The Election & Conviction of Saddam

I’m glad the political ads are about to go away. There comes a time to stop the campaigning and just VOTE to see what a majority of the people want to do. I predict BIG changes tomorrow, in many unforeseen ways as well. Change can be good -- and is often necessary to break out of a rut.

I went to my stepfather’s funeral this weekend, in Iowa. When the military honors team handed my mom the flag, I could see the emotion in that man's face. I knew that Pete had been part of their team for many years, doing this same thing for countless others. I could tell that it was not just an official statement, but a personal one that each of those men felt. They had lost a friend. They saluted his casket on his final trip. Pete was a great role model as a stepfather. He shall be greatly missed.

The trip also provided time to visit my 98 year old grandmother, Lydia, who lives in nearby Garner –everything in Iowa is 10 miles away, without traffic. I couldn’t believe how nice that was. Grandmother will be 99 in February and looked really great.

On Saddam’s death penalty: Big surprise. But if they execute him, as much as he deserves it, I believe it will further divide Iraq. It already is widening the rift between Sunnis and Shiite, guaranteeing a civil war and a failed state.

If they want to start the reconciliation process between Sunni and Shiite which will be necessary to get a stable country back, a compromise will need to be worked out --perhaps life in prison without possibility of parole.

No question that Saddam deserves a cruel death, but there is already plenty of that in Iraq. We also need to take into consideration that it was our own government that helped create this monster – we supported Saddam in his 80’s war against Iran (during the Reagan administration) and sold him weapons, some of which he turned against his own people. Mr. Cheney was visiting Saddam as late as 1998 on behalf of Halliburton. Killing him won't make our guilt less or solve the problems in Iraq. Besides, we should worry to be on the same side as the Ayatollahs of Iran, who have called for Saddam's execution, overlooking their own brutality, such as sending boys as young as 5 to walk the minefields as a way to clear the path for their tanks in that war... No one has clean hands...

But Saddam's fate is the Iraqi peoples’ call, not ours. Our role is not to be world dictator. But they need to find a way to reduce the anger. Further alienating 20% of the population by executing Saddam won’t stop the bloodshed. In fact, it could increase it even further as things spin out of control by bad decision after bad decision….Go ahead. Don't believe me. They didn't listen when I talked about terrorism coming to the U.S. in the 90's either.