Blunders Turn Saddam From Villain to Martyr

CAIRO, Egypt, Jan. 4, 2007 — -- In a statement issued after the execution of SaddamHussein, President Bush said that bringing Saddam to justice "is animportant milestone" of Iraq's evolution into a democracy andally in the war on terror.

However, as hostile reactions by Sunni Muslimsspread throughout the region and the U.S. military death toll surpassed 3,000, one must wonder if Saddam's execution is extremely dangerousand more of a setback to national unity than anything else.

Instead of making a clean break with Iraq's bloody past, current Iraqileaders are blinded by sectarian loyalties and a primal desire toeliminate their former tormentors. They have not learned the lessons oftheir country's tragic past -- where executing rulers after deeply flawedtrials fed a spirit of vendetta and birthed new violence.

Since the army overthrew the royal regime in 1958, Iraq has set a world record in thekilling of its strongmen. Saddam and his henchmen perfected this murderouspractice.

Iraq's blood-soaked modern history has tormented the land and its people,and caused a rift within and among its ethnic and religious communities.Political stability was only bought at exorbitant human and social costs.

One had hoped that the new Iraq would be built on a more humane anddemocratic foundation than the old, but as we have seen in other keydecisions, the Iraqi leadership and the Bush administration are obliviousto the broader legal, moral and political ramifications inherent inSaddam's execution.

By all standards, Saddam's sentence is widely seen as illegitimate, as histrial was neither fair nor impartial. After his capture by U.S. troops inan underground hideout in 2003, Iraqi leaders said they wanted him dead --sooner rather than later. They clamored with one another for his blood,even though human rights organizations questioned the credibility of thecourt's proceedings. Bush aides lavishly praised the trial and finaldenouement.

Ironically, Saddam was already politically dead and his bitter legacydisgraced. But now, his hanging, coupled with his defiance, has turned himinto a "martyr" among Sunni Muslims worldwide, with leading religiousauthorities saying that Saddam was a freedom fighter defending his countryagainst the American occupation.