Saddam's Lousy Decembers

My apologies for the brevity (and perhaps lack of substance) of this particular blog, but I just happened to notice the fact that Saddam Hussein’s death sentence was upheld yesterday, just a little over three years after he was captured (...on December 13, 2003).

Clearly, December hasn't been a very good month for him lately.

A very recent Associated Press online article stated that Iraq’s highest appeals court not only upheld the November 5th ruling condemning him to death, but said that he must be hanged within thirty days! I found it interesting that this “30 days or fewer” ruling came while still in the midst of his other genocide trial where, in 1987 and 1988, Saddam signed off on a military operation which ended in the deaths of about 180,000 Kurds.

These Iraqi judges aren't playin' around, are they?

Something I hadn't previously known was that, at least according to Mr. Hussein, he claims to have ordered the execution of the Dujail residents following a previous attempt they'd made on his life (the whole "he started it" defense, I presume). Now I'm no fan of Saddam Hussein by any stretch of the imagination, but I will say this. If you ever stop to read about his life and his ascension to power, you'll see that it really is a fascinating story.

He basically willed himself into the presidency and, near as I can tell, remained there primarily because the citizens of Iraq were too afraid of what would happen if they didn't vote for him. I mean, how do you vote against the guy whose face is on all of your money?

Saddam's trial lasted for nine months (thirty-nine sessions), but frankly, I’m amazed that it ended that soon. For a while, what little faith I had in their judicial system was dwindling. Between Saddam's politically-driven outbursts and all of the times he got booted out of the courtroom, I was certain that this thing would drag on for years. I’d even read that Saddam’s half-brother, Ibrahim (also sentenced to death) had once shown up to court wearing only long underwear as he sat down with his back to the judges!

Well, Saddam Hussein's death might not stop this war, but hopefully, it will remind us that the actions of a vocal and very small minority cannot be the measuring stick by which we view an entire religion. The Islamic faith is not evil - it never has been - and with any good fortune, we will all come to realize that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.

Whether or not Saddam's passing will bring Iraq closer to achieving that peace, only time will tell.