Seeking the Lesser Evil
Hangman, hangman, slack your rope awhile,
I think I see my sister coming, riding a many mile.
Sister, I implore you, take him by the hand,
Lead him to some shady bower, save me from the wrath of this man,
Please take him, save me from the wrath of this man.
–The Ropeman’s Ballad
Sentence has been passed. For his part in the murder of more than 150 in the town of Dujail (neither the least nor the worst of his crimes), the Iraqi court has determined that, on a day yet to be determined, former tyrant Saddam Hussein shall be removed from his confinement and taken to a suitable place of execution; there to be hanged by his neck until he be dead, dead, dead.
Predictably, reactions have been varied around the world. Is it justice, or just state-sanctioned murder? While my own views on capital punishment have already been made clear (I’m against it), this situation begs two questions: first, what do we do with a monster like Hussein when we find one and second (and perhaps more important), what would be the consequences of allowing him to live? Could this be one of those extremely rare instances wherein the death of one can prevent the deaths of hundreds, or 
even thousands? How are we to resolve ourselves in the face of such potential ghastly arithmetic? Just what is the lesser of the two evils?
One can hardly argue that Saddam, if kept alive, would serve as a symbol and rallying point for his followers who yet remain in Iraq, and who are the primary motivating force behind the insurgency that is relentlessly trying to destabilize the country. After all, they had it pretty good when the butcher of Baghdad was in charge; now, they’re just as vulnerable everybody else. Contrary to any sunshine talk you may have heard, Iraq is teetering on the brink of a civil war that could cost the lives of millions and it behooves those in charge to do everything they can to prevent that. Will executing Saddam put an end to the insurgency? Of course not. But without him as a figurehead, the insurgency will at least be weakened. How many lives would that save?
Yes, I would very much like to see this butcher locked away in an oubliette someplace to spend the rest of his days like a rat in a cage. But the truth is that, with Hussein still alive, his followers will only be even more predisposed to do everything that they can to bring him back. Impossible, you say? Perhaps not. Remember, Saddam has been sentenced to death in Iraq before, only to come back and turn the country into a living hell. Hindsight may be 20-20 but one really can’t help wondering how many lives would have been spared, had he been hanged all those years ago?
Is this really one of those rare occasions where a life sentence is actually the greater of the two evils? Is letting Saddam live possibly even worse than killing him?
I am loathe to admit it, but this time, I don’t know. Damnit, I just don’t know…
Yup. Mean, nasty American imperialist troops running amok in Iraq, slaughtering the innocent, torturing civilians, generally being bad people. Totally.
