Release Saddam now

Anatoly Vorobey mellon at pobox.com
Fri Dec 19 13:25:48 PST 2003


[taken from private exchange back to the list with mutual agreement]

> >> > Why?
> >> 
> >> If there is no one with legitimate authority to try Saddam, then they
> >> cannot rightly hold him, and he must be released.  
> > 
> > What was different about Saddam's regime from the current US-installed 
> > regime, that made Saddam's regime legitimate authority and this one not 
> > a legitimate authority?
> 
> Care to take this back to the list?  I'm answering a parallel thread
> there.   
> 
> Clearly Saddam has more authority than the US to rule Iraq, because he
> was a sitting head of state, and the US aggressed in an illegal
> invasion.

But Saddam's regime itself stemmed from illegal takeover of a previous 
regime -- doesn't that make all of his regime illegitimate and his 
authority void?

> Thus, Saddam has a plausible claim to authority, but the US
> does not.

The only reason Saddam has a plausible claim to authority is because he 
has taken gotten it by force. By the same reasoning, US or US-installed 
regime, which is being put into power by the use of force, has a 
plausible claim to authority as well.

> By extension, the US puppet government in Iraq also has no
> plausible claim to authority.

Why not?

-- 
avva





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