The End of Saddam

Iraqi president and dictator, Saddam Hussein was executed on December 30, 2006 after a two year long trial for crimes he committed during his rule. Saddam was convicted for the mass murder of 148 people in the Iraqi town of Dujail after a foiled assasination bid against him.

While the punishment meted out to him may seem fair in light of the crimes he committed against humanity, his execution was a mockery of civility. Agreed that he was a ruthless dictator, but to click pictures and shoot a video of the entire process is totally insane. In addition to this, the manner in which Saddam's executioners taunted him in his last moments was absolutely deplorable.

In this age of reality TV shows, anything and everything is made into a public spectacle in order to attract eyeballs. Its high time we realize that even criminals and tyrants have their private space and deserve their moments of solitude. Making a public circus of the whole thing is totally uncalled for and will not do anything constructive given the volatile situation in Iraq.

Anyway, the execution brings to an end the era of Saddam Hussein; an era in which Iraq went to war a number of times, an era where the religious and ethnic minorities were sidelined and tortured, and an era where Iraq went from one of the shining nations in the Middle East to one of its most decrepit nations. Hope the new goverment can work towards restoring the nation to its old glory.