I doubt anyone I know feels sorry for Saddam. To say the guy was a brutal despot and dictator is almost synonymous with saying, "how about that?" By conservative estimates, he killed a million of his own people. Idi Amin does come to mind as worse and there are others I'm sure but for now, let's stick with Saddam.
Saddam views himself as a martyr. What I wonder is whether he still gets his 93 virgins; he does say that he is looking forward to seeing his sons. Now, that was a close knit family. Sounds almost like the Christian concept.
I must admit, however, that his hanging seems a little unseemly to me. I don't know exactly what I mean but watching all the news accounts as though this is some great victory brought back the same feelings with his capture. It was good riddance and kind of a shame that he wasn't killed in war or trying to escape or something. Still I didn't like the gloating. I thought then, "let's don't bring him back and give him a forum." The forum never happened mainly because Iraq and American involvement went to hell in a handbasket and Saddam became OBE (overcome by events). I must say too that Saddam being streached in the final analysis has something to say to us: the fact that we are involved with a country that hangs people has got to be a message. I guess the same as repression of women, neanderthal religiouos fanaticism, and violation of civil rights in the form of being killed--Oh well...
BRING BACK SADDAM
Well, that really isn't possible now, is it? But...Winston Churchill is said to have posited, "it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." I think that what he means is that democracy is still better than the rest. I do agree for us but as Iraq has obviously spun out of control into civil war, any form of government that spells order seems like a good plan. At least, to thinking and caring people but based on what we are still seeing coming from the "powers that be", not even the lower than whale manure ratings make a dent on their horizons.
I think we are surely at the point to rule out an American type democracy. Dud! Since theocracy looks like the future for a big chunk of Iraq, why not accept it and figure out a way to keep the warring sides to a minimum of killing. Every day, Iraq looks more like Deadwood, one of my favorite past TV shows. However, on Deadwood, they made zapping the bad guys an act of Elizabethan humor, except to the zapped. I don't mean to make light. But, after two supposedly free elections and I think they were, things have gotten worse. If we could find a benevolent dictator, this might be better. But, since there are no applicants for the job, we're in a dilemma.
WHAT ABOUT THE KISSINGER APPROACH
We didn't need a fancy commission to tell us what we needed to do or how we had screwed up. The Commander in Chief ain't home anyway as relates to the Commission. Did they get paid by the way? Howsomever, all we have to do is look to what Kissinger convinced tricky Dick to do about Vietnam: declare victory and get the hell out. I like it. kt
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