Hussein al-Tikriti, or Saddam Hussein, is no more. He was executed by hanging at 10.05am Malaysian time, thus bringing to an end the life of a brutal dictator.
Saddam rose to power through bloody manipulation of the Ba’ath Party, after purging the party of dissidents, including some of his own uncles.
He did many bad and brutal things, including the massacre of fellow Muslims – Kurds and Shiahs.
Personally, I believe Saddam Hussein deserved to die, but at the hands of fellow Iraqis. Whether or not the current Iraqi government can be seen as one that is independent of the US, remains to be seen. I am sure he government tries to portray itself as not stooping to the demands of the US, but the fact that it was set up after an illegal invasion by the US and its allies makes it as just another extension of the arms of the US.
Personally, I will also wager my money that the violence in Iraq will not stop. Not at all. The current sectarian violence has nothing to do with Saddam, not directly anyway. In a country were the Shiahs are the majority, and the fact that they were subjugated by the minority Sunnis for decades, will ensure that the violence will not stop until the country is either controlled by one group, or broken up into different little countries according to sects, and even then, cross-border incursions will not stop, as the oil-rich territories will then be in the control of both Kurds and Shiahs.
In a way, Iraq was better off under the brutal control of Saddam Hussein. His death is only the end of ONE Iraqi nightmare amongst thousands others. And the timing of his excution could not have been worse. Every Aidil ‘Adha Muslims in the region will remember it as the day Saddam sacrificed himself.
SeaDemon Says 