Some of you may have read - and wondered about the Iraqi pre-war tapes,films, and documents. Some have denounced them - angrily - as fakes , because they provided evidence that Saddam was not some sort of heroic figure, but a stone cold killer in the mold of Stalin, Mao, and Hitler.
Like them, he kept records: vast numbers of documents , official films , videotapes, and audiotapes.Some of his audiotapes surfaced today in the court where the remainder of Saddam's "inner circle" is on trial for genocide. (Saddam's remaining charges have been dismissed -under Iraqi law - on the grounds his execution makes them moot - but, sure as God made little green apples, some of our more stubborn "Saddam Worshippers" will insist this is proof the charges were phoney ! )
Moving right along , let's see what CNN (a staunch Saddam defender from way back !) had to report about these "smoking gun" tapes.
The CNN headline says : "Iraqi Tapes Tell of Extermination Plan".
So: What are we talking about here ? The extermination of mice or insects ? CNN - which once refused to report Saddam's crimes, because it would have jeapordized its lucrative financial arrangements with "the Great Hero" , finally admits it was men,women,and children who were being exterminated . Kurds who opposed Saddam's dictatorship: about 180,000 of them.
Saddam and his followers, talking it over on the tape, make their plans very clear - as this excerpt will show.
"I will strike them with chemical weapons and kill them all," a voice identified by prosecutors as that of Majeed, Hussein's cousin and a senior aide, is heard saying.
"Who is going to say anything? The international community? Curse the international community," the voice continued.
"Yes, it's effective, especially on those who don't wear a mask immediately, as we understand," another voice, identified as Hussein, is heard saying on another tape.
"Sir, does it exterminate thousands?" a voice asks back.
"Yes, it exterminates thousands and forces them not to eat or drink and they will have to evacuate their homes without taking anything with them, until we can finally purge them," Hussein responds.
Okay, Saddam Worshippers : There is your "hero" in all his glory : gloating over the prospect of killing thousands of Iraqi Kurds.
As you weep for "poor hanged Saddam" think about this:
Chief Prosecutor Munqith Faroon also played on Monday video showing women and children lying dead on village streets and mountain slopes after what he said was a chemical attack ordered by Hussein.
"These are the honorable battles they claimed to have launched against the enemy," he told the court.
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