We loves us a hangin’

And so it appears, at least according to one Iraqi judge, that Saddam Hussein’s execution will take place around 10 pm EST (0200 Zulu (GMT)) (its now around 1900 EST/2300 Zulu… so maybe 3 hours from when I write this now. Somebody now screwing around with his chainsaw in Crawford, TX wants the diversion of a Saddam execution to get him through until next week when it can be all-Gerald-Ford-all-the-time… worse, the Bushmen may well want an escalation from the Iraqi side which will inevitably be part of the shit-storm they are trying to cause by executing Saddam. (Note that the proposed location of the execution will be in the American-protected Green Zone… the symbolism of that will be missed on nobody.)
Kevin from Amstreet sends us to this from Iraqi blogger Riverbend, in which, with her usual poignance, River describes life in the hell on Earth we have created in Iraq:

A day in the life of the average Iraqi has been reduced to identifying corpses, avoiding car bombs and attempting to keep track of which family members have been detained, which ones have been exiled and which ones have been abducted.

and notes the futility at best, disaster at worst that awaits, after the Washington-controlled execution of Saddam:

Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam’s execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.
This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is “Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We’re hanging him- he symbolizes you.” And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).
That is, of course, why Talbani doesn’t want to sign his death penalty- not because the mob man suddenly grew a conscience, but because he doesn’t want to be the one who does the hanging- he won’t be able to travel far away enough if he does that.

The simple reality: regardless of what one thinks of the travesty that we called “a trial”, there will be consequences to executing Saddam Hussein… consequences that will be borne on the streets of Iraq, mostly by Iraqis living there, and of course, to American troops.
Let me quote a certain American Defense Secretary:

And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth?
And the answer is not very damned many.

That of course, was Dick Cheney, speaking in 1992. He happened to be right then; he and the Sociopath-in-Chief would do well to heed his statement now. Not that they will, of course.
Update: Saddam Hussein has been executed, evidently right around 2200 EST (0200 Zulu). Now, of course, everything is alright, and the whole Iraq invasion was worth it.