Rich in Ohio Posted August 15, 2005 Posted August 15, 2005 This is taken from the Wash Times: Dean's latest Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman who was the hero of his party's anti-war wing before his gaffe-prone 2004 presidential candidacy crashed and burned in Iowa, still doesn't think the Iraqis are better off with dictator Saddam Hussein out of power and in prison. Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation" yesterday, the fiery former Vermont governor said, "It looks like today, and this could change, as of today it looks like women will be worse off in Iraq than they were when Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq." Mr. Dean was the guy who said right after Saddam was found hiding in a "spider hole" that his capture by U.S. troops "has not made America safer," a statement ridiculed and condemned by most of his Democratic rivals at the time. In a brief statement yesterday, the Republican National Committee said, "Dean's wild assertion that Iraqi women would be better off living under Saddam Hussein than democracy is not only counterproductive to meaningful debate, it demeans the hard work of American servicemen and women serving in Iraq." Now there is political rhetoric, and then there is plain stupidity...this falls under the total stupidity catagory. leave it to the dean.
UConn James Posted August 15, 2005 Posted August 15, 2005 The latest word, from administration officials no less, are now pretty resigned to the fact that Iraq will have an Islamic Republic in which the clerics will be the judges according to the Islamic Sharia, and they will have the final say in how many rights women are granted. Dean is grandstanding for sure, it's his job to be inciteful just like it is for the RNC chairman, but when have you known strict Islamic law to be beneficial to women's rights? The constitution isn't done yet, so it's early to be discussing it, but the whispers coming out aren't that inspiring.
Ghost of BiB Posted August 15, 2005 Posted August 15, 2005 The latest word, from administration officials no less, are now pretty resigned to the fact that Iraq will have an Islamic Republic in which the clerics will be the judges according to the Islamic Sharia, and they will have the final say in how many rights women are granted. Dean is grandstanding for sure, it's his job to be inciteful just like it is for the RNC chairman, but when have you known strict Islamic law to be beneficial to women's rights? The constitution isn't done yet, so it's early to be discussing it, but the whispers coming out aren't that inspiring. 408218[/snapback] Those silly Kurds stopped up the works at the 11th hour.
N.Y. Orangeman Posted August 15, 2005 Posted August 15, 2005 Hmm... Brutal Dictator or traditional Islamic law? You pick...
philburger1 Posted August 15, 2005 Posted August 15, 2005 The latest word, from administration officials no less, are now pretty resigned to the fact that Iraq will have an Islamic Republic in which the clerics will be the judges according to the Islamic Sharia, and they will have the final say in how many rights women are granted. Dean is grandstanding for sure, it's his job to be inciteful just like it is for the RNC chairman, but when have you known strict Islamic law to be beneficial to women's rights? The constitution isn't done yet, so it's early to be discussing it, but the whispers coming out aren't that inspiring. 408218[/snapback] Situation for Women in Saddam's Iraq In 1979, immediately upon coming to power, Saddam Hussein silenced all political opposition in Iraq and converted his one-party state into a cult of personality. Since then, his regime has systematically executed, tortured, imprisoned, raped, terrorized, and repressed the Iraqi people. Iraq is a nation rich in culture, with a long history of intellectual and scientific achievement, especially among its women. However, Saddam Hussein's brutal regime has silenced the voices of Iraq's women, along with its men, through violence and intimidation. In Iraq under Saddam, if you are a woman, you could face: Beheading. Under the pretext of fighting prostitution, units of "Fedayeen Saddam," the paramilitary organization led by Uday Hussein, Saddam's eldest son, have beheaded in public more than 200 women throughout the country, dumping their severed heads at their families' doorsteps. Many families have been required to display the victim's head on their outside fences for several days. These barbaric acts were carried out in the total absence of any proper judicial procedures and many of the victims were not engaged in prostitution, but were targeted for political reasons. For example, Najat Mohammad Haydar, an obstetrician in Baghdad, was beheaded after criticizing the corruption within health services. (Amnesty International Report, Iraq: Systematic Torture of Political Prisoners, August 2001; Iraqi Women's League in Damascus, Syria) Rape. The Iraqi Government uses rape and sexual assault of women to achieve the following goals: to extract information and forced confessions from detained family members; to intimidate Iraqi oppositionists by sending videotapes showing the rape of female family members; and to blackmail Iraqi men into future cooperation with the regime. Some Iraqi authorities even carry personnel cards identifying their official "activity" as the "violation of women's honor." (U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2001, March 2002; Iraq Research and Documentation Project, Harvard University) Torture. The Iraqi Government routinely tortures and kills female dissidents and the female relatives of Iraqi oppositionists and defectors. Victims include Safiyah Hassan, the mother of two Iraqi defectors, who was killed after publicly criticizing the Iraqi Government for killing her sons after their return to Iraq. Women in Saddam's jails are subjected to the following forms of torture: brutal beatings, systematic rape, electrical shocks, and branding. (U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2001, March 2002; U.S. Department of State, Iraq: A Population Silenced, December 2002) Murder. In 1990, Saddam Hussein introduced Article 111 into the Iraqi Penal Code in a calculated effort to strengthen tribal support for his regime. This law exempts men who kill their female relatives in defense of their family's honor from prosecution and punishment. The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women reported that more than 4,000 women have been victims of so-called "honor killings" since Article 111 went into effect. (UN Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, January 2002)
Reuben Gant Posted August 16, 2005 Posted August 16, 2005 Hmm... Brutal Dictator or traditional Islamic law? You pick... 408249[/snapback] Why not a traditional Islamic Dictator or Brutal Islamic Law? give the people a choice!
Rich in Ohio Posted August 16, 2005 Author Posted August 16, 2005 The latest word, from administration officials no less, are now pretty resigned to the fact that Iraq will have an Islamic Republic in which the clerics will be the judges according to the Islamic Sharia, and they will have the final say in how many rights women are granted. Dean is grandstanding for sure, it's his job to be inciteful just like it is for the RNC chairman, but when have you known strict Islamic law to be beneficial to women's rights? The constitution isn't done yet, so it's early to be discussing it, but the whispers coming out aren't that inspiring. 408218[/snapback] Umm, please give me an example of the last time (or the first time for that matter) that the RNC chairman was inciteful, or simply ignorant like dean is on a regular basis. I will await your reply with bated breath.
Rich in Ohio Posted August 16, 2005 Author Posted August 16, 2005 Situation for Women in Saddam's IraqIn 1979, immediately upon coming to power, Saddam Hussein silenced all political opposition in Iraq and converted his one-party state into a cult of personality. Since then, his regime has systematically executed, tortured, imprisoned, raped, terrorized, and repressed the Iraqi people. Iraq is a nation rich in culture, with a long history of intellectual and scientific achievement, especially among its women. However, Saddam Hussein's brutal regime has silenced the voices of Iraq's women, along with its men, through violence and intimidation. In Iraq under Saddam, if you are a woman, you could face: Beheading. Under the pretext of fighting prostitution, units of "Fedayeen Saddam," the paramilitary organization led by Uday Hussein, Saddam's eldest son, have beheaded in public more than 200 women throughout the country, dumping their severed heads at their families' doorsteps. Many families have been required to display the victim's head on their outside fences for several days. These barbaric acts were carried out in the total absence of any proper judicial procedures and many of the victims were not engaged in prostitution, but were targeted for political reasons. For example, Najat Mohammad Haydar, an obstetrician in Baghdad, was beheaded after criticizing the corruption within health services. (Amnesty International Report, Iraq: Systematic Torture of Political Prisoners, August 2001; Iraqi Women's League in Damascus, Syria) Rape. The Iraqi Government uses rape and sexual assault of women to achieve the following goals: to extract information and forced confessions from detained family members; to intimidate Iraqi oppositionists by sending videotapes showing the rape of female family members; and to blackmail Iraqi men into future cooperation with the regime. Some Iraqi authorities even carry personnel cards identifying their official "activity" as the "violation of women's honor." (U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2001, March 2002; Iraq Research and Documentation Project, Harvard University) Torture. The Iraqi Government routinely tortures and kills female dissidents and the female relatives of Iraqi oppositionists and defectors. Victims include Safiyah Hassan, the mother of two Iraqi defectors, who was killed after publicly criticizing the Iraqi Government for killing her sons after their return to Iraq. Women in Saddam's jails are subjected to the following forms of torture: brutal beatings, systematic rape, electrical shocks, and branding. (U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2001, March 2002; U.S. Department of State, Iraq: A Population Silenced, December 2002) Murder. In 1990, Saddam Hussein introduced Article 111 into the Iraqi Penal Code in a calculated effort to strengthen tribal support for his regime. This law exempts men who kill their female relatives in defense of their family's honor from prosecution and punishment. The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women reported that more than 4,000 women have been victims of so-called "honor killings" since Article 111 went into effect. (UN Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, January 2002) 408312[/snapback] hey philburger1, stop trying to bring sucj common sense to the discussion. These nuts on the left will brand you as a radical neo-con who should be skinned alive in a public forum. You have to realize, they cannot handle such truth. Their leader has spoken and it is now thier responsibility to defend his ignorance no matter how insane it seems. Afterall dean was thier savor for a few months and many still believe that he will be risen. All hail whacky dean and his entourage.
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