The end of 2006

First of all, I would like to wish the online community a warm Happy 2007. May the new year bring you all the happiness and prosperity you desire! Second, I would like to refer to the end of 2006, where we had some important events taking place.

Of course, I am referring to the death of Saddam Hussein. The sentencing of Saddam to death by hanging, a very degrading type of death for Muslims, marked the last hours of 2006. Saddam stated that he was ready to die and be sacrificed for Iraq and called his compatriots to join forces against the foreign enemy. The former leader of Iraq was held in an American prison within the Green Zone and was delivered to Iraqi police officers to execute the sentence. The current president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, had expressed by principle his objection against the death penalty and did not sign the decree. The capital punishment split the international public opinion, since it was welcome by the United States, while it brought about the reaction of the Vatican, Amnesty International, Romano Prodi, the German government and many others. Analysts assess that the death of Saddam will neither contribute to the stabilization of the region, nor to the national reconciliation of the Iraqi people that suffer from foreign occupation and the evils of civil war. On the contrary: he will become a martyr and violence will continue.