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| Saddam's Fate to Hangs in the Future |
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 |
In a courtroom surprise, the Iraqi tribunal sentenced Saddam Hussein to hang for his participation in the 1982 murders and tortures of Shiites in the city of Dujal. As though there was ever any doubt of the inevitable outcome of the trial. This is Saddam Hussein, not O.J. or Robert Blake. The judgment was in long before the evidence was presented and it is a shame that so many resources had to be thrown into an unnecessary trial. Nonetheless, as a stepping stone for a future democracy, even if it ends up being a theocracy, it is positive that the Iraqi's are practicing dispensing orderly justice to guilty parties.
What is disturbing that Iraq has the ability to conduct such trial, under tribunal jurisdiction, before it became a sovereign nation. The trial itself began before the Iraqi's even had their first election on January 30, 2005. The fact that the trial became without an elected goverment will remain a rallying point for anti-American insurgents for years to come. Proof of the imperialist infidels at work amongst their civilizations. This is unfortunate, but likely.
While I shed not a single tear for Mr. Hussein, the entire trial seems to be a dark sort of comedy. I have seen first hand the type of wounds that his regime inflicted on its citizens and have spoken to Iraqi's forced to flee their country to find asylum from Ba'ath brutality and accept that Saddam represented an evil in the world. To see the former dictator sentenced by his own people, when they could neither overthrow his government or assassinate him by virtue of their own means, should serve as a fair warning to other leaders who are on the outs with nations with significantly greater military power. It will, in this layman's opinion, serve to galvanize rogue and anti-american heads of state into a more coherent whole for the purpose of self-preservation.
It's a damn shame that he has to go out like this, but, so long as he is not made into some sort of martyr (something that hapens alot in Muslim nations) it will serve to reduce some the of the expenses associated with the maintenance of his incarceration and the securtiy details assigned to protecting him can be assigned to protecting innocent people instead.
After the verdict was delivered, there were threats from Sunni leaders in opposition of the new government and episodes of violence and among those who were pleased with the decision there was celebratory gunfire. The fact that Sunni leaders can make such threats and not be hanged or imprisoned as well for inciting violence against the governement or treason is indicative of the lack of penetreation the existing government has into the population. The fact that there was celebratory gunfire is a reminder that alot of Iraqi's have guns (which is part of the whole problem with the security situation).
With all sarcasm aside this is a demonstration of the power of the new Iraq government to dispatch justice on its own terms. The White House is apparently pleased with the verdict as it represents a measure of the success of the military campaign it initiated. Even though Osama got away and the WMD was never found, they did get Saddam Hussein and regime change. They succeeded in accomplishing the third goal of the previously state list of objectives and the goal that garnered the least global support or the three - and, incidentally, set the most disturbing recent precedent.
When will attention turn to forcing a remedy in Darfur or North Korea or China? If crimes against humanity truly represent a cause that justifies regime change, are there not many other nations in need of similar treatment? A few of them even have weapons of mass destruction. |
posted by Domesticated Dog @ 9:02 AM   |
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| 1 Comments: |
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I feel an extra benefit of Saddam's sentence (assume it is upheld) is the message it will send to the Iraqi people, and his supporters that are still in Iraq inciting violence. I have been told that there are people in Iraq who still believe that Saddam will one day return to power. Becuase of that, some of them have been reluctant to support the new government. Some of Saddam's former supporters are also fighting against the coalition forces for this same reason. If nothing else, Saddam's execution should change both of those attitudes.
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I feel an extra benefit of Saddam's sentence (assume it is upheld) is the message it will send to the Iraqi people, and his supporters that are still in Iraq inciting violence. I have been told that there are people in Iraq who still believe that Saddam will one day return to power. Becuase of that, some of them have been reluctant to support the new government. Some of Saddam's former supporters are also fighting against the coalition forces for this same reason. If nothing else, Saddam's execution should change both of those attitudes.