When I got word that Saddam Hussein would be executed on live television, I was repulsed. I thought that the last thing Iraq needed was another public display of bloodletting. Though I felt no mercy towards the brutal dictator who had tortured and murdered hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, I think that broadcasting his execution was tasteless and prurient--by Western standards. But in a country where many children prime themselves to commit future brutality by abusing and torturing animals, Saddam Hussein's execution was mild fare indeed.
As Hussein was being marched to the gallows, I ducked into the guard shack in front of my office to get a look at the footage. The Iraqi men inside were laughing heartily, as if they were watching a sitcom.
With a soundtrack of passionate, Arabic music playing in the background, the broadcast here in Iraq had the look and feel of a cheesey reality show. Since viewing brutal things eats at my soul, I ducked out of the shack before the "Great Uncle" dropped through the gallows's trap door on his way to final judgment. I've seen far too many beheading and similar videos--I just can't go there anymore --one can only take so many knives to the heart and to the soul, and my limit is in sight.
Locally, reactions to Saddam Hussein's death were mixed, but most of the Iraqis I know were in agreement with the sentence passed on him. I work with a very civilized group of Iraqi men and women. Most of them were not pleased with the fact that he had been publicly executed. But they were satisfied he had been killed. When he ruled, Hussein pitted Iraqis against each other, and today the animosity built by that dynamic helps feed the warm, red river running through the streets of Baghdad.
Right now, those streets are eerily quiet. Though no curfew has yet been imposed, the people of Baghdad are staying home. And since Saddam died, the steady stream of car bomb explosions has slowed to a trickle. Some of the folks I work with are nervous about this, since they think that the relative calm indicates that the crazies are planning something big.
I disagree. There are many separate groups of killers tearing up Baghdad's street but collectively, they are not centrally controlled. I think it is calm due to the following reason: When Saddam Hussein was executed, most Iraqis stayed off the streets in fear of retaliatory violence from his supporters. Since there are currently few people on the streets, there is a dearth of targets for the bombers and the other killers. Unfortunately, when the streets again come to life, I think the violence will quickly return to the same level as before.
On the evening of the dictator's death, I had a sublime experience that I will forever remember. Almost every night, either I or one of my crew members escorts a friend across a bridge spanning the Tigris River leading to the Red Zone. On the day of Saddam Hussein's execution, it was my turn to do so. It is normally night when this occurs. But on that day we had left at dusk, since celebratory gunfire and violence were expected after nightfall.
My friend and I were the only two people on the bridge. I had never seen the Tigris look so beautiful. The air was still and silent and the glow of a deep, red twilight reflected off the river's roiling surface. It almost felt like being in a peaceful, beautiful place, on a pleasant stroll with a close friend.
Someday I will come back here, to see this country when it is at peace.
