A US MD in Iraq's response to Saddam Hussein's execution

This comes from OPF member Aaron Haney, a US Army physician
stationed in Iraq.

Aaron's blog:
http://aaroneous.blogspot.com

Aaron's photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58146069@N00/

* * *

Saddam Hussein was executed sometime this morning around 6am. It
really rattled me because the news we had was that it wouldn't happen for
another week. It saddens me immensely as does all killing that occurs
over here, but this one was premeditated, preventable, unnecessary, an
affront to me as both a physician and a Christian. He was hung by the
neck and it just seems so useless a death, like so many others in this
country. He was no longer a threat to anyone, a tired and broken old man
serving his time in prison.

Maybe it hit me so hard because in some strange way he has been a major
factor in the course my life has taken to the present moment. I dropped out
of college during the first Gulf War to join the infantry in 1991. I
remember staying up night after night into the wee hours of the morning
watching the news unfold until finally making the decision to walk into
the recruiter's office and commit the next two years of my life to military
service. It was another lifetime ago... the decision of an impulsive fly-by-
the-seat-of-your-pants 21 year old.

Now I am troubled by so many questions. Will other dictators react by
stepping down? No. Will his death bring back anyone he has killed? No.
Is the country more stable and less violent now that he is gone? No. Does
God's justice demand that he be killed? No. (How could God need such a
thing, a violent end to someone's life?) It is all just so very sad… yet
another death in a country where people are dying all around. May the
Lord have mercy on us all in this messed up world so full of killing and
violence.

Peace,
Aaron