Saddam was without doubt a brutal dictator but his execution leaves me feeling uneasy. He was responsible for the murder and torture of tens of thousands of people and now he has in a sense been murdered himself. In some ways it seems we have just added another murder to all the others. I don't know whether this is justice or just another case of barbarity.However, I leave this decision to those who have suffered directly at his hand. I cannot put myself in their place. I cannot feel their grief or their anger. I can only try to imagine it and that is not at all the same thing. There is a world of difference between imagined and actual physical and mental pain.
It is for those who have suffered to make the judgement, I cannot. I suspect that Saddam's death will bring closure to their pain and suffering. I hope so, and if that is the case then some purpose will have been served by his death.
That the West supported this maniac in the war against Iran and therefore perpetuated his tyranny should rest heavily with those responsible and I hope no Western leaders will ever again, put political expediency ahead of their moral duty of care to the people ruled by tyrants like Saddam Hussein. Such an abrogation of duty is unpardonable in a civilised world and they are in part to blame for the appalling chaos that now bedevils Iraq.
9 comments:
I agree 117.62098%, you are exactly right and correct.
Just look at recent history, what right did the world have to punish the members of Hitler's regime, only a small percentage of the Earth's population actually had family members murdered in the Nazi death camps, so how could any judgement of their guilt be made in good concience?
The Nuremburg Trails seemed to be a case of political expediency instead of a moral duty of care to the people ruled by Hitler.
Doesn't it seem like that was the situation?
Hitler and his cronies attacked most of Europe not just the Jews and that's what gave the world the right to judge them.
What I am saying is that the west used Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden to do their dirty work and in so doing consequently condemned the Iraqi and Afghan people to decades of brutality and three wars because they had no thought for the Iraqi or Afghan people. Their only concern was their own strategic ambition. Strange how political expediency often backfires and comes back to haunt it's perpetrators. Not much wisdom in the councils of power as has been proven time and time again!
Exactly right, since we care so much for the welfare of the Iraqi people, we must admit our mistakes, withdraw completely from the Middle East, and put the fate of the people into the hands of the glorious armies fighting against the western crusaders.
Won't that show the world how much we have rejected the flawed notion of political expediency?
I am not interested in ideologies, glorious armies or crusades. I am only interested in the plight of ordinary people whatever their culture, race or religion who want nothing more than to raise their families in peace. My criticisms are levelled at those who are responsible for the injustices suffered by innocent people everywhere, be they murderous tyrants, extremists, Western, Eastern or Asian governments. They are all to a greater or lesser degree responsible for the mess the world is in. They are all blinded by their greed for power. We look to leaders to provide wisdom. Well I don't see much of it about anywhere.
HAHAHAHAHA, We look to leaders to provide wisdom!? You are terribly mistaken if you believe that.
Ordinary people, who want to raise their families in peace, will never have that opportunity, if we just throw our hands up in the air and say we can't do anything to stop the tyranny because we are imperfect.
Would you atone for the mistakes of the past by abandoning the people of the Middle East to the murderous tyrants of extremist Islam?
Take a look at the link "Terrorism" on my sidebar. No I would not abandon those who need or want help but they must also help themselves otherwise nobody can help them.
If the Americans and their allies are regarded as invaders rather than liberators then there is nothing they can do for Iraq. They have no choice but to withdraw. If the American presence is exasperating the situation then why could they not be replaced by peacekeepers from other Middle Eastern countries? One cannot have it all ways. There must be give and take or there is no hope.
Oh and by the way, I did not say that I believed in the wisdom of leaders. we expect our leaders to show wisdom but as I said "I don't see much of it (wisdom) about anywhere"!
"If the American presence is exasperating the situation then why could they not be replaced by peacekeepers from other Middle Eastern countries?"
Does such an animal exist? The fact that you believe peacekeeper forces could be formed from within Middle Eastern countries might explain why you mistakenly believe the West can achieve victory (and peace) through negotiation in the absence of the threat of military force.
"Does such an animal exist"? Not until you create it. If not Middle Eastern peacekeepers then a neutral multinational force from the regionwould appear to be needed to re-instill law and order. It's their geo-political region and they should take some responsibility for it, even if they failed to do so in the past.
I did not say that the West can achieve victory through negotiation, although since it has not been tested, we cannot know. I said they cannot achieve victory period, without the support of the Iraqi people.
My views on the situation are clearly stated in my article Time To Pull Out Of Iraq (Archives 2006)
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