Sunday December 14, 2003 at 6:34 PM
The Pursuit Exhausted. The Capture Complete.
Appearing in Politics
Let us pause for a moment to rejoice.
The hunt is over; the pursuit exhausted; the capture complete. Saddam Hussein, former dictator of Iraq, was taken into custody last night by American forces near his home town of Tikrit. Having earned himself a unique position alongside Hitler and Stalin, Hussein now faces an ordeal neither of his comrades could have imagined — the humiliation of custody and the ignominy of trial.
Although it is impossible to imagine the thoughts of such a man as he tortured his nation and threatened his neighbors, it is equally impossible to imagine his thoughts as he sits at an “undisclosed location” awaiting a fate that must have seemed inconceivable to him even a year ago. As tempting as it is to dismiss such a man as “the face of evil”, I find such simplification of psychology both naive and dangerous.
Men such as Saddam Hussein are vivid reminders that the machinery of the modern world is as easily bent towards the malevolent as it is towards the righteous. Perhaps more so.
For if the life of Saddam has taught us anything it is perhaps this: while the tools of force, destruction, and intimidation are necessary for the exercise of power, they are equally impotent in the pursuit of trust, justice, and peace.
