Tasteless Photos

Over the past few days, the Sun newspaper in London, and the New York Post (both owned by Rupert Murdoch) published a series of photographs of Saddam Hussein in prison, including one on the cover showing Saddam in his white underwear:


Friday's New York Post Cover Page


Now today, there were more pictures published, this time of the man known ostensibly as "Chemical Ali", and of Dr. Huda Ammash, dubbed "Mrs. Anthrax" by the American press and "Chemical Sally" by the British press.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Saddam either. But, no matter how little I may like the man, publishing these photos is just plain tasteless and wrong. Saddam is in prison - powerless to stop someone from taking a picture of him, and powerless to choose his own clothes to wear (the underwear he is pictured in was likely prison-issued). Knowing this, all that publishing these pictures is likely to do is create public sympathy for Saddam, as it is difficult to look at these pictures and not feel an ounce of pity for the man.