I Shall Not Rejoice, pt. I

It's an unusual topic for an unusual article, one I had not expected to write. News hit yesterday that Saddam Hussein, the former leader of Iraq, was executed by hanging. I have heard news stories about former citizens of his country, now in the US, who greatly praised his execution, citing the persecution of their own families and their need for revenge.

Vengeance is a big, big thing in the middle east. It fuels the civil war with the get back game which never stops between the sunnis and the shiites, with numerous terrorist organizations providing new acts of atrocity and new deaths to feud over. Some countries that surround Iraq are either providing financial assistance to "religious organizations" to purchase weapons (Saudi Arabia), or are directly providing explosives and war material within the country itself (Iran and Syria). I recall how the US government did the same thing when the Soviets were at war with Afghanistan. It provides an interesting perspective, now that the shoe is on the other foot.

There are two primary reasons why I feel this way. The first is a directive from God. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." There is not a lot of wiggle room there. It's true that I have no relatives that have been murdered by Saddam. In honesty, I do not know how I would react or if my views might be different had this occured. It's easy to say vengeance is the Lord's when you have no personal reason to be vengeful.

Did Saddam deserve execution? I believe so. Should he have been executed by means of a war initiated by the US to topple his regime? Questionable. Why? It is not the place of the US to be the world's peacekeeper/enforcer/policeman/etc. History is written by the victor, although I doubt that God perceives human conflict (war) the same way we do. He sees all things truthfully, including the invisible, spiritual wars that are waged each day in our lives, and in the bigger, broader sense of regions, countries and the world.

Conntinued in part II