Sad about Saddam

No, not because he's dead, but because he's dead at the hand of man instead of his creator. I've been against the death penalty all my life. I don't believe it deters crime and I think such a barbaric punishment diminishes us as a civil society. We're no better than the criminal we execute when we trade death for death. And I found the post execution celebration as disturbing as any where people dance on other's graves.

That's not to say Saddam didn't deserve it. But I see a lot of talk about justice being served and I don't think that's true. All I see myself in this rush to deal death is petty revenge. Justice would have served by a real trial in front of a international body. This Alice in Wonderland proceeding in a kanagroo court, unduly influenced by an occupying military force, doesn't fit my definition of due process.

I had to work today so eloquence escapes me tonight, but I've been reading reactions as I had the chance. Both Josh Marshall and Kevin Hayden have powerful posts that echo a lot that roils in my own mind but John Cole articulated my mixed feelings the best.

Unsurprisingly Bush says Saddam got a fair trial. I'd have to disagree with his assessment but it was certainly a speedy one. How convenient for George that Saddam was hung for the lesser crime. Now that Saddam has swung, he can't be tried for greater crimes in which the US was in some degree complicit by our government's support of the regime at the time.

Meanwhile, in Dearborn, Michigan, Dave Alwatan was among those who gathered at the Karbalaa center. He wore an Iraqi flag around his shoulders and grinned. He flashed a peace sign at everyone he passed.

"Peace," he said, smiling and laughing. "Now there will be peace for my family."

Dave lives here. His family already had peace. Unfortunately for any family he has left in Iraq, peace of mind will not be found in the new year and this execution will likely only add to the turmoil. And that's just sad.

UPDATE: In case you wanted to dispute my contention on US complicity in Saddam's crimes, as always, Juan Cole already has the answers.