Item Source:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B7063C05-62B2-4332-9A6B-EC0FA6EB1B93.htm

So, it appears that in comments made on Saturday, Nuri al-Maliki, the current Iraqi prime minister, has said that Iraq may well review relations with countries that have recently criticised Iraq’s execution of Saddam Hussein, and the footage that followed.

His comments follow on from recent comments made by various countries, including from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who commented the the execution of Saddam is likely to turn him into a ‘martyr’.

Now, besides the fact that it seems incredibly close-minded for them to review things on the basis of other countries passing a non-positive comment on the execution, it’s more the reasons given for it that made me pause for thought.

From the article:

Al-Maliki said: “We consider the execution of the dictator an internal affair that concerns only the Iraqi people.”

Now, I don’t want to be the ruiner of happy thoughts or anything, but it’s not really, is it?

I mean, sure, it would be ‘an internal affair that concerns only the Iraqi people’ if anything in Iraq was quite that simple – but it just isn’t.

I mean, let’s face it, Iraqi soldiers didn’t capture Saddam Hussein, Americans did. Iraq isn’t really under the control of the Iraqi people, is it? How can it be when huge numbers of US and British troops remain in the country as (inefficient) ‘peacekeepers’?

And referring to those troops, the ‘reason’ they are there apparently is to be a part of “The War Against Terrorism” which, correct me if I’m wrong, is not solely an Iraq-issue – hence the actions and reactions caused by this “War Against Terrorism” affect a lot wider audience than the Iraqi public (see Bali, Madrid, London, amongst others).

And besides, it’s not as if Saddam was a lowly unheard-of crackpot dictator, is it? He had a somewhat established international representation which in some cases would be support for what he did and said (‘standing up’ to America being one such example) – whatever actions you take against him reverberate on an International scale just the same as if it was America who had executed him.

In short, it’s bollocks. Particularly as the rest of the article goes on to mention some other speeches made that day that dealt with such things as the fact that the Iraqi government doesn’t really control the capital, nevermind the country, right now, nor do the Brits or the Americans incidentally, but that they are ready to launch a new effort to that end – now that’s progress, nearly 4 years after declaring victory…

It also adds a further highlight that the situation in Iraq isn’t entirely a pure Iraqi issue with this line:

Iraqi forces will begin a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood assault on fighters in the capital this weekend, as a first step in the new White House strategy to contain violence in the capital. [My Emphasis]

The article finishes up by a brief reference to the news in recent days of numerous car bomb attacks and civilian deaths in the capital.

Praise the lord. Happy New Year.