Saddam is Sentenced

POLITICS; WORLD; IN THE NEWS

Saddam Hussein was sentenced yesterday to death by hanging. The World expressed mixed reaction. while most agree that he certainly deserves this punishment, others worry about a possible retaliation by Suni Muslims and strong violence in Iraq and throughout the world: (CBS News)

The European Union welcomed the verdict but said Saddam should not be put to death. At the Vatican, Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI’s top prelate for justice issues, called the sentence a throwback to “eye for an eye” vengeance.The death sentence automatically goes to a nine-judge appeals panel, which was expected to rule by the middle of January, the chief prosecutor said on Monday.“This is not the way to present the new Iraq to the world, which is different from Saddam, who was behind hundreds of thousands of deaths as well as death penalty sentences,” said Hands Off Cain, an Italian organization working to rid the world of capital punishment.“The hanging of Saddam Hussein will turn to hell for the Americans,” said Vitaya Wisethrat, a respected Muslim cleric in Thailand, which has its own Islamic insurgency in the country’s south.“The Saddam case is not a Muslim problem but the problem of America and its domestic politics,” he said. “Maybe Bush will use this case to tell the voters that Saddam is dead and that the Americans are safe. But actually the American people will be in more danger with the death of Saddam.”

Jubilant Shiites marched by the hundreds Monday, celebrating Hussein’s sentence as Sunnis held defiant counter-demonstrations, however, the surge in violence expected after the verdict did not materialize.Intervening militarily was “a grave error,” said Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose country withdrew its troops from Iraq, contending that conditions there have worsened since the U.S.-led invasion.Although some voiced doubts that Saddam would actually be hanged, the International Federation for Human Rights denounced the death sentence, warning that it “will generate more violence and deepen the cycle of killing for revenge in Iraq.” The Council of Europe called it “futile and wrong” to execute Saddam.

Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, urged Iraq to ensure a fair appeals process and to refrain from executing Saddam even if the sentence is upheld.

I Say:

           Saddam is a tyrant. Let’s put the issue about whether or not the war in Iraq is right or wrong aside. If there would be no capitol punishment in the world, there would be so much violence. There would be no fear, nothing to keep them back. If Saddam will be hanged, this will be a very clear message to all of the world that no one will tolerate evil, and evil will be prosecuted to the full extent.

            Will Sunni Iraqis or others retaliate? Perhaps. We need to weigh the possibilities against each other. Should we rather not execute Saddam, which will empower other dictators to follow his paths, knowing that at worst, he will spend his life behind bars, or should we kill him and deal with those who terrorize and kill as a result of his execution in the same manner as we are dealing with him? Either way, there will be victims, war and a lot of unfortunate consequences.

             This is a good time for the leaders in the new, Democratic Iraq to show that they are indeed a Democracy. If they fear those who are trying to bring dictatorship back to Iraq, they will never succeed in being a free country. It is a now or never situation and SADDAM SHOULD BE KILLED FOR HIS CRIMES!