Top Story USA
15
January 2007
Bush: Saddam’s
execution like revenge killing
President Bush harshly criticized the circumstances surrounding
Saddam Hussein's hanging, saying it looked like "kind of
a revenge killing" that will make it harder for him to
persuade Americans to support the Iraqi government.
In an interview with public television's Jim Lehrer, Bush said
the hanging showed that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's
government "still has some maturation to do".
"I was disappointed and felt like they fumbled the - particularly
the Saddam Hussein - execution," Bush said. Bush admitted
that the manner in which the execution was conducted made it
harder for him "to make the case to the American people
that this is a government that does want to unify the country."
Bush Tuesday also criticized the hanging of two of Saddam's
top aides. The former Iraqi dictator was hanged Dec 30 in an
execution that drew worldwide criticism after a videotape leak
showed Saddam being taunted moments before his hanging.
Bush said that while he was "pleased" with the trials
received by Saddam and his co-defendants, he was troubled with
the circumstances surrounding Saddam's execution Dec. 30.
'You conducted a trial and gave Saddam justice that he didn't
give to others,' Bush said. 'But then, when it came to execute
him, it looked like it was kind of a revenge killing.'
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