Why did the executioners wear hoods??

[kentuck]

Were they Iraqis? Or were they Americans? Were they afraid of what Saddam's "friends" might do to them? Or would they want to be known as heroes because all of Iraq hated the evil dictator and would want everyone to see their faces? Something very strange about the masks??

[Horse with no Name]

1. To signify that justice is blind?

Or at least in this case, myopic.

[Erika]

22. myopic says it all

No other reason for the hoods.

[madeline_con]

2. They don't want to be outed, like Valerie Plame. n/t

[dsc]

3. Executioners are almost always anonymous

In many states there are several people who are executioners at each execution with no one knowing for sure who the real one is. Electric chairs have several buttons only one of which works, the needle is actually three needles with only one being fatal, and firing squads have one gun with no bullets so potentially you don't know who did it.

[Warpy]

6. Right, especially in a volatile place like Iraq

Their faces are obscured to prevent retaliation on them and their families.

[TomInTib]

16. Well, now, that one was easy.

I wonder why the question was even raised.

[Kajsa]

4. They would be targets

for Sunni insurgents.

[Crabby Appleton]

5. and their families would be targets too.

[Kajsa]

7. Yes, they would.

Thanks for adding that.

They would all be killed.

[kentuck]

8. Were they Iraqis or Americans?

Were they Shiites or Blackwater?

[tblue]

9. The whole thing is grossing me out. I just think it's barbaric. Good question, tho.

[qanda]

10. Because they are terrorists

[cureautismnow]

24. ... and hired assassins.

And murderers. And killers. And they snuff out human life with impunity.

[cwydro]

11. I understood they were Iraqis

and no doubt fear reprisals from the group that favored him in the past and still did.

[kentuck]

12. How do we know they were Iraqis..?

Do you believe they were Iraqis? I'm not so sure..

[enuffs_enuffs]

13. Wouldn't be supprised if it were * his'self...

Sadistic shit, I tell ya!

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. I'm sure he masturbates about being the executioner, but he wouldn't have the courage.

[madeline_con]

17. It would expalin a lot, like why he couldn't be in D.C.

for a STATE FUNERAL!!! He's such a jerk!

O.K. not the official funeral, but come on, DUH-bya, you idiot!

[madeline_con]

15. They said so on TV.

I don't believe it for a minute.

[cwydro]

28. Well, I don't know how well Saddam spoke English

but the little bit I heard said there was a guy there telling him what was going to happen etc....But again, I kind of tuned out and others certainly will know more than me.

I feel certain of one thing; that we were in control in every way.

[madeline_con]

30. Sorry, I was just saying we can't believe everything we're told

about what's going on.

They have a puppet government, so the idea that Iraqis get to put the noose around Saddam's neck makes it seem like they're really in charge of something, when they have very little power.

[cwydro]

34. Well, I gotta agree with you there.

The whole thing is surreal to me.

[Cleita]

18. I will venture to say that they were special OPs dressed up

like Iraqis because I doubt if any real Iraqis would conduct an execution on a holy day. I didn't see the video and I will not watch it unless I walk into a place unknowingly where it's playing. However, other posters seem to share your suspicion.

[lynne]

19. Historically, executioners have always worn hoods -

- check images, old artwork, etc. That way they are anonymous.

[Cleita]

20. Do they need sunglasses to cover their blue eyes?

I read that they wore sunglasses.

[QC]

26. And what about those white plastic chairs? n/t

[NYC]

27. I did not see sunglasses.

It was a dark video, though.

[Cleita]

29. I didn't watch the video and refuse to but read post # 3 on

this thread;

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x3010499

[NYC]

37. The sunglass remark was about the Nick Berg video.

Reread post #3 to see if you agree.

The hangmen wore ski masks in the video of the hanging of Saddam Hussein. I watched it because that is what our tax dollars pay for. I can't even count the times I protested this war, but so many people just ignore it -- as though it doesn't exist. They should watch the video.

[madeline_con]

31. That was the guys who killed Nick Berg. n/t

[Cleita]

33. Okay sorry. I thought you were making comparisons to those guys

as being the same. So they weren't wearing sun glasses?

[madeline_con]

35. No, but I believe....

it was Special Ops in both cases.

Look, if the Iraqi Security Forces supposedly couldn't be trained in all this time, why would anyone believe the U.S would turn Saddam over to them?

The "untrainable" thing makes them seem inept, but I think the real problem is the U.S. has trouble finding anyone who wants to team up with them.

[Cleita]

36. I so agree with you. n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. I have 1 question. Do Iraqis wear wedding rings?

If not, the man on the left side of the TV screen (Saddam's right) had on a wedding band....so he wouldn't be an Iraqi. If they do wear wedding bands, never-mind.:)

[madeline_con]

32. Yes, they do. n/t

[Capn Amerika]

23. It was just supposed to be a mugging.

Got out of hand.

[Bitwit1234]

25. If you watched the History channel programs

you would see that in all of the pictures most of the people who performed the hangings wore hoods.

[darkstar]

38. the executioner's face is always well-hidden

and it's a hard
it's a hard
it's a hard
and it's a hard
it's a hard rain's a gonna fall

[hibbing]

39. yes it is

Dylan lyrics always seem to fit in somewhere.

Peace

[Skittles]

40. that's what cowards do

yup

[Hekate]

41. It's a long tradition in many cultures. Goes back centuries. nt