Saddam - gone too soon

I'm sorry the Iraqis chose to kill Saddam Hussein so quickly and so publicly. As one news commentator pointed out, the sight of his hooded executioners putting the rope around his neck and his refusal to wear a hood, gave him, the remorseless tyrant, more dignity than his judicial murderers. Yeah, sure, they wore them to preserve their anonymity for fear of reprisal. But, the image sent out to the world is one that can be exploited ruthlessly to keep alive his evil enterprise - rule by wicked tyranny - as a model of leadership in the Arab world. It's the last thing that was needed.
A dictator's death satisfies vengeful instincts for some. For others it is a carte blanche to fly in the face of truth and regard him as someone not only terrible, but unique and special. Look at the way Hitler and Stalin are still revered and admired long after their demise, by some who worship the god of supremacy by violence.
This death sentence aborts the process whereby the representatives of hundreds of thousands of his victims have their day in court, no doubt saving mankind a much cash in lawyers fees.
The doing of justice is necessary to healing and reconciliation. One more life taken in punishment for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost before during and after his downfall and capture merely adds to the failure of anyone anywhere seeking to resolve human problems by force. Retaliation, revenge, served so coldly and logically reveals the spiritual bankruptcy of so many in our age, and of most of our institutions and structures.
I would have preferred to see Saddam kept alive, prevented from suicide, to hear out every just accusation the Iraqi people need to lay before him. And then imprisoned for the rest of his days to contemplate the record of his deeds, whether he shows remorse or not. To spend the rest of his life enclosed in obscurity and silence would really send a message to those with vicious egos, determined to emulate his deeds.
But, the 'winners' all had their day. And nobody will live happily ever after, as a result.