Today's 'Independent' newspaper (UK) contains a typically grim article by the great journalist, and authority on the Middle East, Robert Fisk. He details (again - see his recent book, 'The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East') how Britain and America supported Saddam until, presumably, he no longer served their purposes or got out of hand. To quote Fisk: "We ... sent thionyl chloride [a component of mustard gas] to Iraq in 1988 at a price of £26,000. Yes, I know [this, together with other chemicals] ... could be used to make ink and fabric dyes. But this was the same country - Britain - that would, eight years later, prohibit the sale of diphtheria vaccine to Iraqi children (sic) on the grounds it could be used for - you guessed it -"weapons of mass destruction". ".

So, although, in my opinion, Saddam richly deserves to be executed we should remind ourselves that his death will deflect our attention from the cynical, hypocritical machinations of the geopoliticians who themselves are also complicit in so much death and suffering.