Bye Bye Saddam

Some good news over the holidays, as we learned that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is to be sent to the gallows in 30 days… or is he?

Saddam's defense lawyers, who are based in Amman, Jordan, urged Arab governments and the United Nations to intervene to stop the execution.
"Otherwise, all may be participating in what is going on, either actually or due to their silence in face of the crimes, which are being committed in Iraq in the name of democracy," the lawyers said in an e-mail statement to The Associated Press.
The statement signed by "the Defense Committee for President Saddam Hussein" said the court's rejection of Saddam's appeal was part of the "continued shedding of pure Iraqi blood by the current regime in Iraq, which (is) directly connected with the American occupation."
An expert on war crimes speculated the sentence might be carried out very quickly.
"I won't be surprised if there's just an announcement in several days saying the sentence has been carried out. The ruling says the sentence has to be carried out within 30 days, but it doesn't say you need to wait," said Michael Scharf, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Human Rights Watch, which opposes the execution, said the law creating the Iraqi High Tribunal mandates that death sentences can never be commuted. However,
international law says that when a death sentence is given, there must be an opportunity for it to be commuted, the group said.

The real human rights watch, namely the troops serving in the US military, were asked to comment on the upcoming event:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Some U.S. soldiers patrolling Baghdad's dangerous streets Wednesday cheered news of the execution order for, but others worried his trip to the gallows could spark a surge of insurgent attacks.
…
"It's great news," said Army Sgt. Danny Barrett, 25, of Denair, Calif., a soldier in Headquarters Company, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. "It's good for Iraq."
The appeals court said Saddam must hang within 30 days — something Pfc. Michael Petersen said he was not looking forward to.
"I think personally that things might get heated up around here then," said Petersen, a 22-year-old native of Pensacola, Fla., in the battalion's Company A. "There's still a lot of people who support him."
Another A Company soldier, Sgt. Stuart Fowler of Badger, Calif., hopes the execution weakens the insurgency by Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs.
"As long as he's alive, there's still some power and people still rise up," said Fowler, 30. "Once the execution goes through, I think it will be a relief for a lot of Iraqis."
…

I can sympathize with the concerns over security that will blanket this upcoming execution, yet I think it’s important to set a date for the hanging, and stick to it. Mostly for saddam’s sake: I think it would carry the maximum amount of grief and stress for him, to be given the day, hour and minute that he will die, in a manner that he himself described as unworthy of a soldier.
(his preference is to be shot)
Staring at the ticking clock with dread, watching each sunset with the knowledge that it brings his grubby neck into that much closer contact with the hangman’s noose… what more fitting justice could there be, for such a monster as he, than inexorable justice?
A megalomaniac being confronted with the inevitability of his ultimate failure: that seems the perfect hell for him to suffer through.

Bye Bye saddam, and good riddance. May your lingering evil be cleansed by the spirit of renewal that struggles to win through in Iraq today.