Another wild card with the potential for widespread destruction has entered the scene in Iraq: the impending execution of Saddam Hussein. There is no stopping point for the deposed dictator's "dead man walking" march to the gallows: apparently there is no provision in Iraqi law for "clemency," that is, commutation of the sentence to life in prison. The die is cast, the dynamic will play out. But how will the news of the Sunnis' champion's death be received, and will we be ready for the backlash?
I assume that a significant portion of the Sunni population is enamored of Saddam. The question is the exact extent of that allegiance and fealty, and the powerful emotions they will generate upon his execution. In addition to preparing for an onslaught by insurgents, the Iraqi government would be well served fathoming whether and in what manner it can turn the event to its political advantage. Yet, like everything else in Iraq, it seems to be imponderable and unpredictable. Is there a chance to make Saddam's burnt offering carry symbolic meaning beyond its ability to inflame ... and vindicate? Is there the potential for a catharsis which would signal a dim hope for an arduous process of reconciliation?
As things go in Iraq, these matters won't even be addressed by the government, hunkered down and besieged. All that can be done is to send more troops into the streets, many of them American, to absorb and quell the increased violence that will follow the moment of vindication for those presently triumphant.
