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Last update - 08:36 05/01/2007
History and Hussein's hanging
By Alon Liel

The reactions to the hanging of Saddam Hussein have been far less enthusiastic than those that greeted the fall of his regime, or his later capture by the Americans. Hanging political leaders is almost a thing of the past, and in most democratic nations there is even a constitutional prohibition of such an act.

Saddam Hussein was a cruel enemy, both for the Americans and for ourselves, and his exit from the political arena was very welcome. Nevertheless, his death by hanging is problematic.

I am troubled by how the hanging will be viewed 20 or 30 years from now, both in Iraq and in the United States. In order to try and assess that, let me take our readers on a little visit to look at the issue of hangings in Iraq's neighbor, Turkey.
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On May 27, 1960, the Turkish army deposed the prime minister at the time, Adnan Menderes. He was a great friend of the West, brought Turkey into NATO, fought alongside the United States in Korea, and toward the end of his term even signed a secret agreement with Israel. He was not popular among the military or the Turkish left. He was an avowed capitalist and strengthened the business sector, but there was concern in Turkey that there would be a growth in the social gap and a decrease in freedom of speech.

Rumbles of criticism began to be heard and Menderes tried to stifle them. Street demonstrations, especially of students, started; at one of them, on April 28, 1960, the police shot and killed five demonstrators. Menderes' trial lasted about a year, and in August 1961, he and two of his senior cabinet ministers were sentenced to death and duly hanged.

No one in Turkey would hang Adnan Menderes today, not only because he has gained posthumous respect in the eyes of the Turkish public, but because capital punishment has been abolished in contemporary Turkey.

There is one leader that Turkey would very much like to see on the gallows: Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. The democratic West asked Turkey not to hang him. More than that: The enlightened democratic West, champion of human and prisoners' rights, asked Turkey to abolish capital punishment altogether. Turkey gritted its teeth and ended public hangings, in an attempt to be like the European democracies.

In the eyes of the Turks, Ocalan is a far greater criminal than Saddam Hussein. They blame him for the murder of 30,000 people, but his life is not in danger, because Europe asked that it be that way.

The United States, Europe's chief ally, has a different scale of values. America still has the death sentence. Turkey of today could be accepted into the European Union; however, the United States, leader of the free world, would not meet its criteria.

The history books have meanwhile recorded two events: that the United States hanged Saddam Hussein, while Europe saved Abdullah Ocalan. I am willing to wager that in another 20 or 30 years, the United States will be embarrassed by the hanging of the Iraqi dictator, and Europe will be proud of having saved Abdullah Ocalan. The difference between the two democratic continents does not lie in their level of compassion (an important word in the European political lexicon). Europe is geographically closer to the Middle East, and understands it far better than the Americans. It is possible that Europe also has a better understanding of the depths of the human soul.

Still, my wager is just a wager. It will take many long days before we know whether I was right.

Alon Liel teaches international relations and diplomacy and is former director general of Israel's Foreign Ministry.
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  1.   iraq and the usa 09:17  |  flashman 05/01/07
  2.   dear mr bush 09:21  |  flashman 05/01/07
  3.   THE ANGEL OF DEATH: CHEEESEE 09:32  |  indrajaya 05/01/07
  4.   Not a bad article,Mr.Liel,but..... 09:34  |  Hastaroth 05/01/07
  5.   Actually they already are 09:35  |  Marilyn 05/01/07
  6.   Ultimately? 09:40  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/01/07
  7.   evil America 09:51  |  Christian 05/01/07
  8.   and it is not just capital punishment 10:06  |  cool 05/01/07
  9.   indrajaya why is singapore doing so well 10:12  |  tommy suharto 05/01/07
  10.   A cruel enemy of America? 10:13  |  Mar4lene 05/01/07
  11.   marilyn "pinochet lived out his life in britain" 10:39  |  flashman 05/01/07
  12.   Saddam Hussein snuff videos the darkest propaganda game of all 10:41  |  RefugeeFromUSA 05/01/07
  13.   marilyn and "the barbarians at the gate" 10:41  |  yirmi 05/01/07
  14.   marilyn the hangmen shouted "moqtader" 10:42  |  yirmi 05/01/07
  15.   Comparing Ocalan with Saddam ?? 10:51  |  Swiss (Dino) 05/01/07
  16.   We Didn`t Hang Saddam! 10:54  |  Yosemite Sam 05/01/07
  17.   That`s a Lame Argument 10:55  |  Jeff Northridge 05/01/07
  18.   Flashman #1 11:03  |  dana 05/01/07
  19.   # 14, YIRMI 11:10  |  indrajaya 05/01/07
  20.   Bush: Two more years of "milling about smartly" 11:34  |  Natallie Durson 05/01/07
  21.   Sins of the idiot fathers 11:34  |  Hannah 05/01/07
  22.   Ocalan and Saddam 11:41  |  Hillel 05/01/07
  23.   Marilyn needs serious help 12:01  |  Anubhav 05/01/07
  24.   Snuff video 12:02  |  Marcus 05/01/07
  25.   Does Israel regret hanging Eichmann? 12:05  |  Ilan 05/01/07
  26.   #12 refugee of USA 12:23  |  BATMAN 05/01/07
  27.   # 17, MARCUS, VENGEANCE 12:24  |  indrajaya 05/01/07
  28.   #1 flashman - yes, but (repost) 12:40  |  dana 05/01/07
  29.   Americas hearts and minds . . . . 14:16  |  revoltop 05/01/07
  30.   Poor Article 14:26  |  Turk 05/01/07
  31.   The entire Bush pr4sidency is an embarassment 14:44  |  SR 05/01/07
  32.   kore dathan&abarim 15:14  |  alfred youngberg 05/01/07
  33.   Don`t bet because you will lose. 15:18  |  Harry 05/01/07
  34.   The US created Saddam then turned him into a monster 15:37  |  Dav 05/01/07
  35.   Gas from the US? 15:43  |  Dav 05/01/07
  36.   Ultimately? No Mark, in the end as at the begining 15:43  |  Mark Lincoln 05/01/07
  37.   NONSENSE 15:45  |  NEIL 05/01/07
  38.   The Myth of Intellectual Superiority 15:47  |  Tony Anthony 05/01/07
  39.   Dav # 29 The Rush to Execution 16:54  |  Jeff Northridge 05/01/07
  40.   Barbaric Execution by Barbarians 17:04  |  Jane 05/01/07
  41.   Hangings and Handlings 17:06  |  Ronnie Wolman 05/01/07
  42.   Mark Lincoln # 36 You`re Right About One Thing 17:38  |  Jeff Northridge 05/01/07
  43.   36 Mark Lincoln - The Spin Machine 17:39  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/01/07
  44.   The last fake excuse for the Invasion: Saddam`s cruelty 18:53  |  Tosefta 05/01/07
  45.   Hanging Hitler 19:05  |  Asher 05/01/07
  46.   Eating Chicken and Saddam 19:13  |  FOX 05/01/07
  47.   #22 so right, stupid article, no comparison 19:19  |  Bob 05/01/07
  48.   #27 the difference between jewish and arab vengeance 19:26  |  Bob 05/01/07
  49.   Tsofetta: racism for the cause 19:52  |  FOX 05/01/07
  50.   Turk # 30 Yes, It Was Too Poor 19:58  |  Jeff Northridge 05/01/07
  51.   History and Hussein`s hanging reply 20:49  |  David 05/01/07
  52.   Jane, you are also barbarians for committing 21:10  |  Jew 05/01/07
  53.   Bob the liarrrrr, we too murder children 21:12  |  Israeli Jew 05/01/07
  54.   Saddam`s End - Two Versions 21:24  |  Victor Smolinsky 05/01/07
  55.   Ronnie Wolman, simple answer to your question 21:24  |  Ibrahim 05/01/07
  56.   Cowards act 21:28  |  Ah 05/01/07
  57.   Ibrahim: Conundrums `R` Us 22:25  |  Ronnie Wolman 05/01/07
  58.   #52, 53 lies? - not a Jew and not an Israeli, not worth my time 22:30  |  Bob 05/01/07
  59.   Saddam`s Hanging 23:26  |  James Bailey 05/01/07
  60.   Bob: when you and likes of you are cornered...and 23:29  |  Jew 05/01/07
  61.   Baghdad Bob and Washington Tony - Mark of Lewiston 23:37  |  Mark Lincoln 05/01/07
  62.   Jeff Northridge - Requiem for an egomaniac 23:42  |  Mark Lincoln 05/01/07
  63.   The US created Saddam then turned him into a monster? 23:44  |  Mark Lincoln 05/01/07
  64.   Come on people. He got what he deserved !!! 23:45  |  Avrum 05/01/07
  65.   Come on people. He got what he deserved !!! 23:45  |  Avrum 05/01/07
  66.   Bob # 58 How Clever of You to Notice 23:48  |  Jeff Northridge 05/01/07
  67.   Jew # 52 00:25  |  Avrum 06/01/07
  68.   Jew and Israeli Jew 00:30  |  Avrum 06/01/07
  69.   None 00:39  |  None 06/01/07
  70.   Take it from an Iraqi 00:55  |  NZ 06/01/07
  71.   Jeff Northridge you sound like 01:20  |  samir 06/01/07
  72.   Avrum - he got the justice he dispensed 02:00  |  Mark Lincoln 06/01/07
  73.