Saddam Hussein is Sentenced to Death
While I agree this sentence is just (if anything, it's not enough punishment), I can't help but think of how it complicates the situation even further. I'm no expert on Iraqi politics, but it seems that we're stuck between a rock and a hard place, which is where we've been for some time.
On the good side, it's a "victory" for the families of the many people he killed, for all those who suffered under his dictatorship who can now have some sense of closure. It's interesting that the sentence is death by hanging, which could either be very quick or very long, instead of something like lethal injection. I suppose stoning would be considered "cruel and unusual" even though it's a traditional method of execution.
On the bad side, Hussein's execution, if it ever happens, is only going to turn him into a martyr for his supporters - the great leader who was unfairly tried by his enemies and, of course, sentenced to death. Even if the other trials and appeals take so long that he dies of natural causes, he will continue to be a rallying cry against the "foreign heathens." Hussein's chief defense counsel warned, "The doors of hell will open in Iraq, the sectarian divide in the country will deepen, and many more coffins will be sent back to America." He's right, unfortunately, but what else could we do? There's no way Hussein was innocent of wrongdoing in this or any other case, just like other dictators in history, Hitler and Pul Pot to name a few other examples. About the only thing you can say about Castro and Kim is that they haven't tried to commit genocide.
Only time will be able to show us the consequences of this decision...justice may be blind, but America and the rest of the world cannot afford to be blind to how the Iraqi people stand, divided against themselves.
While I agree this sentence is just (if anything, it's not enough punishment), I can't help but think of how it complicates the situation even further. I'm no expert on Iraqi politics, but it seems that we're stuck between a rock and a hard place, which is where we've been for some time.
On the good side, it's a "victory" for the families of the many people he killed, for all those who suffered under his dictatorship who can now have some sense of closure. It's interesting that the sentence is death by hanging, which could either be very quick or very long, instead of something like lethal injection. I suppose stoning would be considered "cruel and unusual" even though it's a traditional method of execution.
On the bad side, Hussein's execution, if it ever happens, is only going to turn him into a martyr for his supporters - the great leader who was unfairly tried by his enemies and, of course, sentenced to death. Even if the other trials and appeals take so long that he dies of natural causes, he will continue to be a rallying cry against the "foreign heathens." Hussein's chief defense counsel warned, "The doors of hell will open in Iraq, the sectarian divide in the country will deepen, and many more coffins will be sent back to America." He's right, unfortunately, but what else could we do? There's no way Hussein was innocent of wrongdoing in this or any other case, just like other dictators in history, Hitler and Pul Pot to name a few other examples. About the only thing you can say about Castro and Kim is that they haven't tried to commit genocide.
Only time will be able to show us the consequences of this decision...justice may be blind, but America and the rest of the world cannot afford to be blind to how the Iraqi people stand, divided against themselves.
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