Saddam's Execution

As you all probably realize by now, Saddam Hussein was put to death the other day. I wanted to share a few thoughts on this. By the way, I will NOT be linking to ANY videos of the hanging.

President Bush has been quoted as saying, "Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial -- the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime." Regardless of what you think of the man or the death penalty, I find it very difficult to understand how one can consider this justice. First, the trial was clearly a show, put on by the new Iraqi government to bring retribution on him. The trial was televised with all the dignity and grandstanding of the OJ Simpson trial. It's hard to find validity in a court that establishes its laws specifically to try one trial. It also seemed clear from the beginning that he would be found guilty. Now, there has been a situation like this before: the Nuremberg Trials after World War Two. These trials had three main purposes:

1) Determine who was responsible for what actions;
2) Find out exactly what happened; and
3) Punish the people responsible.

The Nuremberg Trials were run by an international court, not by the victims. Clearly, the outcome and trial proceedings would have been different if the trial had been run by survivors of the Holocaust. While this situation is very different, having the trial run by the people who were treated worst by Saddam eliminates much of the legitimacy of the case and the impartiality of the court. Had the case been run by an international court, the case could be seen as more than retribution.

The timing of the hanging was also very poor. I'm not speaking of the proximity to a Muslim festival, I'm speaking of killing him after the first trial. These trials could have been an incredibly valuable tool to discover what exactly happened under his regime -- instead, he was hanged before more information could be discovered. It is likely that the trial will now quickly lose its steam and fall apart. After the Holocaust, there were the Nuremberg Trials; after Apartheid, there was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. After Saddam there will just be a lot of unanswered questions.

One could argue that justice was served here. He was punished for his crimes. Even with that argument, this trial was for one, specific act of tyranny in a career of horrible acts. Where is the justice for all of his other victims? At this point, a whole lot more could have been gained for history from his life than his quick death.

Also, a lot of noise has been made about the cell phone video of the execution being criminal and wrong and disgusting. I completely agree. However, the video that was shown on cable news of Saddam before the hanging is almost as graphic. Why was it necessary to video any of the execution? If people needed proof of the execution, couldn't they have videotaped him in his cell and then taken a photo of him in a casket? I do not see any reason to video a man walking to his death or having a noose put around his neck. It seemed a way for the new Iraqi government to show off their power and retribution.

So, contrary to what Bush said, I don't think any justice has been served here. Instead, we can see what passionate, irrational thinking can result in. For more commentary on this, read this article by Fareed Zakaria.