There's a Great Deal of blogosphere being used up over the question of whether 'twas right to execute Saddam; it would take the better part of an hour just to list the blogsites which have commented one way or the other.
Most curious, however, is the underlying premise which almost every one of the commentators use--that the decision was in some way shape or form a decision of the US.
You get that feeling, too, don't you? Lectures from Rome, counter-lectures from the Dispensationalists, clerics piling on, ...
The US didn't do it. The decision was made by an Iraqi court. The place was full of Iraqi lawyers. They didn't speak English. Far as I know, no one pulled out a copy of Blackstone's Commentaries or the US Constitution. Even Court TV didn't show up--which means it MUST not have been an American deal.
Argue whatever you believe. Just don't argue with the US. We didn't do it.
I don't have any beef with the US over this, as it was ultimately the Iraqi government that tied the knot.
ReplyDeleteThe part of the discussion that chafes is the criticism of the Vatican's statement on the execution, along with remarks from other Vatican sources. The pundits blasting the Vatican's stance on the execution are also the same that wag their fingers at pro-abort pols that refuse the Vatican's guidance on Abortion and Politics. 'Tis a wee ironic.
Yes, the Catechism does allow for the application of Capital Punishment by "righly ordered states", and so those who disagree with the late Pope John Paul II's call for clemency will usually cite the Catechism as a defense for a pro-death position.
Some are unhappy with the Vatican even having a statement about Saddam's execution, as if it's none of the Vatican's business. I imagine that many of those were also wishing that the Vatican would make proclamations about 'catholic' politicians supporting abortion and still receiving the Eucharist.
The US didn't do it.
ReplyDeleteThis goes right alongside the belief that the football games yesterday were played by amateur athletes epitomizing the ideal of scholar athletes.
The U.S. has assumed for itself the protection of the common good of Iraq. Law and Order are entirely consistent with dealing with the common good. The fact that the U.S. outsourced the court administration and the execution itself is immaterial in determining whether the U.S. bears responsibility. The only consideration is whether the U.S. was responsible for the common good.
MZ--such a cynic! Ask anyone else in the Big 10 about the purity of the Ohio State's football program...
ReplyDeleteOTOH, if it were the US, why didn't Justice Kennedy accept an appeal?