Ding, Dong, Saddam is Dead

There's only going to be one bit of news today - Saddam Hussain has been executed. He was raised up by America before America turned him into the Wicked Witch and brought him down again. His trial was that of all witches - deeply flawed at best. Personally, I'm not usually a supporter of the death penalty. I believe the justice system should be about rehabilitation rather than punishment for punishment's sake. However, I find I have an exception - those cases where rehabilitation is not possible after horrible crimes. In such cases, it is humane destruction - humane for the executed as well as for humanity. So I'm not at all sad that Saddam is dead. I am, though, sad that he became an excuse for a war of choice in pursuit of goals that had little or nothing to do with toppling a brutal dictator. He was a bad man but there are worse who go un-toppled or even aided by America. I am sad that his death will change nothing for Iraqis. None of the factions were or are fighting because of him. I am sad that the witch-hunt for Saddam was a distraction from the real hunt. Saddam, at the end of the day, was not Osama.