Saddam Hussein Sentenced to Death

But it isn’t over yet:

The case will be automatically appealed to the Appellate Chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal. The defense has 30 days to file any motions. (Full story)

The appeals process was likely to take three to four weeks once the formal paperwork was submitted, a court official told The Associated Press.

However, there is no limit to how long the appeals process can take.

If the Appellate Chamber upholds the conviction and sentence, Hussein must be executed within 30 days.

I should be more excited about this verdict after calling for this man’s head for years but I’m not. I’m happy with the decision but believe that we, and especially the Iraqis, lost more than we gained in this long process (I’m referring to the opportunity lost in not executing him quickly – not the war in general). And now to add fuel to the fire we have an appeal process that could take months longer. Justice is arriving but it’s extremely late.

It’s difficult to argue that this decision, and Saddam’s eventual death, will be a key step in Iraq’s rebirth when chaos and violence reign. I’d like to believe that. Unfortunately, I think we lost that opportunity in 2003 when we let him live more than two weeks past his capture. Can anyone really argue at this point that this verdict and his eventual execution will serve as significant turning points in this conflict?

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