World War III anyone?
first of all, don’t get me wrong, im just saying how i feel about the news that Saddam has been sentenced to death.
for those who haven’t heard the news (or care about it), its not about allegations that he kept weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (the main reason why the US invaded the country and ousted his regime in 2003, remember?)
Saddam was sentenced for the 1982 killings of about 150 Iraqis belonging to the Shiite minority. In his defense, Saddam pointed out it was not a crime since the Iraqi court during that time (which he controlled) since the 150 Shiites were found to have conspired in trying to assassinate Saddam.
Reports of Saddam’s torture of Shiites and Kurds have been going for decades, and helped paint a picture of Saddam as a dictator. While his dictatorial nature is hardly contested, it came as no surprise that several pockets of Iraqi society, belonging to the Sunni majority, cried and were disappointed to the verdict, accusing the present Iraqi court as bowing to US pressure.
Critics could not help but link the death verdict to the US congressional elections, which Bush and his Republican army is losing ground because of various allegations.
The fact remains that the present Iraqi government, despite notions of democracy, is basically a US-backed regime, and it is certain that Saddam’s death sentence won’t end in a peaceful Iraq. Certainly, this will lead to more violence and more insistence by the US to keep its troops in Iraq.
When i heard the news it was not really a surprise but somehow it felt as if Saddam shouldn’t have been the first dictator to be sentenced to death. For one, dictatorial regimes remain like in Burma and militia-controlled areas in Africa. It could have been a more fair trial if it had been under an international court.
Iraq in itself has been deeply divided because of foreign intervention. The aspirations of the Iraqi people has been lost in the "war against terror" which is nothing more but the US attempt to expand its military and geopolitical influence in the world and maintain its position as the lone superpower. Reports have come out describing how most Iraqis feel less safer in their own land now than during the time of Saddam.
And coupled with other conflict areas in West Asia and Israel’s continually aggressive role, a World War III coming from this region may be unavoidable, especially since the US would want it in the first place to feed its war economy.
