Oh right, we aren't executing Hussein. He was found guilty and sentenced by the Iraqi Court system. If you believe that the heavy hand of the Bush crowd isn't behind this, then you also believe that those pesky weapons of mass distruction are still out there. No one in the Iraq government can take a phone call without checking with their handlers in Washington. This trial was better-choreographed than "A Chorus Line" and about as original.
We can agree on a few things:
Saddam Hussein is a bad guy.
Saddam Hussein deserves to die; preferably slowly and painfully.
The world would be a better place without him in it.
As a corpse, he is less likely to restore the Baath party to former glory, (maybe the most important issue).
All true - however, the new government of Iraq may wish to think twice about having a state-sanctioned killing as it's first public act. It may just be the wrong message to send in a country that is trying to stop the violence.
There does appear to be a real fear among the Shiites that while Saddam is alive there is always the possibility of his return to power. The people of Iraq have little reason to trust that the United States won't allow the Baathists to regain control as a means to reintroduce order to a chaotic situation. The irony of that scenario would be funny if it weren't so tragic.
Bush 41 (aka, the old man) encouraged the people of Iraq to rebel after the first Gulf War and promptly authorized Saddam to use his military, including air power, to squash the rebels. This sort of double-cross has put a real dent in the credibitily of American foreign policy.
Saddam will probably be hanged and the American government can claim plausable deniability. The Iraqi people will assume that it's business as usual; violence begets violence. The world can say "good riddance", but don't be surprised to hear the people of Baghdad singing the word of that old song by The Who, "I'll tip my hat to the new constitution... we won't get fooled again."
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