KEY POINTS:
Inevitably, though it has taken a day or two, the grisly truth of Saddam Hussein's execution has come to light. It was not the quick, dignified coup de grace that those responsible obviously intended. They did not allow news media to observe the hanging and the images officially released were carefully edited to exclude elements of crude vengeance. But among those present at least one person had an inconspicuous camera and its grainy footage has appeared on al-Jazeera television and the internet.
It shows what happened after the deposed despot mounted the scaffold and had the rope placed around his neck. He was left standing on the trapdoor while witnesses cursed and taunted him. Saddam replied as defiantly as ever. After the unseemly exchange had continued for some time, one voice, perhaps an official, is heard saying, "Please do not ... The man is being executed. Please no, I beg you to stop". Then the condemned man began to recite his last prayer and in mid-sentence, mid-prayer, he was dropped.
Saddam's death is just one among a vast number in Iraq since the country was released from his grip, and it was no more cold-blooded than many executions carried out at his order. Like most despots he ruled with fear and dealt ruthlessly with potential opponents. In his rise to absolute power he had people summarily shot to instil the terror he needed to deter anyone from plotting his overthrow.
Thus he ruled and thus he died. Yet the capital punishment, even of such an ogre, has been rightly condemned by many around the world. Those who oppose capital punishment in principle must oppose it in all cases, because the principle they are upholding has nothing to do with mercy, or even justice in the sense of a punishment that fits the crime. They want society to observe a higher moral code than deliberate murderers do.
When Saddam Hussein is seen praying one moment and dangling the next, lifeless eyes open, head lolling, even the vengeful can be struck by the enormity of the act. Perhaps their anger and grief is assuaged momentarily, or perhaps they sense that something dreadful has been done.
Dictators such as Saddam Hussein understand their death sentence completely. Once deposed, they expect it. They would do the same thing themselves if the tables were turned. They have no regard for law and civilised procedure, as Saddam demonstrated with his contempt for his trial. In some ways the trial deserved that contempt and the manner in which Iraq's Government has hastily carried out the sentence was contemptible too. It was the act of an insecure state.
By allowing the execution to be carried out to a crescendo of Shiite vengeance, the Iraqi authorities have risked adding to Saddam's belated and undeserved sectarian status. He was not a Sunni hero in power but he has acquired some such symbolism to Sunnis since his removal by US forces left them at the mercy of a Shiite majority. Now he could become a martyr to Sunnis who chose to forget his indifference to religious allegiance.
The Iraqi Government knew that risk but went ahead regardless as soon as it could. The US authorities delayed releasing Saddam to them for as long as possible, also realising the damage that an unseemly execution could do. But the Iraqis must have seen Saddam as a greater threat alive than dead, probably because even the order imposed by a feared former tyrant could have potential popular appeal in the present chaos.
Iraq is no better today for taking his life, no more stable, no closer to governing itself by popular adherence to law and democracy. It has simply made an exhibition of death, just as Saddam did.
