Tariq Aziz Dies in Prison While Awaiting Execution

[SGOS]

http://news.yahoo.com/tariq-aziz-top-aide-saddam-hussein-dies-hospital-145955176.html#

About 10 years ago, I read a book about the Iraq war by a Canadian Journalist who was able to locate Aziz and get a personal interview for his book.  Aziz was in hiding, but agreed to the interview, after which the journalist reported the location to US authorities, which resulted in Aziz's capture:  "Thanks for the interview, and Fuck You."  I knew he was sentenced to death, and assumed he had already been executed.  I thought Iraq justice was more swift than this.  I believe he was captured long before Saddam, but apparently wasn't sentenced until 2010.

Aziz, who had been in custody in a prison in the south awaiting execution, died Friday afternoon after he was taken to the al-Hussein hospital in the city of Nasiriyah following a heart attack, according to the provincial governor, Yahya al-Nassiri.

Aziz, the highest-ranking Christian in Saddam's regime, was its international face for years. He was sentenced in 2010 to hang for persecuting members of the Shiite Muslim religious parties that now dominate Iraq.

[Solitary]

Isn't amazing that journalist can find the most wanted criminals, from child prostitution rings to crime lords and terrorist or other wanted people like whistle blowers, and our FBI and CIA can't?

[Shiranu]

Isn't amazing that journalist can find the most wanted criminals, from child prostitution rings to crime lords and terrorist or other wanted people like whistle blowers, and our FBI and CIA can't?

All about having the right contacts, and wanting to be found by one and not the other. And I'm more-or-less okay with this; the alternative is harassment and interrogation of the press and losing the ability to get "the enemy" to share their perspective.

...which in hindsight is probably why America is dropping like a stone in freedom of the press. Not letting the boogeyman share his story probably sounds amazing to the gov't.

[SGOS]

What makes this seem even more odd, is that the Canadian journalist was not pro American, and he was certainly anti-invasion.  He had been in Iraq for years, and had close Iraqi friends some of whom were killed by indiscriminate bombing.  He also related accounts of indiscriminate and sadistic killing by American servicemen on the ground, which he had witnessed.  I'm not sure why he would do a favor for the US Military, especially, when it would ruin his future credibility with anyone in hiding that he wanted to interview.

The article I linked to, did say that Aziz helped Saddam in the persecution of Shiites.  Maybe that's true, but I had always seen him as an ambassador to the West for the Iraqi government.  I thought most of his ambassador duties were to do little more than spread heaps of bullshit.  But I suppose he may have had other assignments given to him by Saddam too.  But I think anyone closely associated with the Saddam government could expect nothing less than execution by the new government that replaced the old one.