What Milestone?

It is very difficult for me to believe that a truly religious, follower of Christ would utter these words:

Saddam Hussein's execution comes at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops. Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror. "http://www.comcast.net/news/politics/whitehouse/index.jsp?cat=WHITEHOUSE&fn=/2006/12/30/551702.html">http://www.comcast.net/news/politics/whitehouse...

Saddam's execution is a milestone for Iraq's very democracy?

"Justified," organized, institutional, governmental murder is still murder--it is my belief that a civil society does not have the moral authority to choose to end the life of anyone (I do think this can be a personal, private individual and moral decision in a couple of circumstances). Although I am gratified to see Hussein suffer what he did to others, that suffering was short-lived and is over now. I would much rather have him suffer the humiliation of living daily in a 12 x 12 foot room for the rest of his natural life. We could all watch him suffer on the internet. Saddam's life-in-prison cam.

It makes no sense to me that a country would rule to kill anyone and call it justice. How do we, or they, derive any sense of moral order from that example? For me, executions have no moral, civil, social, or spiritual place in our universe. Saddam's publically sanctioned execution is a only going to add energy to violence and the love of death and killing (terrorists' values)--sadly, I believe that affects every one of us--whether we are for or against executions.

Peace.

Update:

Christopher Hitchins points out that the execution of Hussein follows a long Iraqi tradition of murdering the former head of state, so Iraq is following that muderous tradition, it miserably pales as a milestone in a new direction of American-style democracy...

My husband also pointed out how the court "missed an opportunity" to change history...the execution ruling did not permit ANYONE, even the president of Iraq, to commute Hussein's death sentence. That is not anything like our Republic--even though we've provided diplomatic cheerleaders for this court and its decisions. The anti-death penalty KURDISH president could have commuted Hussein's sentence to life, but he was not given that historic, peace-making opportunity by the Iraqi court.

From his op-ed Keeping faith with a bloody tradition:

"It would have been no offense to justice if Hussein had been sentenced to spend the rest of his days in prison without the possibility of parole, but it would represent a break with that sanguinary tradition. And it might be no bad thing if Americans, especially those who supported the breaking of his death grip on Iraqi society, found ways of conveying their distaste for this rushed and vindictive -- and partial -- version of a process of reckoning that ought to have been sober, meticulous and untainted."

Bingo.