So, the deed is done. I can’t say I feel sorry for the guy. If anyone deserved to go out like this, it was him. But I did find something interesting sort of buried in this New York Times story. On the timing of Hussein’s execution;

“According to the law, no execution can be carried out during the holidays” said another official, “After all the hard work we have done, why would we break the law and ruin what we have built?”

The Muslim holiday of Id al-Adha begins Saturday for Sunnis and Sunday for Shiites, who now control the government.

Iraqi law seemed to indicate that executions were forbidden on the holiday.

But Judge Haddad was dismissive of those concerns, injecting some of the sectarian split that is pervading the country. “The official Id in Iraq is Sunday,” he said.

Cold-blooded. Where is Karl Rove and what has he done with our freedom-loving Shiite overlords? What ever happened to “Democracy, Whiskey, Sexy” anyway?

For the truly sadistic, you might want to check out this Wikipedia entry on Eid-ul-Adha, or as it translates to English, The Festival of Sacrifice. This is the day that Muslims around the world will sacrifice an animal, usually a sheep, and deliver its meat to family and the less fortunate. It’s a symbol of God’s generosity to the Prophet Abraham, allowing him to sacrifice a sheep in the place of his son.

So on a day that represents one of the most altruistic acts in human history, one worthless turd knocks off another, and we call it justice. Hearts and minds, baby. Hearts and minds.

Update: For more, see Riverbend and Raed. Hat tip to Steve Gilliard.

Apparently, standing on the bodies of the victims of 9/11 has lost its appeal. Perhaps its the smell. The troops no longer make for an effective backdrop either…the blank, idolizing stares of 2003 transformed long ago into the grimace of fatigue and hopelessness. Maybe there just weren’t enough of them to fill our widescreen TV’s. 16:9 can be a bitch.

But its time to turn another fake corner in Iraq and the pickings are slim. According to CNN, via Josh Marshall, it seems that Saddam Hussein, and his well-timed hanging, are going to serve as the latest prop for Bush’s New, New Way Forward in Iraq.

While I share Josh’s embarrassment, and the sense that Bush’s complete failure in Iraq has been laid bare for all to see by this pathetic farce, I can’t help but feel that it is particularly humiliating for Iraqis and the Middle East more generally.

Most Iraqis were willing to overlook “Shock n’ Awe” in 2003 because we were able to remove them from the deadly embrace of Hussein. Now, the Bush administration has decided that it needs a win, and the Iraqis are going to have to give up their one true victory in this god-forsaken war, so that the President can continue to put lipstick on a pig.

As long as we deny the people of the Middle East a victory of their own, they will continue to settle for finding them in places like here, here, and here.

Hamas says Abbas seeks war:

GAZA (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces fired on a Hamas rally in West Bank and gunnbattles between the Palestinian factions erupted in Gaza on Friday, prompting a top Hamas leader to accuse Abbas of starting a war.

People arguing for the “Tilt” in Iraq or more generally pondering the possible benefits of regional conflagration between Sunnis and Shiites, need to answer a question; Does Israel benefit from open war between Hamas and Fatah? Multiply that conflict by a power of ten and you get a clearer picture of what all out war between Sunnis and Shias would look like.

Clearer too, is that our leaders are soulless fools. I know, I know… The Arab mind only understands violence, so it’s totally different. Totally.