Saddam Hussein executed

Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging at 03:00GMT today.

The world will not shed many tears for the end of the dictator's life. However, the world should note that the execution in this manner has eroded what little credibility there may have been in the actions of the US in bringing about Saddam's demise.

The following points should be borne in mind:

• There were no WMD aimed at the West.



• Saddam posed no immediate, or medium term, threat to the West.



• The post "regime change" occupation of Iraq has been an unmitigated disaster.



• Iraq is now on the precipice of a civil war.



• The Middle East may well erupt into a civil war between Shias and Sunnis.



• Saddam was still being tried for genocide against the Kurds. Where is the justice for them, or the victims of his other crimes, in executing him now?



• The trial of Saddam was littered with irregularities and inconsistencies, to base the verdict on the outcome of a flawed trial is to send a signal to the world that justice does not count for much in the "new" Iraq.



• The speed of the execution was to satisfy the US and current Iraq administration's political agenda.



• A country that bases its future on a flawed legal system (as was demonstrated by the shambles of the trial) has no future.

Mission Accomplished!