Martyrdom

Saddam Hussein's execution has taken on a broader life (and see below).

From an American perspective, one has to think that Saddam Hussein's "martyrdom" drives a final stake into the heart of the American invasion and occupation. With no WMDs, no democracy-building, no human rights cause (see Abu Ghraib), the US administration had only removing the tyrant left as justification for the war. But now the tyrant has become a martyr. If the US administration is to see through to the end whatever it thinks it is now doing in Iraq, its job has just become far more difficult. And this comes just at the moment the US is going to start sending its troops door-to-door in Baghdad. The war is about to become even more deadly.

“The Arab world has been devoid of pride for a long time,” said Ahmad Mazin al-Shugairi, who hosts a television show at the Middle East Broadcasting Center that promotes a moderate version of Islam in Saudi Arabia. “The way Saddam acted in court and just before he was executed, with dignity and no fear, struck a chord with Arabs who are desperate for their own leaders to have pride too.”

Ayman Safadi, editor in chief of the independent Jordanian daily Al Ghad, said, “The last image for many was of Saddam taken out of a hole. That has all changed now.”...

“He stood as strong as a mountain while he was being hanged,” said Ahmed el-Ghamrawi, a former Egyptian ambassador to Iraq. “He died a strong president and lived as a strong president. This is the image people are left with.”...

Mr. Safadi, the Jordanian editor, said: “In the public’s perception Saddam was terrible, but those people were worse. That final act has really jeopardized the future of Iraq immensely. And we all know this is a blow to the moderate camp in the Arab world.”

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