The Aftermath of Saddams Hanging, is the Death Penalty Still a Good Idea?
Without describing the actual hanging, there was something in that video that just got to me. The masked executioners (they were wearing black hoods) began yelling “Muqtada!, Muqtada!” just before they hung him. Muqtada al Sader is the fourth son of the famous IraqiShia cleric, Grand AyatollahMohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and leader of an insurgent group, the Mahdi Army in Iraq. The U.S. has tried to capture or kill him with no success and now Muqtada claims to have given up his arms and wants to join the political process in Iraq. But most still believe he is involved in terrorism. The mere fact alone that Saddam, although I have no sympathy for a man who killed thousands, was taunted during the last seconds of his life, is bad enough. But something else was wrong here. I didn’t dawn on me immediately, but after day or so I figured out what was eating me. I read somewhere that Bush had stated that Saddam’s execution was an important step in Iraq’s road to democracy. This was it. It
