Well, it wasn't quite that simple, for one reason at least.
You see, in ancient days, when a king or prince (or pretender to the throne) was killed in battle, no matter how far the battlefield was from the home country, no matter how stinky and swollen it was by the end, the corpse was brought home for public display- either as a state funeral or as a head on a pike. The reason for this was simple: everybody had to know he was dead, and -how- he died, and had to have absolute proof it was him who was dead. Every time this wasn't done, never mind the reason, there would be one person after another claiming to be the dead king/prince/pretender/whatever in an attempt to gain the throne.
A quick anonymous death, especially turning him to chum via grenade down the spider hole, wouldn't have put an end to Saddam; it would open the way for three or four new Saddams. For that one reason alone I'm glad he was taken alive. This way there's no doubt whatever about what's happening to him...
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Oh come now,
Date: 2006-11-21 04:26 am (UTC)You see, in ancient days, when a king or prince (or pretender to the throne) was killed in battle, no matter how far the battlefield was from the home country, no matter how stinky and swollen it was by the end, the corpse was brought home for public display- either as a state funeral or as a head on a pike. The reason for this was simple: everybody had to know he was dead, and -how- he died, and had to have absolute proof it was him who was dead. Every time this wasn't done, never mind the reason, there would be one person after another claiming to be the dead king/prince/pretender/whatever in an attempt to gain the throne.
A quick anonymous death, especially turning him to chum via grenade down the spider hole, wouldn't have put an end to Saddam; it would open the way for three or four new Saddams. For that one reason alone I'm glad he was taken alive. This way there's no doubt whatever about what's happening to him...