Execution of a dictator

Has justice been served by the execution of Saddam Hussain? Not even all Iraqis can answer that question. For most Shias and Kurds, the likely answer will be in the affirmative, but for many Sunnis there will be dissent. Even the hanging itself, long mooted and achieving much speculation on the day before the event, appeared to be carried out in unseemly haste. There will be arguments claiming that there was little to be gained by delaying the inevitable, but much to be lost as it might excite even further an increase in the daily violence.

There is no guarantee that with Saddam's death the civil unrest will diminish or even end; in fact there are already reports of more deaths and injuries caused by militant elements. Yet all along it has not been known what these militants are seeking. It had at first been assumed they were Saddam's supporters, armed secretly just before the collapse of his regime. Then it became obvious that there were other agendas as insurgents made their way across the borders to participate in the insurrection, or the ejection of allied forces following the occupation by US-led troops.

It is still not entirely clear who is fighting whom and for what cause, as the violence now tends to turn towards Iraqi civilians, thereby negating any possibility of gaining the support of the Iraqi populace.

The Iraqi government ignored the pleas of the majority of the international community in their request not to carry out the death sentence. It obviously saw no advantage in keeping him alive, only for antagonists to portray Saddam as a figurehead to be supported and followed.

But his loyal supporters, who are still in evidence, will see him as a martyr to the cause, especially in being executed prior to Eid Al Adha. Yet all Iraqis must disabuse themselves of any idea that Saddam is a martyr - his trial and findings revealed all his crimes of commission. So it would be sad if the great nation of Iraq were to hold Saddam up as an example of a great leader when Iraq's history has so much more to offer. And it is upon this past good that Iraq must develop.

The world looks to the Iraq government and, most importantly, Iraqis to come to terms with what all along was known would be Saddam's end once he was found. The time has come for the people of Iraq to put aside their differences, be they tribal, ethnic or religious, and work for peace and stability in the country. It is only by working together as a united body endeavouring to achieve a common aim that Iraq will become great again.