Saddam Hussein Executed in Iraq
December 30, 2006 
Saddam Hussein was hanged just after dawn, 56 days after his sentencing for mass murders during his rule in Iraq. The deposed former leader of Iraq had been convicted of murder, torture and forced deportation.
UPDATE: A cellphone video of the execution has been leaked: WARNING! Extremely graphic!
The execution took place during the year’s deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 108.
Hussein executed with ‘fear in his face’:
Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator who spent his last years in captivity after his ruthless regime was toppled by the U.S.-led coalition in 2003, was hanged before dawn Saturday for crimes committed in a brutal crackdown during his reign. […]
“This dark page has been turned over,” [Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak] Rubaie said. “Saddam is gone. Today Iraq is an Iraq for all the Iraqis, and all the Iraqis are looking forward. … The [Hussein] era has gone forever.” […]
“He was a broken man,” he said. “He was afraid. You could see fear in his face.” […]
On Al-Arabiya television, Rubaie said the execution took place at the 5th Division intelligence office in Qadhimiya. He said Hussein refused to wear a black hood over his head before execution and told him “don’t be afraid.”
White House deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel said President Bush was asleep when the execution took place and was not awakened. The president had been briefed by national security adviser Stephen Hadley before retiring and was aware the hanging was imminent, Stanzel said.
The White House issued a statement praising the Iraqi people for giving Hussein a fair trial. […]
The execution took place outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, Rubaie said, and no Americans were present.
Celebrations took place around Baghdad and Dearborn, Michigan, home to the largest concentration of Iraqis in the United States.
The execution was extensively filmed and photographed and those videos and photographs are expected to be released in the coming days, according to news reports. (How Much Should Be Shown of a Hanging? Network Executives Wonder and Wait.)
UPDATE: The Man Who Filmed Saddam’s Death: ‘I Saw Fear, He Was Afraid’
So will this lead to a national reconciliation and an end to sectarian violence in Iraq? Does this solve the quagmire 2,995 US troops have given their lives for thus far? And what comes next in Iraq?
RELATED HEADLINES: NYT: Dictator Who Ruled Iraq With Violence Is Hanged for Crimes Against Humanity, CNN: Hussein execution: World reaction
And then there’s this:
