Saddam Hussein is executed

I cannot say that I am overly sad about his execution, still I believe the process that led to it was wrong. He was a brutal dictator who deserved the maximum punishment by law and should have gone to jail for the rest of his life. Still no matter how evil one is, I cannot in good faith support the death penalty or the person not receiving a fair trial. In addition the fact the United States attacked Iraq and still occupies it further undermines the legitimacy. Had the Iraqis overthrown Saddam and executed him much the way the Romanians executed Carcescu, I would have had less problems since it would have been a domestic decision free of any foreign influence.

On the issue of the Iraq War, this will not change my mind since the death of 3,000 coalition forces and at least 30,000 Iraqis for one man is clearly not worth it and not proportionate to the threat he posed. I also worry he may become a martyr over this. In addition there are many other dictators who deserve a similiar fate. I continue to oppose the death penalty out of principle, but believe the decision to kill or not kill a former dictator must be made by its own people free of any foreign influence. I should note that even Britain who was the second most important player in the Iraq War does not support the death penalty of Saddam. Still I cannot say I am the least bit sad since if anyone deserved the death penalty it was him, but the way it was done was wrong and I cannot in good conscious compromise my principles on this no matter how tempting it may be.