Arabs divided over Saddam verdict

Some analysts said the message behind the sentencing is that Washington is determined to continue its mission in Iraq and will not be intimidated by insurgents fighting it. 8220;If there had been no verdict, or if the verdict had been commuted, then it would have consolidated all talk about US failure in Iraq,8221; said Dawood al-Shirian, a Saudi journalist.

On the street, reaction was mixed. Some Arabs felt that Saddam, as a leader, should have had the freedom to run his country as he saw fit. They pointed to the rise of violence since he was removed from power by the US-led invasion in April 2003.

8220;If Saddam is condemned to death, then they must make it fair and sentence Mr US President George Bush to death 8230; and they should send Israel8217;s Ehud Olmert to death too because of what he did in Lebanon. If this is fair, let Saddam go to death,8221; said Amman jeweller Ibrahim Hreish.

Ziad al-Khasawneh, the former head of Saddam8217;s defence team said the death sentence had been expected from the start of the trial.

Iraqis living abroad were also divided over the sentencing of their former president, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for almost three decades.

8220;He deserves the death penalty,8221; shouted Salah Hassan, 50, a Sunni Muslim Iraqi businessman who lives in Jordan. 8220;He is the cause of the bloodshed taking place in my country now,8221; he said adding

But Jassim Ali, a 29-year-old unemployed Shi8217;ite Iraqi who lives in Jordan, called the sentencing unfair. 8220;It8217;s too harsh. Why is Saddam being tried?8221; he said. 8220;The ones who should be tried and sentenced to death are the current Iraqi government leaders. They8217;re traitors. They8217;re American puppets.8221;

Saddam8217;s death sentence unleashed fears of fresh violence and new questions about the fairness and impartiality of the tribunal that ordered him to hang.

8220;The hanging of Saddam Hussein will turn to hell for the Americans,8221; said Vitaya Wisethrat, a respected Muslim cleric in Thailand.

8220;The Saddam case is not a Muslim problem but the problem of America and its domestic politics,8221; he said. 8220;The Americans are about to vote in a midterm election, so maybe Bush will use this case to tell the voters that Saddam is dead and that the Americans are safe. But actually the American people will be in more danger with the death of Saddam.8221;

The verdict was welcomed by key US allies, who said Saddam got what he deserved for crimes against humanity committed during years of brutal dictatorship.

Saddam can appeal

Baghdad: Saddam Hussein will have his death sentence automatically reviewed by an appeals panel. If these judges find grounds to question the judgment, Saddam will face another trial. If not, the sentence imposed today by the Iraqi High Tribunal will stand and be carried out within 30 days. Under the statutes establishing the tribunal in December 2003, any defendant sentenced to death or life imprisonment automatically sees the judgement and the verdict submitted to a panel of nine judges. A successful appeal would lead to a new trial.

The world welcomes the outcome

USA: The USA ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, called the death sentence imposed on Saddam and two aides 8220;an important milestone8221; towards building a free society in Iraq. 8220;The judges, prosecutors and defence attorneys in this case all showed courage in the face of intimidation,8221; Khalilzad said in a statement.

BRITAIN: 8220;I welcome that Saddam Hussein and the other defendants have faced justice and have been held to account for their crimes,8221; Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said in a statement. 8220;Appalling crimes were committed by Saddam Hussein8217;s regime. It is right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice.8221;

IRAQ: Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said his execution would not compare with 8220;one drop of the blood8221; of the people who died opposing his rule. 8220;The execution could partially appease the victims,8221; he continued.

Kuwait: Many from this nation that Saddam occupied from August 1990 to February 1991, were jubilant. 8220;This is justice but is the smallest punishment for someone who executed thousands ,8221; said Abdul-Ridha Aseeri, from Kuwait University.