saddam captured

Well, according to his blog and news reports, Saddam Hussein was captured yesterday afternoon. This is a good thing, for the Iraqi people at least. This must be a heavy burdan off of their backs and may bring finality to the last few decades of tyrranical rule by a monster. It's also a good day for US troops who have spent the last months being demoralized by pentagon policies keeping them in Iraq for much longer than they had been told they would be (a couple of times, having renegged on promises for rotations a couple of times now). It must be a huge morale boost.

Just as when the statue in downtown Baghdad was toppled and the people celebrated, slapping their shoes on his face, the images of this day bring a tear to my eye. The news conference held in Iraq to announce the capture was interupted when pictures were shown by Iraqi press members standing up and shouting "death to Saddam!" for minutes on end (until some woman made them sit down). I can see the release of tension and worry in sights like that. I am happy for the Iraqi people.

That said, I am saddened. The best indications are that the military will eventually turn him over to the Iraqi people for "justice" rather than the international war crimes tribunal in the Hague. Saddam Hussein was not only a bad man to his fellow countrymen, remember, but he has killed Kuwaitis, Iranians, and Israelis throughout his years in power. He has broken international law and as such should be brought before an international body. He won't, however, primarily because we have him and we want to see him die...the Hague would most likely not impose a death sentence (I do not believe that's even an option). How sad that we would let our simple vengence dictate such a matter as justice.