Fixin' For a Hangin'

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury..." What is more thrilling than a war crimes tribunal? There is drama, nauseating photographs, scandalous testimony, and the laughable claim that this court is illegitimate. Predominately, however, the war crimes tribunal features a forgone conclusion; and in Iraq it is so forgone, that the country has restored the death penalty, salivating at the chance to use it. Truly the best part about these kinds of trials, is that they reinforce two of the most basic axioms of the international community: might makes right and history will be written by the victor. Truth is fairly irrelevant here, and so is pomp, procedure, and evidentiary chains. What will be important is the assertion of power by the Iraqi government, an airing of dirty laundry that will cathartic, and then the erasure of Saddam Hussein, et al from our collective ass, where he's been such a pain. One can only hope that we will spared these types of proceedings for Osama Bin Laden, and that he will simply be obliterated by a three thousand pound warhead. Most importantly, and in conclusion, this will mark the first expression of the Iraqi social contract. It will be unique to those people, and at times difficult for the international community to tolerate, but one must believe that this has the ability to give the Iraqi people the hope that fear can be tried and hanged in the streets.