Saddam's days are numbered...
... and NBC is reporting that number to be pretty low:
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday, NBC News reported Thursday. According to a U.S. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, Saddam will be hanged before the start of the Eid religious holiday, which begins this Sunday.
The hanging could take place as early as Friday, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.
The U.S. military received a formal request from the Iraqi government to transfer Saddam to Iraqi authorities, NBC reported on Thursday, which is one of the final steps required before his execution. His sentence, handed down last month, ordered that he be hanged within 30 days.
I suspect there'll be a last minute reprieve and that the Bush administration will be leading that charge.
Any takers?
UPDATE: Michelle links to Iraqi reactions, in Orange County California:
“Saddam represents the dictatorship era that caused all the atrocities and destruction that was inflicted on Iraq. We are still seeing the remnants of that era. His execution will end that era without return.
“What I believe all Iraqis want to see is his execution for all what he did and not for the Dujail case (On Nov. 5, Saddam was convicted by an Iraqi tribunal for ordering the killings of scores of Shiite Muslims in the city of Dujail in 1982). This case represent very little compared to all the destruction that he brought upon the Iraqi people.
“Although most Iraqis want him to be executed as soon as possible, I think his execution should not be carried out for the Dujail case, it should be carried out for the (Anfal) case as well. So his execution will not be marked as a political one.”
- Salem Aljawad, a Mission Viejo businessman
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