Victor's Justice

On December 30th, at the crack of dawn, Saddam Hussein was swiftly executed. The sentence on the basis of which the Sunni dictator was executed, was this - Killing 148 Shias in Dujail in 1982. How specific. 148 shias. Hours later, a massive car bomb exploded in a Shia town, injuring about 45 people and killing 35. This divide and rule policy was followed even over an issue as sensitive as Saddam Hussein's execution.

Also, the number - 148. Why shouldn't Bush and Blair be the next ones to face the gallows? They, by invading Iraq, have already taken the lives of 3000 innocent Iraqi civilians. Is that not worthy of the death penalty? And What about our own Narendra Modi? He massacred over 3000 people in Gujarat over a span of 2 days in February 2002.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not defending Saddam Hussein. In the words of an Iraqi who was interviewed on CNN, "Of course he should've been executed. But he should have been executed by the Iraqi people, not by the Americans."

Even the vulnerable Iraqi people cannot be fooled. What George Bush calls an Independent Iraqi government and an Independent court consists of puppets, and the puppeteers steer their actions from Washington DC. Everybody knows this. Who are they trying to fool?

What was the motive behind the execution? Even George Bush didn't claim that it would end the violence in Iraq. Everyone knew that it could only excacerbate the situation. Iraqis were said to be "dancing on the streets" according to american television. And sure, some of them were. Saddam was a nasty piece of work. But more and more news reports say that Iraqis are apprehensive, fearful, worried and disappointed. The Iraqis fear ethnic and sectarian violence. So why does Bush call it a "great milestone"? Iraq is no less disorderly or chaotic. It can only mean that the Americans want disorder and chaos. They obviously feel that as long as Iraq is unstable, they can continue to justify their occupation of Iraq. The truth is they don't want to stabilise Iraq at all. They want to keep it as unstable as possible for as long as its possible, so that they can stay there. That was their goal from the beginning anyway. It wasn't weapons of mass destruction or 9/11 or wanting to rid Iraq of a dictator(who gave them the authority to do that, anyway?). Their goal's always been to control Iraq.

It's pretty obvious that his execution is considered unfair by many. And if Bush doesn't expect some sort of retaliation, he's a damn fool. He has angered many many people, and made the world an unsafe place. By his stupid moves, he increasingly endangers the lives of more and more people. What does he want? Another 9/11? Of course angry extremists and hardcore Hussein loyalists will react. I'm getting more and more convinced, that Bush doesn't care if he's endangering the lives of people in his own country. He's even endagering the lives of people in the UK, the other member of the "coalition" during this whole invasion of Iraq.

It's all a big mystery...why was the execution done so quickly after the sentence was upheld by the appeals court? Why was it done on a holy day? What about the UN? Was it revenge or justice? What has the world gained by his death?

Everything that I know about the execution of Saddam Hussein leads me to believe that the motive behind his 'murder', was not justice.

I think they hastily and thoughtlessly executed him in a rush because they felt that the momentum of public opinion would catch up with them if they waited. They knew that most of the world would not approve of the execution, and I believe they finished him off before public opinion gained momentum and put pressure on the Americans to act differently.

Also, it was a deliberate decision to kill him on a day considered holy for muslims. Eid. Have we ever heard of anyone, however cruel and evil, being executed on Christmas or, say Diwali? Why did they choose to kill him on that day, if not to bring about some sort of provocation?

What really horrified me was the breaking of the promise that the tape would not be released for public viewing. Not only was the tape of his execution released to the Iraqi television, but also to the world. Everyone who wished to, watched the last few moments of Saddam Hussein's life, sitting back on their couches, in their living rooms. What's worse is, I believe the entire footage of his execution is available on the internet. Quoting a friend who saw it, "It was horrible! You can actually see his body falling through the pit, his neck hanging on one side, obviously broken, and his body swinging from side to side." How did they let such a thing happen? It would be unheard of, if a President of any other country, or any other political figure was to be executed. How did they let someone with a camera phone tape it all and put it up on the web? There's a deep-rooted lack of care and sensitivity about this whole thing on behalf of the Americans, who we all know, control everything in Iraq.

What happened was a new form of Medieval Barbarism. That's what occupying forces did in Medieval times. If they occupied a country, they'd overthrow and execute the king of that region. That's what the Americans did. They used lies like the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and Saddam's involvement in 9/11 as excuses to occupy Iraq, and once they succeeded, they overthrew and killed the ruler of the region.

What the Americans are calling a move to stabilise and rebuild Iraq, is in reality, a war.

Crimes against humanity are meant to be tried at the International Court of Justice. Saddam was tried by an "Iraqi court" in an American occupied Iraq, and everytime the judges showed reluctance, they judge was changed. And unfortunately, Saddam was justified in saying that he doesn't recognise the legitimacy of the court. He wouldn't have said so if he was really being tried by an Iraqi court, because the world would've shut him up. But here, much of the world was silently agreeing with him.

There are some international standards of justice, and there are International bodies unanimously created for these purposes. But the Bush administration is sending out a loud and clear message to the world. They don't want the world to believe that they are working within a global democratic setup. They disregard the UN, they don't believe they need to listen to anyone. They want to establish ultimate supremacy. They are not showing obedience to any international agencies. They want to dictate terms to everyone. The UN is powerless to do anything, though it does make noises every now and then.

When America dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, the war was already over. Japan had already surrendered. They dropped the bomb to send out a message - Dont fuck with us. And that's what's happening now.

So despite the fact that Saddam was a man who deserved to really suffer, losing him has not just been good riddance. His execution was a breach of international standards of justice, a message to the world, and the demolition of the last obstacle in the path of American supremacy in the middle east. It has only instigated more instability in Iraq, more anger in and outside Iraq, and made the world even more of an unsafe place!

Moreover, by being so hasty, thoughtless and insensitive, they've actually made people sympathetic to Saddam's cause. Saddam deserves no sympathy. He does not deserve martyrdom. Gandhi was a martyr. Saddam Hussein today, stands in the same place as Gandhi. They've turned a cold-blooded killer into a Martyr. He refused to wear the "naqab" during his execution and faced his death with calm, they said. By executing him without a fair trial, and because the world knew the motive behind his execution was not justice, but revenge and other things, he's attained martyrdom.

So all in all, what has the world gained? A horrible man who should've been subjected to rigorous improsonment for life, or harrassment for life like General Pinoche from Chile was harrassed, has become a martyr in the eyes of many. The world has become more unsafe, and will live in constant fear of retaliation where more lives will be lost. More British and American families will lose their children. Recently 20,000 more troops were sent to Iraq. The world stands with no faith or hope. The UN and other international agencies have lost their legitimacy. The world faces an opposition-less bully in the form of America.

As for George Bush and his administration...ah well, they're grand!!