the U.S. and Zionists ultimately. By executing a symbol of steadfastness and independence, they cannot hope to extinguish the resistance itself.

In fact, the death of Saddam Hussein may prove to be the flame that ignites people throughout the world to resistance to the American/Zionist threat to freedom everywhere. If the puppet government sponsored by the U.S. and its allies manage to hang him, they ultimately only tighten the noose round their own necks.

We call upon every Head of State as well as every private individual throughout the world to condemn unequivocally this mockery of justice and to protest against the impending murder of the President of the Arab Nation in Iraq. It is the equivalent of a mob lynching, clothed in legal trappings. Condemn the true war criminals, the so-called Heads of State of the U.S., Great Britain, and all who have allied themselves against the people of the Arab Nation. Condemn the foreign Occupation of Iraq and Palestine instead of pursuing phantom threats of 'nuclear capacity' against legitimate nations. If you have any interest in real peace and justice, you must act against the Zionist entity with its huge arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and support the legitimate aspirations of those who seek to end the foreign Occupation of their lands.

Any one who truly believes in freedom and justice must support Saddam Hussein as a legitimate leader whose life is being threatened by forces that consistently have lied about their motivations and goals and who, rather than 'liberating' the people of Iraq, have brought it to ruin. God help any one who receives his/her 'freedom' at the hands of the U.S. and its allies! God help any one who is honest enough to denounce the Zionists!

Denounce this outrageous war crime against the legitimate leader of an Arab country!