DING, DONG, SADDAM IS DEAD!

"Criminal Saddam was hanged to death," an al-Iraqiya announcer said. The station played patriotic music and showed images of national monuments and other landmarks. [Source: BBC News]

According to reports, Barzan al-Tikriti--Saddam's half-brother--and former Iraqi chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bandar were also hung alongside Saddam today, Saturday December 29, around 6:00AM (10:00PM EST) in Bahgdad.

My initial thoughts when hearing the news:

Justice is served!...(and I hope it hurt!!)

(...Now let the popular news media pundits begin their tongue-wagging!)

The looming question in my mind is this: How will the capture, conviction, and execution of Saddam Hussein impact the Presidency of George W. Bush in the scope of history? Or more presently: How will other nations view the United States in the shadow of Saddam's recent death?

My prediction is this: To answer my latter question, I think that many countries will praise the death of the murderer as a just punishment and the ultimate will of the People of Iraq. However, I doubt that much, if any credit will be given to the U.S., especially not to Bush.

To answer my prior question, however, contrary to all popular opinion, I still truly believe that George W. Bush will be remembered, hopefully even in my future grandchildren's history books, as one of the greatest and most courageous leaders of the 21st century, among the likes of other strong, modern Presidents such as FDR, JFK, and Reagan. Additionally, I think that the political and physical downfall of Saddam Hussein, the genocidal dictator, will only enhance the legacy of our nation's 43rd President.

In the eternal scheme of things, however, the end of the matter is as such: the One and only God of the Bible is a holy and just God! No matter how Saddam died, in order for us to understand his eternal fate, it is important for us to know how he lived. With this in mind, I rest assure knowing that Saddam Hussein is, at this very moment, facing God's righteous judgment and will pay for his sins against God in the fires of hell. As the author of Hebrews notes, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (10:31)

This understanding of God causes me to both reverentially fear Him and take comfort in Him.

Soli Deo Gloria!


Related News Articles:
USA Today (1)
USA Today (2)
FOX News
BBC News
Yahoo News (1)
Yahoo News (2)
Reuters
New York Daily News
Zee News Imam Husham Al-Husainy of Dearborn, Mich., second from left, celebrates with other Iraqi-Americans after hearing of Saddam Hussein's execution on Friday. By Gary Malerba, AP

Nota Bene: I plan to post more on this topic as further information comes to light. Additionally, I fully intend to post or link to the video and/or photographs of Saddam's hanging when either become available on the web.