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Analysis: The Significance of Saddam Gone

Council on Foreign Relations

December 26, 2006
Prepared by: Lionel Beehner

Coming soon are two events worth noting that should affect the outcome of the war in Iraq: the hanging of Saddam Hussein and a major speech by President Bush in which he is expected to announce a strategy readjustment in Iraq.

The death of Saddam, whose appeal was rejected by the court (BBC), is expected to be viewed with relief by the bulk of Iraq’s population but scorned by the nation’s Sunnis. They say the trial was a political show, the court a product of an illegitimate U.S.-backed Shiite government. They are partially correct. Human rights groups heaped criticism on the court for its legal shortcomings and lack of security. Several international lawyers objected to staging the trial in war-torn Baghdad, preferring instead either an international or a hybrid tribunal (half international, half domestic). Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch condemned the court’s use of the death penalty, even for a tyrant like Saddam, because it violates international law. “[I]t is morally reprehensible to treat a helpless person in custody as a pawn, his life to be snuffed out for some utilitarian purpose,” says Roth in this CFR Online Debate. “That's true regardless of how awful his crimes may have been or how laudable the purpose of execution may be.”

Yet the court has received some praise. Michael P. Scharf of Case Western University School of Law commended the court’s opinion for its surprisingly detailed factual findings and sophisticated legal analysis. A Pentagon spokeman said Iraq’s judicial system "has followed its rules and processes and come up with its conclusion" (Reuters).

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.