Sunday Herald: Hussein death sentence will create a martyr

[Bluebear]

An extended curfew on the streets of Baghdad and in other provinces throughout Iraq; a climate of increasing violence, the discovery of 83 bodies showing signs of torture and a promise to open the gates of hell if a death sentence is passed. This is the backdrop against which a court in Baghdad will deliver its verdict early today in the trial of Saddam Hussein, the former military dictator of Iraq.

The security precautions being taken and the general air of preparation around the courtroom where Saddam has been tried indicate a death penalty verdict is all but inevitable. In a difficult and fractious trial – whose procedures have been heavily criticised by Amnesty International among others – the verdict will represent a landmark in the development of the country since the effective targeting of Iraq by the Bush administration. The bringing to justice of a hated tyrant should always be welcomed, but a death sentence here, while supposedly indicative of Iraq’s returned sovereignty, will do little other than create a martyr whose death inevitably will lead to a heightened sense of vengeance among his followers.

It is, of course, almost impossible to believe that the former dictator could be found not guilty of the charges against him, including the deaths of 148 Shia Muslims in Dujail following an assassination attempt. There are other episodes in the tyrant’s reign which also point to heinous crimes against his own people. Aside from among his closest followers, few tears will be shed. But given the current state of Iraq – on the edge of civil war, close to partition, and a society without security – is this the right time to be creating a high-profile martyr?

The backdrop to this trial and to the announcement of the verdict today is not as the allies had hoped. Blair and Bush believed that, by this time, Iraq would have been firmly on the road to democracy and the verdict on its deposed tyrant would be welcomed as confirmation that his reign of terror was over for good. Instead – because of the manner of his removal, the lack of planning for what followed, the chaos and violence that has subsequently been caused and the hotbed of Islamic insurgency that has been caused by the vacuum in post-war planning – Iraq today is little short of a tragedy.

One of Saddam’s lawyers has warned that the gates of hell would open in retribution if he were to hang. Given the current state of Iraq, and Baghdad in particular, it would appear those gates are already open pretty far. The day justice came for Saddam Hussein should have been a cause of celebration. But Iraqis today will be asking themselves what has improved if they are not safe on their own streets. What has improved, if more than 600,000 have died since the invasion in 2003? Saddam’s removal should have been the end to a dark era in the history of Iraq. Instead, darkness still hangs over this nation and his execution will do little to alleviate that continuing nightmare.

http://www.sundayherald.com/58924

[Alamom]

1. Yes, it will. n/t