Saddam Hussein should have been exiled like Napoleon I upon capture by US troops. He should not be hanged by Shi'ite decree or by any decree.
After mulling over numerous thoughts on violence and public executions by people as varied as Lao Tzu, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Voltaire, Arthur Koestler and Albert Camus, I'll go with the following pragmatic wisdom from two other well-known guys.
"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. . . . . An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." -- Mohandas Gandhi.
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it." -- Martin Luther King, 1963.
If the execution of Hussein proceeds, very few will be satisfied, many will be furious, and more will die as a direct result. Additionally, the world will have to endure taped images of the hanging via the internet. No good will come of it.
The trial was a bad joke; the Americans will deliver him up for vengeful sacrifice like the Romans used to do; the Iranian-backed Shi'ites will incite more violence; the Sunnis will retaliate against any perceived foe in their sights and be less likely to negotiate any compromise settlements; the Kurds will be angry because Hussein never went on trial for crimes against them; and another precedent will have been made to execute heads of state. Bottom line -- more Iraqis and more Americans and their various coalition partners will be killed or crippled. Does anybody think of conseqences anymore? Bring back the pragmatists.
Today's Rune: Wholeness.
2 comments:
I regret that I have only one scumbag to give for my country. I would like to do all the virgins twice!
Such a decision is stupid. And yes, more deaths and chaos wil ensue. Who benefits?
If only the world were more Gandhi and less Shrubbery.
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