Saddam, Gaza, and the Elections

The past week has been a blur. It's been a nightmare for Palestinians in Beit Hanoun, and Iraqis in Baghdad and other parts of the country. One is left speechless in the face of such atrocities that do not elicit international action or even empty words of condemnation. Saddam's sentencing, however, did generate some chatter from various leaders around the world who praised the death penalty sentence for the brutal dictator.

When Saddam was captured, I was much more relieved than when I heard the sentence today. The situation in Iraq today makes the trial of Saddam Hussein seem so insignificant. I think death by hanging is not even a good enough punishment for this murderer. Still, I believe that God knows His business with him and his henchmen and has special accommodations for them in Hell. It's ironic that Bush is relishing in Saddam's misery since I'm pretty sure that his place in Hell won't be too far from the Iraqi dictator's. Nobody really knows who will go to heaven or hell, and I don't really care, because what I do know is that each and every one of us will get what we deserve one day.

Something that has really bothered me about Hussein's trail was when he tried to make himself appear like the victim and continuously made religious references like carrying the Quran with him and yelling "Allahu Akbar". I mean, C'MON buddy, did you just wake up and discover Islam after you were captured?! Oh wait, I forgot, you did put "Allahu Akbar" on the Iraqi flag. That means you're a good Muslim. But seriously, I don't understand anyone who would fall for this act of his. He didn't remember that Allah was Greatest when he butchered the Kurds, Shiites, and even Sunnis for decades. He didn't remember that Allah was watching him when he pointed his pistol at his daughters' husbands and his other relatives. He is just like every other person today who is misusing Islam for their own illegitimate purposes. I despise them all.

And I despise the likes of Bush too who are calling the verdict a "great victory". How convenient it is that the sentencing is announced two days before the mid-term elections! Bush wants to say to the Americans who are sick and tired of this war, "See, we are catching the bad guys!" Where were you cowards when he was gassing the Kurds? Oh wait, maybe you were giving him money to commit his crimes? Or were you providing other forms of military and political support to Saddam Hussein just because he was fighting your enemies, the Iranians? Indeed, my enemy's enemy is my best friend. Doesn't matter if this best friend is a cold blooded dictator. I just hope I live to see the day when George W. Bush and Donal Rumsfeld are tried for crimes against humanity.

And in Palestine, oh Palestine.

Be ashamed, oh Arab and Muslim men, be ashamed! Be ashamed that our Palestinian mothers, sisters, and daughters must now stand in the face of Israeli gunfire to protect their men while you are sitting peacefully in your homes, living under oppressive regimes that do not have enough dignity to show some support for their Palestinian brethren. They do not even have the courage to condemn these atrocities, and even if they do that, their lack of action speaks much louder than their empty words. Just stay home, stuff your stomachs with food, and your brains with images of Nancy Ajram, your lungs with shisha smoke, and watch as Palestine and Iraq fall apart.

It isn't enough, Olmert and Bush, that you are starving the Palestinians?! STARVING THEM TO DEATH. Maybe now you feel bad for them, which is why you are sending your men with big guns and big planes to kill as many of them as possible before they claim that they have died from starvation. Fifty lives you have ruined in less than a week. Fifty families you have broken in a matter of days.

Unfortunately, you still do not understand. You do not understand that Palestinians do not die of lack of food. They can only suffer from lack of freedom. Lack of justice. And lack of peace. They die fighting for freedom, justice, and peace. They do not die fighting for oil.

Here's to hoping the Democrats can change something this November. (And no, I'm not holding my breath).

(Photo credit: A wounded Palestinian woman lies on the ground as others run for cover after an Israeli tank opened fire at them at Beit Hanoun town in northern Gaza strip, November 3, 2006. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem)