DEATH OF THE YEAR:
SADDAM HUSSEIN

Flumesday has received word from the originator and lone determiner of the Death of the Year, located in the British West Indies.  The 2006  Death of the Year is Saddam Hussein.  And as the founder of the Death of the Year Award so wisely told me, "this is why you always wait until December 31st before declaring."  So wise.  I'll take my chances and declare a day early.

Early Saturday morning in Baghdad, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was hanged (photo) for his role in the 1982 Dujail massacre, in which 148 Iraqis were executed.  The execution took place outside an intelligence office in the Green Zone (whatever that is) and reportedly, there were no Americans present at the hanging.  Hussein was handed over to Iraqi forces hours before hang time.  Witnesses to the execution reported to the media that Saddam "had fear in his face" and according to NBC news, one witness told reporters, "the son of a bitch is lying under my feet, I can't talk now because of all the cheers."  Reportedly, the Iraqi crowd at the execution was dancing and singing after Saddam's neck snapped and they were hurling insults at Saddam's dead body.  One reporter who was on the phone with an official from the Iraqi prime minister's office said he couldn't hear anything on the phone because onlookers were so loud in their celebration of Hussein's death.  American forces were determined to stay away from the execution, so that nobody would get the wrong idea about any sort of American involvement in the demise of Hussein.  President Bush said, "Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial-- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime."  From everything I've read about Saddam's trial, I don't think "fair" would be the first word I'd use to describe it.  But maybe some trials don't need to be fair.  O.J. had a fair trial.  Bush went on to say, "Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself."  And what better way is there to kick off a new democracy than to have a public hanging of its former dictator followed by  people yelling vulgarities at the dead body while dancing and cheering?  The future for Iraq is uncertain.  What is certain is that Saddam Hussein is this year's Death of the Year. He was 69. 

•Flumesday: The Croakies - Death of the Year Awards 2006
•MSNBC: Saddam Hussein Executed