Riverbend is a woman I don't read as much as I should because she makes me cry every single time I take a glance at her blog. She is the most powerful voice coming out of Iraq and the one that seems to be holding on to the little sanity that is left in that country.

End of Another Year... | Baghdad Burning:

What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it's just not safe.

Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam's execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.

This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is "Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We're hanging him- he symbolizes you." And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).

The US Army had custody of Saddam Hussein until his death. I am watching CNN (10:20PM EST). He supposedly was executed a few minutes before 10pm EST.

The fact that Bush could not rise to the occassion and ask for mercy ... well ...

Bush's gesture or lack thereof : coming from a man who broke a record for signing death penalty sentences as governor. A man whose brother sent a Puerto Rican man to the Florida death chambers an let him die a tortured death.

This is the compassionate conservatism of George W. Bush. A compassion, or lack thereof, that will come back not just to haunt him but to serve him his just desserts. No man can spread so much bad karma without suffering the consequences.