user: Write an article with the title: "The Debacle in the Gallows (7 Letters)"


assistant: “The Ugly Death of Saddam Hussein” (editorial, Jan. 4) emphasizes the lack of planning and oversight by the Bush administration. To say that the execution was “a shaming embarrassment” and that “all Americans will be blamed” is an understatement.

If the United States’ pre-emptive invasion of Iraq is considered one of the major strategic blunders in American history, the execution of Saddam Hussein while the United States was the occupying force in Iraq may come close to rivaling that blunder.

Why couldn’t Iraqi justice be served once there was a functioning Iraqi government and United States forces were out of Iraq, and why couldn’t the Bush administration have insisted that this be so?

Sugar Land, Tex., Jan. 4, 2007

Lies were told to go to this war, and lies were told to extend it. Now there are brand-new lies that promise victory only if we add more troops.

A debacle needs no reinforcements. Let our young people come home to start their lives anew. And let President Bush reap his whirlwind. Christopher Woods

Your editorial doesn’t mention the fact that President Bush has not yet watched the cellphone video of Saddam Hussein’s execution, according to White House spokesmen.

Let me get this straight: the delivery of Saddam Hussein to justice was one of the president’s only legitimate reasons left standing for the invasion of Iraq; the United States held him in custody until the Iraqi government requested that he be delivered to pay the ultimate price; the United States may have delivered him “into the hands of a Shiite lynch mob”; there is a worldwide outcry about the circumstances surrounding the execution; and the Bush administration is struggling to distance itself from the execution.

And yet the president has not even bothered to watch the video to assess the situation? With our worldwide credibility once again on the line, how can we ever trust that he knows what he is talking about?

Los Angeles, Jan. 4, 2007

Re “Iraq to Examine Abusive Conduct Toward Hussein” (front page, Jan. 3):

The “trial” of Saddam Hussein, measured by most American judicial standards, might be considered a farce. It is ironic that there is now some upset that during the execution of Mr. Hussein, after his release from American custody, there seemed to be a lack of dignity and courtesy among the participants. Could it be that it is the execution itself that lacks dignity and courtesy?

Oakland, Calif., Jan. 3, 2007

Such a fuss in your paper over the “abusive conduct” toward Saddam Hussein! Perhaps the Shiites should have consulted Miss Manners on the proper decorum for the execution of a mass murderer?

Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 3, 2007

Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, when asked about the appalling cellphone video of Saddam Hussein’s execution, declared that “the most important thing to keep in mind is, this is a guy who killed hundreds of thousands of people and received justice,” while absolving the Americans of responsibility for handing him over to the Shiite Iraqi regime just minutes before he was hanged (“Despite Misgivings, White House Says Little Against Hanging,” news article, Jan. 4).

Supervising hasty executions, of course, was one of George W. Bush’s precious few qualifications for office six years ago. Still, the White House cannot have it both ways, extolling the virtues of democracy while overlooking the expanding disaster in Iraq.

The world’s democracies, many of which have banned the death penalty, can only conclude that America cares little for the rule of law.

Why is it so hard for our elected officials to admit error? The lynching of Saddam Hussein was wrong, whether or not you agree with capital punishment and irrespective of the magnitude of his crimes.

This administration is quick to condemn homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia. For once, I’d like it to condemn true immorality. Only then we will regain the moral authority we once enjoyed. Bill Schrier

Carmel, Calif., Jan. 3, 2007