Saddam executed, justice served, peace may not still get a chance!

The life of Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator who spent his last years in captivity after his ruthless Baathist regime was toppled from power by the U.S.-led coalition in 2003, ended today. He was executed along with his half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim, head of intelligence during his reign, and Awad Hamed, former head of the Revolutionary Court. The three were executed for crimes against humanity after a yearlong trial over the 1982 killings of 148 Shias in the town of Dujail shortly before sunrise in Baghdad, thus ending a thirty-year reign of brutality and murder. The life of Saddam Hussein ended today the way he ended the lives of so many others.

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Saddam's horrific reign and a brief timeline

Death followed Saddam Hussein from his early days as a dangerous Baathist revolutionary to his sentence and final execution. Saddam was the President of Iraq from 1979 until April 2003 when his regime was toppled by the US-led invasion of Iraq. But let's see how and what led Saddam to secure a place in history.

April 28, 1937: Saddam born, apparently, true to his name, which means "one who confronts."

July 16, 1979: Presidential Power Grab. Takes over as president of Iraq after pushing his cousin, President al-Bakr, to resign.

Sept. 22, 1980: War with Iran. A year after the Islamic revolution in neighboring Iran, tensions rise between Iran and Iraq. Saddam orders his troops to invade. The inconclusive eight-year war impoverished Iraq and killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides. (Washington and its allies supported Saddam to help stave off victory by Iran.)

July 8, 1982: Death in Dujail. Survives assassination attempt in Dujail, a mainly Shiite Muslim town 25 miles north of Baghdad. In retaliation, Saddam's security forces attack the town, arresting about 1,500 residents. (Many faced torture, and nearly 150 Dujail residents were later executed on Saddam's orders. The events in Dujail were the subject of the criminal charges in Saddam's initial trial and resulted in his death sentence.)

Jan. 17, 1991- Feb. 24-27: Gulf War Begins. The war starts with aerial bombing of Iraq and Iraqi troops in Kuwait by U.S. and allied militaries under 'Operation Desert Storm'. Feb. 24-27, Iraqi troops are ejected from Kuwait after a brief ground war with a U.S.-led coalition. Saddam survives the greatest threat yet to his government when coalition troops advance into Iraq but decide not to besiege Baghdad

March 17, 2003: U.S. Ultimatum. President Bush gives Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face "the full force and might" of the American military. Iraq's leadership rejects Bush's ultimatum.

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Dec. 13, 2003: Accursed in the Spider Hole. Saddam is captured by U.S. forces at 8:30 p.m. in the town of Adwar, 10 miles south of Tikrit. He is hiding in a specially prepared "spider hole."

Dec. 26, 2006: Hanging Ordered. Iraq's highest appeals court upholds the death sentence for Saddam from his trial for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail. The chief appeals court judge says Saddam must be hanged within 30 days.

Dec. 30, 2006: Execution. Saddam taken to the gallows and hanged.

Questions were raised or rather made debatable after the verdict against Saddam was announced. Did he get a fair trial? Should he be hanged? But now the debate is over paving the way for new.

A few comments made by Saddam during trials (As compiled by The Associated Press)

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"I realize there is pressure on you and I regret that I have to confront one of my sons. But I'm not doing it for myself. I'm doing it for Iraq. I'm not defending myself. But I am defending you."

Dec. 5, 2005, speaking to judge at his first trial, for killings of 148 Iraqi Shiite Muslims from Dujail.

"I am not afraid of execution."

Dec. 5, 2005, nearly a year before he was sentenced to death.

"I'm not complaining about the Americans, because I can poke their eyes with my own hands."

Dec. 21, 2005, after accusing American guards of beating him.

"Where is the crime? Where is the crime?"

March 1, after declaring he ordered trial of 148 Shiites who were eventually executed, because he suspected them of involvement in assassination attempt.

"I'm Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq. I am above all."

May 22.

"I ask you being an Iraqi person that if you reach a verdict of death, execution, remember that I am a military man and should be killed by firing squad."

July 26.

"Not even 1,000 people like you can terrify me."

July 26, to chief judge.

"I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands."

Nov. 7, at his second trial, where was charged with genocide for military crackdown on Iraqi Kurds.

The trial and role of America

It should have been a historic opportunity that a tyrant and his henchmen were being put on trial for crimes against humanity by a special domestic court. Yet the first trial against Saddam Hussein, in which he was charged with human rights violations dating back to 1982, was so rife with defects that the guilty verdict was unsound, according to Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch identified the following flaws:

• Lack of preparedness

• Failure to protect witnesses and defence lawyers

• Political interference

• Violations of defendants' rights

(For details check here)

The US-led invasion of Iraq was originally planned to look for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but unfortunately, America was not able to find any. Now Iraq itself has metamorphosed into a 'weapon of mass destruction', just waiting to explode or we can say we have accidentally lit the fuse by simply executing Saddam Hussein.

That the court was created by a country which had invaded and occupied Iraq illegally; that this occupying power thereby changed the laws of the occupied state in contravention of the Geneva conventions; that the tribunal was "special" and that its jurisdiction was specifically tailored to adjudicate only certain individuals.

Saddam dead, now what?

The execution has just ended a brutal chapter in the history of Iraq, it has little to do now with the US mission in Iraq, which has been bogged down by a relentless insurgency and rising sectarian violence. As per recent reports, December was the deadliest month for the US forces and don't know how long this genocide will continue.

Via: Telegraph