Iraq sent another of late president Saddam Hussein's former henchmen to the gallows yesterday as the nation marked the fourth anniversary of the US-led war still battling a raging insurgency and sectarian violence.
Former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan was executed before dawn for crimes against humanity over the killing of 148 Shiites in the 1980s, less than three months after the feared former dictator was himself hanged.
"Ramadan was hanged at 3:05am today," said Bassem Ridha, a senior adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Ramadan, aged almost 70, was the fourth regime official to be executed for his role in the killings of the Shiites from the village of Dujail after an attempt on Saddam's life there in 1982.
"The execution was smooth with no violation," Ridha said, in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the international outcry that followed the manner of the previous hangings of Saddam and his former cohorts.
Footage of Saddam being taunted then executed on Dec. 30 was circulated on the Internet.
The Jan. 15 hanging of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti -- Saddam's half-brother and head of the feared secret police -- was particularly gruesome, with his head ripping from the body as he plunged through the metal trap door.
Ramadan "was very calm and composed. He asked his family and friends to pray for him and said that he was not afraid of death," defense lawyer Badie Aref said before the execution.
Iraqi leaders say they are determined to punish officials from Saddam's Sunni-led regime, whose supporters are blamed for much of the continuing bloodletting.
Yesterday, four car bombs in Baghdad killed nine people and wounded dozens, a day after at least 55 people were killed or found murdered in Iraq.
US President George W. Bush, facing growing opposition to the war at home, said it would take months to secure the violence-plagued capital and warned that a troop pullout now would be "devastating."
In the four years since the launch of the "shock and awe" military campaign on March 20, 2003, Iraq has descended into a sectarian hell that has left tens of thousands of civilians dead.
Bush pleaded for patience on Monday with his unpopular Iraq strategy and Washington's revamped efforts to restore order.
"The Baghdad security plan is still in its early stages and success will take months, not days or weeks," he said.
"It could be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home. That may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe the consequences for American security would be devastating," he said.
At 5:35am four years ago yesterday, Tomahawk missiles and precision-guided bombs rained down on Baghdad targets as Saddam vowed it would be "Iraq's last battle against the tyrannous villains."
But on April 9, Saddam's statue in a central Baghdad square was torn down with a rope around the neck, in a premonition of his own hanging.
As the war enters its fifth year, a new poll showed US public opinion had soured further, with just 32 percent of Americans saying they favored the war, compared to 72 percent on the eve of conflict.
A BBC survey said some 55 percent of British people feel the country is less safe now, with only 5 percent feeling safer since the toppling of Saddam's regime.
Overall 29 percent backed the decision to go to war, with 60 percent saying it was a mistake, the survey said.
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Bush pleads for patience on Iraq war
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