Post-Execution Iraq

Now that Saddam Hussein has been executed, it is almost anyone's guess as to what is going to happen in Iraq.

There are those who are stating that Hussein died a martyr's death.  Well, if you call hanging a martyr's death, so be it.  But don't you have to believe in something greater than yourself and be executed for that belief to qualify as a martyr?  Even though he carried a Koran to the gallows, there is no evidence that he believed in anything but himself throughout his excessive and murderous life.

There are others who celebrate his death, the execution of a Hitler-like dictator that reportedly had a hand in the killings of millions of his own people through his death squads and military.  Even though he was convicted by an Iraqi court for just a fraction of those deaths, I believe that the families of those victims are satisfied that this monster is dead.

Will there be violence in Saddam's name?  Yes, at least in the short run.  He did not die as a hero should, pistol in one hand and a flag in another, but with a noose around his neck.  Thus, his value as a rallying figure is minimal.

No, the violence in Iraq will continue along the same lines as before, Sunni vs. Shiite, tribe vs. tribe, and all the various power-hungry factions that arose in Saddam's absence.  It is this violence that the newly formed government of Iraq must deal with.  And the effectiveness of the Iraqi government in dealing with it's internal issues will determine the stability of the country, and thus, the region.