They said it
Reaction to the execution of of Saddam Hussein:
“Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial – the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime.”
President Bush
Saddam’s execution punishes “a crime with another crime. … The death penalty is not a natural death. And no one can give death, not even the state.”
Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI’s top prelate for justice issues.
“The test of a government’s commitment to human rights is measured by the way it treats its worst offenders. History will judge these actions harshly.”
Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program.
“Saddam is paying the price for murdering tens of thousands of Iraqis. This is an unprecedented feeling of happiness. … Nothing matches it, no festival or marriage or birth.”
Abu Sinan, a resident of Sadr City, Baghdad’s impoverished Shiite slum.
“Oh, God, you know what Saddam has done! He killed millions of Iraqis in prisons, in wars with neighboring countries and he is responsible for mass graves. Oh God, we ask you to take revenge on Saddam.”
Sheik Sadralddin al-Qubanji, a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
“The gift of our New Year is the murder of Saddam Hussein.”
Husham Al-Husainy, director, Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center in Dearborn, Mich.
“The execution might bring some amusement and accomplishment to the Bush administration, but it will not help the Iraqi people. The problem we’re facing in Iraq is going to multiply.”
Osama Siblani, publisher, The Arab American News
“This wasn’t American justice. This was the Iraqi people. It’s a culmination of a long, drawn-out battle that unfortunately has cost a lot of American lives.”
Capt. Hiram Lewis, who served with the West Virginia National Guard’s 111th Engineer Group in Iraq.
“I want this evil man off the face of this earth. I want peace to come sooner.”
Nancy Hollinsaid, of Malden, Ill., whose son, Army Staff Sgt. Lincoln Hollinsaid, was killed in a grenade attack.
“He got his last prayer. He got his last meal. I’m assuming he was probably able to talk to his family. And that’s something my husband didn’t get and something thousands of other soldiers didn’t get.”
Stephanie Dostie, who lost her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Christopher Dostie, to an improvised explosive device a year ago.
“It is what we are over there for – helping to support and stabilize.”
Brian Schiller, a Marine gunnery sergeant from Chicago who returned in October from a second seven-month tour in Iraq.