In between the Turkey sandwiches and New Year champagne, a man was hanged in Iraq.

Well, actually a few of them were hanged (hung?), but we can not be outraged by most of them because we don’t know who they were. They do not count. The main one though, was Saddam Hussein.

I have read a number of news articles, editorials, blogs, and listened to various television interviews and commentaries and it seems to me that public opinion on what we should learn from this is split in two. The arguments can be summed up as follows:

Those against

It was wrong and it shouldn’t have happened (the hanging, not Saddam’s genocide bit). By hanging him, “We are no better than him!” and “There is no proof this acts as a deterrent!”. What does this say about a so-called civilised Western world that we want a man dead?

Those for

It was good and we are glad they are dead (the hanged prisoners, not Saddam’s genocide victims). People have quoted Biblical things like, “An eye for an eye” or espouse opinion that he “got what he deserved” and that this will show criminals the world over that justice can be applied in the Middle East. Crimes of this nature deserve nothing less than death, and the world is a better place with him no longer in it.

Personally, when you take into account all of the coverage this sorry episode has received, the one lesson I have taken away, above all others, is that when I renew my mobile phone contract I will make sure I get a handset with a really really good video camera.

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