Saddam

As everyone knows by now, Saddam Hussein has been executed. The news of his execution broke just before 11:00pm Eastern time yesterday. As I was clicking through numerous television stations, I was shocked that the four major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, did not have any coverage of this. The local DC stations all started their newscasts with the story, but then went to the usual local news and weather. Repeats of Letterman and Leno were both aired without interruption. The cable news stations such as CNN and MSNBC provided all-Saddam coverage, but that's what the cable news stations do.

Here's my question: why were the four major networks not covering the execution story? Where were Charlie Gibson, Brian Williams and Katie Couric? Even if they're all on vacation, shouldn't someone else have been available? This is a huge national and international story. The United States has gone to war with Iraq twice in the past two decades. After weapons of mass destruction were not found, the spin provided by the Bush administration was that the U.S. got Saddam out of power. It seems to me that the news of Saddam's death should have been covered by the major networks. At least Anderson Cooper was on CNN.