All are bound to celebrate the year while Saddam faces death

[GCT]

The high point of the year is drawing near, that is, it's end, however, it's pretty interesting that today's date may also coincide with Saddam's hanging; whether it was supposed to provide meaning to the event or the date was chosen to de-emphasize his death...probably both. Most individuals who are to hang with him are probably about to pee in their pants, however, Saddam has the pressure to keep up an good image which certainly doesn't help in dealing emotionally with the prospect of death in the midst of millions who are going to watch intently, ready to judge the content of his character and downplay him if he shows any weakness. He has a choice to die with some honor, but faces a greater obstacle of not dying in utter shame, but one thing's for sure, he doesn't have the sympathy of any, only pressure and that's going to take all the fun out of dying, if any.

 

[Kurdt]

I'm not sure that Saddam doesn't have the sympathy of any. Many believe he was deposed unjustly and although one can't condone his actions on the whole, perhaps a grave error was made on our part. I make this point for a couple of reasons. The first is that the evidence that we went to war on was not very strong at all and ultimately turned out to be false. Secondly Iraq is now in utter chaos with more insurgents and more killing than before we occupied which has led to the recruitment of many more anti-west insurgents. Whatever we think morally of Saddam's methods he did have the country under control and there were not as many extremists, plus since morality is a changable entity through cultures and shifts even within cultures throughout time we have no basis on which to judge him. Thirdly with Saddam out of the way and the fact Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction, other countries in the region (namely Iran) have taken the oppourtunity to pursue policies which could ultimitely threaten the west completely unchecked.

So are we really that better off without him?

 

[Architeuthis Dux]

I am not qualified to comment on the political or social implications of Saddam's death. However, I can say that it is natural for humans to feel pressure and fear in the face of death, regardless of their past actions. It is also important to remember that our emotions and reactions to death are complex and individual, and it is not fair to judge someone's character based on how they handle their own death.