Saddam RIP - Reaction

Sam over at Pull Out The Pin believes that the execution of Saddam was the right thing to do. Me I don't think so. I blogged before on Capital Punishment and im still opposed to it.

CNN reported that Saddam faced the execution with fear in his face, what is the point in that? Seriously like?

Nothing gives us the right to end someone elses life so why does a fledgling 'democratic' state have that right. To me the death penalty is only used by tyrannical regimes to instil fear into a populace.

I don't see the point.

Irish Political Reaction
Fine Gael Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Bernard Allen TD, said:

"While we don't agree with execution and capital punishment, we must recognise that Saddam Hussein was a dreadful despot with the blood of tens of thousands of people on his hands and was guilty of serious war crimes both against his own people and against the Kurds.

"His execution, however, will deepen the already open wounds in Iraqi society and will inevitably lead to increased violence and bloodshed with further consequences for other parts of the Middle East."

Michael D Higgins TD, Labour Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs said:

Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who was responsible for appalling crimes against his own people, but it is unlikely that his execution will achieve anything other than to further fuel the cycle of violence that has taken so many lives since the illegal invasion of Iraq.



Many innocent Iraqis died at the hands of his regime; many more will die in the aftermath of his execution which came at the end of a trial process regarded by most independent observers as being deeply flawed.

The execution may bring some satisfaction to President Bush and the dwindling number of those who now support the invasion, but it will do nothing to contribute towards peace and reconciliation in Iraq.

The Labour Party is opposed to the death penalty. This is a fundamental matter of principle and applies regardless of who the accused person is or what crimes are alleged to have been committed. In this regard it is most disappointing to hear international politicians, such as the British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Becket, who oppose the death penalty in their own country, effectively welcoming the execution of Saddam.

The presentation by television companies of the events immediately before the hooded hangmen pulled the leaver as a sort of media spectacle will be repellent to most decent people. Taken together with repeated showings of film of Saddam undergoing medical examination from the time of his capture by U.S. forces, these images can only further inflame opinion in Iraq and the Middle East generally.

Via BreakingNews.ie

Ahern: We must respect Iraqi right to hang Saddam

Iraqis’ right to hang Saddam Hussein "must be respected" Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said today.

However, he stressed Ireland was opposed to the death penalty and expressed his personal opinion that the former dictator should have died in prison.

"My view is Saddam should have spent his last years behind bars for his heinous crimes,'' he said.

The minister made his remarks as television pictures broadcast around the world showed the ex-ruler lying wrapped in a shroud, his neck sharply twisted to one side, after his execution in Baghdad earlier today.

Irish Bloggers Reaction

As i said at the start Pull Out The Pin think it was the right thing to do saying

The failure was in allowing the monster to live for so long, standing aside while he gassed the people of Halabja and committed genocide when we could have easily stopped him.

Riemanns Cut is unsure on it but does believe it was too rushed

I have no real views on Saddam Hussein. I think the execution, right or wrong, was far too rushed.

A view from the Left - Cllr Seamus Ryan's Blog also thinks the execution was wrong

Without a doubt Saddam Hussein committed terrible crimes and should have been brought to justice for his actions. The Iraqi government have now created a martyr for Hussein supporters and may live to regret this execution. It is also disturbing to see politicians who supposedly oppose the death penalty in their own country fail to condemn the execution of Saddam Hussein. The death penalty is either right or wrong. It is my belief that it is fundamentally wrong and I welcome the words of Micheal D Higgins on the matter.

Captain Purplehead believes the trial was a farce and gives a run down of doctators supported by the US!