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Viewing cable 07SANTIAGO1, MEDIA REACTION - SADDAM'S EXECUTION

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07SANTIAGO1 2007-01-03 16:32 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Santiago
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSG #0001 0031632
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031632Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0650
UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000001 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA, PM 
 
STATE FOR INL, INR/R/MR, NEA/IR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OPRC PTER CI IR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - SADDAM'S EXECUTION 
 
 
1. On January 3, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record "El 
Mercurio" (circ. 129,000) ran an editorial entitled "Saddam Hussein: 
A Bad Solution" ("Peor  que el fondo")  Quote: 
 
"Almost 60 years after the Nuremburg process took place, the same 
impossibility of having a truly exemplary justice - which should 
never be about revenge - has been repeated....  (His death) not only 
will contribute to the instability in Iraq, but will also give new 
drive to the broader rejection by the Middle Eastern countries of 
the West, specifically against the United States.  By ignoring or 
erroneously assessing the consequences of Western intervention in 
that region, the objectives have not been achieved. And what is more 
grave, it provides arguments to extremist groups to continue with 
their indiscriminate terrorist attacks against Western countries. 
To President Bush, Prime Minister Blair and the Shiite Iraqi 
leaders, Hussein's gallows may be an important landmark.... 
However, this point of view, beyond being naovely optimistic, has 
been energetically contradicted by those who truly understand the 
situation ....  It is worth mentioning that at this time the 
predominant global reactions are against the death penalty, which go 
beyond the passionate political opinions about the tragedy in Iraq 
and the international bad will that has accompanied the U.S. 
government's management of the problem since it disregarded U.N. 
mechanisms and resolved on its own account to punish the Iraqi 
dictator. The clandestine recording of the execution images...places 
the local administration supported by the U.S. in a bad light .... 
If the result of what is shown by the images leads towards signs of 
high hostility and wrath at the time of Saddam's death, it is a very 
disturbing sign for the construction of a peace that appears to be 
too hard to achieve." 
 
2. On December 30, conservative, independent "La Tercera" (circ. 
101,000) ran an editorial entitled "An Execution That Does Not 
Help."  Quote: 
 
"Today, as in November, it is hard to understand how the execution 
of Hussein would contribute to the goal of leading Iraq toward a new 
democratic path and to overcome the deep divisions in its 
society....  Little will his death serve if the wrongs in his trial 
give a reason to doubt the legitimacy of the verdict, by feeding the 
plans of those who intend using Hussein as an icon, thus generating 
another source of instability in the convulsed Arab country.... 
There is consensus that there have been numerous mistakes made in 
the war in Iraq and U.S. handling of the situation....  Having 
executed the former Iraqi dictator in the current context could be 
seen in the future as one of the worst mistakes." 
 
YAMAUCHI