The Argument For Not Executing Saddam Hussein - Essay Example

The Argument For Not Executing Saddam Hussein If ever there was an argument for not executing Saddam Hussein, that argument would have to be made from a Western perspective. The reason, of course, being that Iraq is an Islamic state, and it is the Islamic dictate, as taught by the Koran, and as enforced by the Islamic courts in other Islamic countries - which are separate from the civil courts - to enforce infractions of Islamic law with Islamic justice as interpreted from the Koran by Islamic clerics. If the crimes with which Saddam Hussein has been charged are found by the Iraqi courts to be justified, then Hussein's punishment will most certainly be that of death. However, if Western interests and perspectives could influence the outcome of the punishment imposed upon the former dictator, it would certainly be in the best interest of the Western world that Saddam Hussein not be executed. The reasons for this are numerous, but there are several primary reasons that are worth considering. The first, of course, is that if Saddam Hussein to remain imprisoned for life, his imprisonment would serve to remind the Iraqi people that they were once persecuted as citizens, without consideration of their religious sect or what value they contributed to their society and country as individuals. Saddam Hussein, along with his two sons, Uday and Qusay, who were killed in July, 2003,1perpetrated crimes against their own citizens and against their international neighbors, and used their positions of power to indiscriminately brutalize men, women and children says Dr. Sahib Al Hakim, ". . . who spent six years, until the invasion of 2003, calling for Saddam Hussein to be put on trial, organizing a weekly picket in London's Trafalgar Square. Over a million people signed a petition calling for Saddam's trial. But although the Iraqi dictator is now in custody, Dr. Al Hakim still has many more questions."2 Imprisoned for life, Saddam Hussein stands as the image of the abuse of power, the man who, along with his sons, demonstrated a complete disregard for humanity and the Koran and committed acts of atrocity and unspeakable human rights violations against women. Like Dr. Al Hakim, should Saddam remain imprisoned for life, others will be reminded, even if only intermittently, of their lives when their country was held in the power of a vicious dictator. Saddam Hussein, who now stands before an Iraqi court, dressed as an Arab and holding a copy of the Koran, causes Dr. Al Hakim to question, "Why was he allowed to wear Arab headdress to indicate his association with the Arab world, and to hold the Koran' He never did this before."3 Like Al Hakim, those people whose lives were irrevocably altered by the acts of violence committed against them and their families by the former dictator or his sons, will always seek to have the questions on their mind answered - so long as the dictator remains alive. From the Western perspective, this means that the Iraqi people will perhaps be reminded of their former dictator, and regardless of the title or how the person or persons who seek to undermine their opportunity for independence looks, or whether or not they hold in their hands a copy of the Koran; the Iraqi people will not surrender their independence to people who would have the sole power over them as did Saddam Hussein. The Western hope would be that Iraq, when the people of Iraq have complete independence and freedom to elect their own leadership and government, will not go the way of Iran and surrender that opportunity to the religious fundamentalists who will take them back in time, instead of progressively forward as participants in the world market - which could bring the citizens of Iraq many opportunities and improved living conditions - as well as being participants in a world community where the talents and expertise and goals of the world are focused on resolving important issues like AIDS, famine, and environmental conditions that can only be solved by working together. Another reason, and a very important reason, that the Western goal would be for Saddam Hussein not to be executed, is that Saddam Hussein's execution would be propagandized by Islamic terrorists as a Western manipulation, and Hussein would indeed be martyred. This would be a disservice to the Iraqi people whose lives, again, were irrevocably altered by the crimes committed against them by Hussein; and to the Iraqi people who, having suffered the regime of the brutal dictator, the economic hardships of the Oil for Food Program - which was abused at the highest levels of Saddam's government, not to mention the highest levels of the United Nations4 and other foreign governments;5 and who now stand within the reach of independence as a country. It is that independence which is the golden goose so aggressively being fought over by the many and various factions of Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists, and to which the Iraqi people - whether they realize it or not - are holding on to by just the shred of the Western world opinion, which is waning daily and is about to let loose its grip on. At which time the Iraqi people - ready or not - will have to stand on their own and be willing to hold onto their newly found independence as a country and people; or they will be incorporated into the ranks of the Islamic fundamentalists or terrorists who are now working aggressively to replace the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, and the new elected government of Iraq. If Saddam Hussein is executed, he will be quickly forgotten by the Iraqi people, but not so quickly forgotten by the sophisticated propaganda machines of the Islamic terrorists who seek to gain control of Iraq. It would not serve the people of Iraq well to just forget about Saddam Hussein. The final and perhaps most important reason that it would not be a good idea to execute Saddam Hussein, is a moral and even a spiritual reason. Saddam Hussein has not answered questions for the many people who like Dr. Al Hakim have questions in their minds that have not yet been answered, and cannot be answered once Saddam Hussein is executed. Dr. Al Hakim has spent the years documenting human rights abuses by the former dictator, and has in his own possession more than 8,000 documents.6 "The indefatigable campaigner has just completed his sixth book, a 20-year, 3,380-page effort: The Encyclopedia of Killing and Torture of Religious Shia Leaders and Students of Islamic Schools in the country of mass graves, Iraq, 1968-2003."7 Dr. Al Hakim is not the only person with questions. Another person is Hania Mufti, a Jordanian living in the UK until she moved to Iraq. Mufti, like Dr. Al Hakim, has spent the past 20 years documenting Saddam Hussein's abuses and crimes against his own countrymen.8Mufti, like Al Hakim and others, has questions that can only be answered by the former dictator. This, combined with the fact that Mufti is convinced that the trial and jury are incapable of rendering justice to the victims of the former dictator's crimes, or even to the former Dictator himself.9 She is convinced that the American role in bringing down the former dictator puts at risk the public opinion that would support the proper handling of his trial or even his execution; and that there remain many question as yet unanswered.10 However, perhaps the strongest argument in favor of not executing the former dictator rests with the fact that Saddam Hussein has discovered within himself the need to discuss or speak to the crimes he committed against his countrymen and international neighbors. The book that Saddam Hussein holds as he is being tried, the Koran, has not yet been absorbed into the former dictator's soul or conscience or mind. In other words, Saddam Hussein has not expressed remorse or regret for his actions, which suggests that he has none, or that he fails to recognize the level of harm he has done to others. Either way, the only way to see if Saddam Hussein comes to some sense of realization as to the impact he has had on people's lives, is if he remains alive. The only way to have answered the questions that linger in the minds of Dr. Al Hakim and Hania Mufti and countless others is to keep the former dictator alive and to see if over time he confesses, expresses remorse over, or even discusses the many issues that remain unresolved at this point in time. The Mirror, in January of 2006, quoted Saddam Hussein as saying, "Threatening me with death doesn't mean anything. I don't care less. The life of any one Iraqi is no less valuable than mine."11 Perhaps Saddam's greatest punishment would be to cause him to have the rest of his natural life to reflect on what value life, anyone's life, has according to the Koran, or according to those for whom he committed acts of violence against - family and victims. Finally, from the Western perspective, there exists already a great divide between the anti-death penalty supporters and the proponents of the death penalty. That the U.S. is involved in a foreign country where that is being decided as to the fate of that country's former dictator reflects badly upon the United States. Even if it is according to the law of Islam that if found guilty of the crimes of which he stands accused that Saddam Hussein is put to death; there will be no end to the efforts of propagandists in the United States, Great Britain and in those radical fundamentalist Arab states to place the blame squarely at the feet of the Americans and Great Britain. The sensitive issues surrounding the invasion of Iraq and a continued military presence there has created a divide within and between the United States and Great Britain. Executing Saddam Hussein will only serve to further the fuel that the opposing parties to George Bush and Tony Blair are pouring on the passions of dissent. Executing Saddam Hussein will not serve to heal the wounds that have been experienced politically and militarily since September 11, 2001. There is, too, the effort to create a sense of international law. If we are to give the international peacekeeper and law enforcements entities any sense of control or power, we must not become involved in ways that create a sense or image of the United States or Great Britain acting independent of international opinion. "Both in the internal order of civil government and in the conduct of foreign relations, the rule of law means that officials cannot use any or all means to accomplish their ends. They cannot poison prisoners without trial or disregard national jurisdictions in removing unwanted people from the scene."12 This holds true in a post September 11, 2001, era as it did in the pre September 11, 2001 era. The United States and Great Britain should not be party to any process that involves the death penalty of a former dictator, but should, if crimes against humanity are proven, turn that body of evidence over to an international court to decide the outcome. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that in helping Iraq gain its independence, the Iraqi people and governing bodies will in fact decide the fate of Saddam Hussein. That it is an Islamic state might mean more in the sentencing of Saddam Hussein than it ever meant to the dictator during the period of his dictatorship over the country. If the United States attempts to intervene in the decision of the Iraqi court, then the US is interfering in the processes of a duly elected government of a foreign nation. Not to mention it is a meddling in the processes of an Islamic state acting on its Islamic tradition and law. Therefore, it appears, at the end of the trial, Saddam Hussein may indeed get his wish to be shot before a firing squad.13 It would not be difficult to imagine the Iraqi court acting with a disregard for what the United States might want for the former dictator, because the Iraqi court will want to send a message of independence to the Iraqi people, and to demonstrate that Iraq is indeed an Islamic state. It will not matter whether or not the execution of Saddam Hussein is in the best interest of the West. The Iraqi court will act as it is empowered to act, on behalf of the Iraqi people. Works Cited CNN.Com World, July 22, 2003, online, found at http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/07/22/sprj.irq.sons/), retrieved 3 March 2007. Dabrowska, Karen. "Saddam: Down but Not Yet Out The Ongoing Trial of Saddam Hussein Has Almost Taken a Back Seat in the News, Ousted by Reports of the Violence and Bloodletting in Iraq. However Dr Sahib Al Hakim, Who Conducted a Long Campaign against the Iraqi Despot, Continues to Keep a Close Eye on Proceedings and Says Many Questions Remain Unanswered." The Middle East Apr. 2006: 16+. Questia. 11 Mar. 2007 . Langewiesche, William. "The Accuser: One Woman Has Spent Decades Documenting Crimes against Humanity in Iraq. Now Saddam and His Circle Are Facing Justice." The Atlantic Monthly Mar. 2005: 54+. Questia. 11 Mar. 2007 . Read More