Sorry, Not much of a surprise. Won't help much

Middle East divided over Saddam death sentence; some see U.S. role

By DONNA ABU-NASR
Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) Saddam Hussein's death sentence drew praise from Iran and Kuwait, which fought devastating wars with the former Iraqi dictator, but elsewhere in the Middle East, reaction was divided, with many saying they believed the U.S. played a role in the decision.

Some analysts said the message behind the sentencing is that Washington is determined to continue its mission in Iraq.

``If there had been no verdict, or if the verdict had been commuted, then it would have consolidated all talk about U.S. failure in Iraq,'' said Dawood al-Shirian, a Saudi journalist.

Some Arabs felt that Saddam should have had the freedom to run his country as he saw fit. They pointed to the rise of violence since he was ousted by the U.S.-led invasion in April 2003.

``If Saddam is condemned to death, then they must make it fair and sentence Mr. Bush to death ... and they should send Israel's Ehud Olmert to death too because of what he did in Lebanon. If this is fair, let Saddam go to death,'' said Amman jeweler Ibrahim Hreish.

Ziad al-Khasawneh, the former head of Saddam's defense team, said the death sentence was expected right from the start of the trial.

``It was pre-planned. What has taken place in this trial right from the outset until today's verdict is illegal and meant to undermine the legitimate president of Iraq and give legitimacy instead to the U.S. occupation of an Arab country,'' said al-Khasawneh, a Jordanian who sympathizes with Saddam's now-defunct Baath Party. The U.S. has denied any role in the verdict and the White House on Sunday praised the Iraqi judiciary for its independence.

But Satieh Noureddine, a Lebanese columnist at Beirut's As-Safir newspaper said, said Saddam deserved the sentence not only for Dujail but because he ``handed over Iraq to the Americans as a 'juicy bite' without any resistance.''

Some Iranians reflected on the destruction they suffered after Saddam invaded their country in 1980, setting in motion a deadly war that would last eight years.

``I am happy that finally he got what he deserved,'' said Ahmad Gharakhani, who lost a leg in the Iran-Iraq war.

But Robab Safdarzadeh, 65, said Saddam's verdict and sentencing will not reverse the past.

``The death of Saddam will not bring our dead children to life,'' she said.

In Kuwait, the tiny emirate that Saddam occupied from August 1990 to February 1991, many were jubilant.

``This is justice from heaven. He should have been hanged a long time ago. This is the smallest punishment for someone who executed tens of thousands of people,'' said Abdul-Ridha Aseeri, who heads the political science department at Kuwait University.

Kholoud al-Feeli, 40, a Kuwaiti communications specialist, said death was too good for the former dictator.

``Death to him is merciful,'' she said. ``I wanted life in prison. He will die but people (he hurt) will continue to suffer.''

Mustafa Alani, an Iraqi analyst with the Gulf Research Center in Dubai, said Saddam's relevance to Iraq has been overshadowed by the chaos that has enveloped the country. The country is more violent than it was under Saddam, and the current government is involved in the same crimes for which Saddam has been convicted, he said.

``The people who judged him are no better than he is,'' Alani said. ``In the past three years they are responsible, either directly or indirectly, for half a million deaths. There is mass killing, corruption and death squads. Saddam is a criminal no doubt, but the others aren't angels.''

Iraqis living abroad were also divided.

``He deserves the death penalty,'' shouted Salah Hassan, 50, a Sunni Muslim Iraqi businessman living in Jordan. ``He is the cause of the bloodshed taking place in my country now.''

But Jassim Ali, a 29-year-old unemployed Shiite Iraqi who lives in Jordan, called the sentencing unfair.

``The ones who should be tried and sentenced to death are the current Iraqi government leaders,'' he said. ``They're traitors. They're American puppets.''

Zeid Mohammad, 46, a Syrian civil servant, said the verdict should have been handed down to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

``The verdict was issued by a killer against a killer,'' he added.

Original article posted here.