01.17.07

Scooping an Execution

Posted in General at 7:49 am by ZoeWashburne

Okay, so Saddam Hussein was executed, we all know that by now, but what is interesting and largely overlooked is how the news was broke. As people across Iraq and around the world gathered around their television sets to see if it was actually going to happen, one thing was clear, no one seemed to know what was happening. Shrouded in secrecy, as these things always are, little bits and pieces of news trickled out…Saddam was seen at the hanging site…Saddam was hanged a few minutes before sunrise…no wait, Saddam was hanged a few minutes after sunrise…this just in, Saddam is seen crying like a baby begging for forgiveness…wait, yes he’s being hanged right now. Ain’t live television great?

But when the “independent confirmation” was finally reached and the news stations felt confident to actually say the words, “Saddam has been executed,” (wouldn’t want another Bush/Gore election incident), it came from a very interesting source…Al Hurra television. For those of you who have never heard of Al Hurra, it’s a United States backed, Arabic language news channel that broadcasts solely throughout the Middle East. While it claims to provide the proverbial “fair and balanced” news, it’s nothing more than a propaganda tool to get the American viewpoint out to the people of the Middle East. It’s sort of like the opposite of Al Jazeera.

Anyway, while the entire world’s news channels were scrambling to scoop the exact execution time, little old Al Hurra suddenly announced that they had confirmed the hanging had occurred at 6:05 a.m. Iraqi time. Now, what is interesting about this is that Al Hurra, the U.S. backed news channel, scooped even Al Iraqiya, the Iraqi government-run television station. While the U.S. government goes way out of its way to continuously remind us that the trial and execution of Saddam is all Iraqi run, it seems ironic that when it comes time for his execution the U.S. channel just happens to be the first one to announce it has happened. Doesn’t that seem a bit suspicious to anyone? It does to me, especially when you consider that Al Hurra is largely mistrusted by most of the Middle East and is seen for what it is, a propaganda tool. Couldn’t the U.S. just let the Iraqi news channels have this one?

As the details and proof of Saddam’s execution unfold, it will be interesting to see what sources these details will come from. Watch closely as the birth of a new conspiracy theory takes its first steps and be mindful of where the news comes from. While it’s beneficial for the U.S. to have Saddam dead today, it just might come in handy to find Saddam sitting in a Denny’s with Elvis in the years to come.