Got Ideas?
I would like your considered opinion. Do you think it would be better, in the long run, for the Iraqi people if Saddam were killed outright in battle, or captured and made to stand trial for his atrocities within Iraq, as well as the attacks against Iran and Kuwait?
On one hand, said trial could take a great deal of time, perhaps more time than Saddam has left in a natural life span, and drag up a great many ugly things. On the other hand, it seems a way to focus the rage and revenge needs which will, quite understandably, be felt among the Iraqi people.
The removal of the jackboot from the throat of a people, as we have seen throughout history and recently after the breakup of the USSR, engenders many emotions. Predominant among them, and least discussed, is shame. This is the one feeling for which there cannot be much spare time or attention while a regime is in charge and terrorizing citizens. Fear and concentration on the mechanics of survival seem as though they would be paramount. Yet, after the change, when the dust settles and the water lines are rebuilt; when everyone has some assurance of a steady flow of food and work to do rebuilding, this seems to be when those feelings of shame, anger, and desire for payback finally have room to surface.
Would a trial of members of the Ba’ath party, in particular members of the Hussien family serve to focus those emotions through a rule-of-law method of redressing those crimes committed? Would this be a way for the Iraqi people to regain their power over their own destinies?
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