“Saddam Hussein executed in Baghdad” reads the A.P. headline today. It’s a very interesting read.
Now, he is in the garbage of history,” said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.
I’m hopeful, for the sake of the Iraqi people, that the symbolic act of executing Saddam by hanging will crystalize some vision of national unity in the zeitgeist of the Iraqi people.
This event in Iraqi history would seem to be one in which everyone in their country will remember exactly where they were when they heard the news, much like when the U.S. heard of Pearl Harbor, JFK’s death, or the 9-11 attacks. Better examples might be the Fall of the Berlin Wall, VE-Day, or Richard Nixon’s resignation. Saddam’s hanging seems to be of importance, enough so that it could be said to be a moment of nationalism. Not a call to arms, but a call to Peace. Perhaps it won’t happen immediately, but this will signal a change of direction. We can hope, for the sake of the Iraqi people.
