Juan Cole has an excerpt from his article for Salon at his website. He writes:
One thing is certain: The trial and execution of Saddam were about revenge, not justice. Instead of promoting national reconciliation, this act of revenge helped Saddam portray himself one last time as a symbol of Sunni Arab resistance, and became one more incitement to sectarian warfare. '
I heard a commentator at the BBC early this morning say (paraphrase):
Backlash from the Sunnis? The Sunnis are a small minority. What Iraq faces is endemic violence from a widespread insurgency and it's only going to get worse.
Cole links to Paul Richter's article in the LA Times. Richter has a roundup of informed opinion about the execution. He seems to agree with the BBC Middle East commentator:
With Iraq beset by violence and turmoil, the former dictator's demise no longer appeared to signal the beginning of new order. After a trial marked by disruption and controversy, the execution seemed only another reminder that the country's divisions remain deep and seemingly insoluble nearly four years after the U.S.-led invasion.
I'm opposed to capital punishment. Period. Not just because it's an act which makes us barbarians, but because we don't learn anything from it -- except that we're no less capable of barbarity than the most horrible among us.
We learn a lot from others lives, though. We would have gained a great deal from examining the life of Saddam Hussein as a living being taken out of circulation: talking, living with himself, aging in front of our eyes. That would have been sufficient punishment for him; it would have given us the wisdom and moral edge which we badly, badly need.
Oh sure -- and a living Saddam Hussein might well have remembered, talked. We could have learned a good deal about the support he enjoyed from our country's leaders. His execution has afforded them a pass.
Before the hanging was carried out in Baghdad, Mr. Bush went to sleep here at his ranch and was not roused when the news came.
