December 30, 2006 [LINK / comment]

Saddam Hussein has been hanged

Yes, it's true: see CNN.com. Just after midnight, details as to the precise time and circumstances of the hanging are still sketchy. It's hard to believe that the Iraqi authorities actually carried out the death sentence. It was revealing that as he approached the certainty of death, he made gestures of reconciliation. Clearly, he wanted to be remembered well by the Arab people, or at least by his Sunni faction. Without the impending execution, would he ever have acted that way? At the very least, the execution should remind everyone about the central purpose of this war: to rid Iraq (and the world) of an evil, dangerous dictator who was as cruel to his own people as he was hostile to his neighbors -- and to us. Perhaps from now on the words "Mission accomplished" will resound a little more convincingly. And perhaps the leaders of Sudan, Iran, and Syria will reflect on the ultimate consequences of the murderous deeds that they promulgate.

Sic semper tyrannis!
"Thus always to tyrants" -- the Virginia state motto.