'I Saw Fear, He Was Afraid' - One more dictator jets his just rewards

SKD

2006-12-30 13:36:54 UTC

Pretty much the same happened to Z.A. Bhutto, the first elected PM of
Pakistan. He was told by Kissinger about being made into an example
over acquiring nuclear tech. Bhutoo was indicted over an alleged
killing of a political opponent in a funny trial. At the time of his
hanging Bhutto had gone down to 50 kg in body weight. His execution was
of done through zia-ul-haq, who had deposed him in a military coup.
Eleven years later zia's plane with 50 odd generals and him took off,
went nose up, then ploughed into a field presumably the pliot had
fallen sleep on the stick. Guess who zia had got into shits with
lately.

The point is, what's new? Wish they stop feeding horseshit to masses on
telly, bet everyone knows the real deal, why bother.

Post by Stan de SD
I Saw Fear, He Was Afraid'
In a NEWSWEEK exclusive, the man hired to videotape Saddam Hussein's
execution recalls the brutal dictator's humble final moments.
Web Exclusive
By Michael Hastings
Newsweek
Updated: 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
Dec. 30, 2006 - Ali Al Massedy was 3 feet away from Saddam Hussein when he
died. The 38 year old, normally Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's
official videographer, was the man responsible for filming the late
dictator's execution at dawn on Saturday. "I saw fear, he was afraid," Ali
told NEWSWEEK minutes after returning from the execution. Wearing a rumpled
green suit and holding a Sony HDTV video camera in his right hand, Ali
recalled the dictator's last moments. "He was saying things about injustice,
about resistance, about how these guys are terrorists," he says. On the way
to the gallows, according to Ali, "Saddam said, 'Iraq without me is nothing.
'"
Ali says he followed Saddam up the gallows steps, escorted by two guards. He
stood over the hole and filmed from close quarters as Saddam dropped
through-from "me to you," he said, crouching down to show how he shot the
scene. The distance, he said, was "about one meter," he said. "He died
absolutely, he died instantly." Ali said Saddam's body twitched, "shaking,
very shaking," but "no blood," he said, and "no spit." (Ali said he was not
authorized to disclose the location, and did not give other details of the
room.)
Ali said the videotape lasts about 15 minutes. When NEWSWEEK asked to see a
copy, Ali said he had already handed the tape over to Maliki's chief of
staff. "It is top secret," he said. He would not give the names of officials
in attendance, though he estimates there were around 20 observers. One of
them, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, told CNN that
Saddam clasped a Koran as the noose was tied around his neck, and refused to
wear a hood. He also said that government officials had not decided whether
or not to release the videotape. The execution reportedly took place at 6:05
a.m. local time. Prime Minister Maliki did not attend.
Ali says he followed Saddam up the gallows steps, escorted by two guards. He
stood over the hole and filmed from close quarters as Saddam dropped
through-from "me to you," he said, crouching down to show how he shot the
scene. The distance, he said, was "about one meter," he said. "He died
absolutely, he died instantly." Ali said Saddam's body twitched, "shaking,
very shaking," but "no blood," he said, and "no spit." (Ali said he was not
authorized to disclose the location, and did not give other details of the
room.)
Ali said the videotape lasts about 15 minutes. When NEWSWEEK asked to see a
copy, Ali said he had already handed the tape over to Maliki's chief of
staff. "It is top secret," he said. He would not give the names of officials
in attendance, though he estimates there were around 20 observers. One of
them, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, told CNN that
Saddam clasped a Koran as the noose was tied around his neck, and refused to
wear a hood. He also said that government officials had not decided whether
or not to release the videotape. The execution reportedly took place at 6:05
a.m. local time. Prime Minister Maliki did not attend.
The Iraqi bodyguards, mostly Shiites they said, had passed the time smoking
and praying-some prayed on cardboard mats on the street.
It was a cold morning in Baghdad, a few degrees above freezing, and in the
post dawn light the guards' breaths could be seen in the air. When the
thudding of helicopters began, the body guards rushed towards the entrance
to the landing zone. They swarmed around Ali, snapping digital pictures on
camera phones and cheering. "Saddam finished, Saddam finished," a guard who
gave his name as Mohammed told NEWSWEEK. Ali looked somewhat stunned as he
exited, carrying the camera.
"All Iraqis will be happy," he says. "This is the most important day for me
[as a cameraman,]" he said. "This page [in history] is over, this page is
over. All Iraqis will be happy from the north to the south to the east to
the west." One of the judges who presided over the execution then came out
to the street; Ali jumped in a car with him. The convoy of SUVs drove off,
one after the other, with the occasional honk of the horn.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16401644/site/newsweek/