[Japo]

I agree with Tulac, in order for Iraq to become even more war-torn now, the Sunni or Baathist or whatever insurgents must have been restraining themselves to this point, and they haven't. Sure, the next big blow will be claimed as vengeance for Saddam's death, but it won't be anything new, no big deal, they have already been at their maximum. What takes me to the point that although Sunnites or Baathists can stir civil war, the real danger is that Iraq should become Iran's puppet. What I guess would solve the insurgency problem, since Sunnites will be easily repressed the same way Saddam repressed Shiites. The real reason why the USA's Iraq effort has always been naive, in my opinion, is because they're advancing towards handing Iraq to the Shiite majority, and to the Irani madmen's regime.

And concerning that supposed American support for Saddam, it's always grossly exaggerated. The USA supported Iraq when it seemed that Iran would overrun it during the 80s war that Saddam had started, that was all. As a matter of fact, in that same war Iraq's arsenal was Soviet (Kalashnikov rifles, T-series tanks, Mi-24 copters, etc.) and Iran's arsenal was American (Cobra copters, etc.) dating from the Sha's era prior to the islamic revolution, when Iran was pro-Western. And that's because Saddam's greatest support had came from the USSR, but nobody knows that, and instead USA's support for the lesser evil against Iran only during the war, which was a good move in my opinion (unlike USA's present moves), has been publicited out of proportion as a long-term commitment with the Iraqi regime itself. Heck even France was more commited with Saddam, Chirac travelled to Iraq several times when he was PM and he sold Saddam a nuclear reactor which enabled him to maufacture nuclear weapons, and which Israel had to destroy.

As for the hanging, I can't agree about taking into account the utility instead of the morality. Said otherwise, the point is whether it's just or not, not whether it will increase or decrease violence --I think that won't change anyway.