I'm sure there are lots of people in Iraq who would like to see Saddam hanging. Mind you a lot of the same people, especially among the Shi'ite majority would be even happier to see Bush and Blair sharing the gallows with him.

That's not the point. The time for all this should have been when the occupation was over and when there was a stable government in charge. The trial and the execution will do nothing to bring that day closer, quite the reverse. I predict it will turn out to be a serious mistake, like so many things that have been done over the last couple of years.

"And, given his history, it will not be easy to sell Saddam as a martyr." History does not bear this out. The execution will ensure that for many people the image of Saddam will be of him defying the court as it sentenced him to death, and this will be likely to overshadow the terrible crimes for which he was responsible. That is how these things work out.