Swift Justice.

Saddam, according to news reports coming out of Iraq, has been hanged. He was captured in early December of 2003, convicted in early November of this year, and was hanged tonight. Total elapsed time – including the much-delayed trial due to the killing and kidnappings of lawyers and judges – not quite three years.

Compare this to the trial of Slobodan Miloševic, which began in February of 2002, and after five years Miloševic died in his cell of a heart attack, with the trial still ongoing.

While I’m not a big fan of capital punishment, there are those occasions where the evidence is so overwhelming and the crime(s) so heinous that I’d be more than happy to be the guy pressing the plunger, pulling the handle, or throwing the switch.

The thing I’m happiest about is that, because the U.S. went into Iraq “unilaterally,” we weren’t forced to “try” Saddam in the Hague. The Iraqis got to try, convict, and execute him themselves, rather than watch the “international community” circle-jerk each other as we did with Miloševic.

I’m an atheist, but I hope Saddam’s soul gets to spend eternity with his sons, tortured by those he and his spawn murdered.