I raqi dictator Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death on Sunday. The trial was praised by some as justice long overdue, and dismissed by others as a political verdict that was pre-ordained, if not orchestrated, by outside powers. Some hope the execution of the former dictator will close the door on a long and ugly chapter on Iraq's history and allow the country to move forward. The mixed reactions to the verdict suggest otherwise.
Hussein was put on trial after his capture by coalition forces and charged with crimes against humanity. The former Iraqi leader and other top officials in his regime were found guilty of the torture and execution of 148 people from the town of Dujail, following a failed assassination attempt in 1982. When the then president's convoy was passing through the village, someone took a shot at him. The Dawa party, then an underground party, but today the party of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Baghdad government's response was harsh. Hundreds of people were rounded up indiscriminately and the town's buildings and orchards destroyed. The suspects were tortured; many confessed. Fifty died during interrogation. The rest were hanged; some, boys between the ages of 11 and 17 at the time of the incident, were held in jail until they reached the age of 18 and were then executed.