Death of a Tyrant

No one should be surprised by Saddam's execution. His fate was sealed on 11 September 2001. His so called "trial" was just for show.

From the moment Saddam was caught the Americans the quisling Iraqi government had been saying that he would be tried by the Iraqis for the crimes he committed against Iraqis. But everyone else knew that this was merely a show trial with the Americans orchestrating the whole thing.

The Americans chose which crimes he would be tried for. Saddam was responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of Iranians, Arabs, Kurds, Sunni and Shias. Yet he was only tried for the murder of 148 Shia in Dujail. Why? Because this was the only crime in which he wasn't aided and abetted by the Americans. Had he been tried for ALL his crimes then the whole world would have realised that it was American weapons and American intelligence that helped Saddam commit those crimes against humanity.

The Americans chose the judges and the lawyers (both prosecution and defence).

During the trial Saddam was detained by the Americans not the Iraqis. This ensured that they could control contact he had and more importantly they could learn what evidence he might use during the "trial"

The CIA controlled the TV pictures of the "trial" so that the nothing that would damage the Americans would get out.

And finally it was the Americans who chose which day he would be executed. No self respecting Muslim would sanction the execution to take place on the holiest day in Islam.

No one should doubt that Saddam was a psychopath who murdered hundreds of thousands and terrorised millions. But he should have faced proper justice for ALL his crimes. His show trial and now his premature execution have ensured that this will now never happen.

The neo-cons may hope that his execution will end the insurgency in Iraq. It will do no such thing. All it has done is denied justice to all but 148 of his victims and put one more nail in the coffin of the notion that the quisling Iraqi government is sovereign and independent of the occupying Americans