I have felt for quite some time, and been rather vocal about it, that Saddam should be removed from power; and killed to remove any threat he might pose to the world at large. The man has done many things that others would find horrible. I have said time and again that the man should never have been given power or authority of any kind. I do not approve of the way he treated his people, nor do I approve of his attitude of disrespect for the rest of the world. If he had been killed in the war to remove him from power, I certainly would not have found his death to be unjustified.

But he wasn't killed, he was captured. This means that he chose not to force the military to kill him; that he chose to live. I'm sure that Saddam knew his situation, that he must chose whether he would live or die. In those moments when his life hung in the balance Saddam chose to live; trusting that his captors would do what they claimed was right.

We should not give Saddam any less than he expected in those moments, or any less than that which we expected him to give to his people. He should be given a fair trial presided over by his peers. If he is found guilty of any crime, his punishment should be decided upon and carried out by those same peers. During his time of imprisonment while he awaits trial he should be treated with dignity and respect.

What drove us to seek to take action against Saddam and remove him from power? If we claim that we did it to ensure the safety and prosperity of the world, under the belief that all of the world's people should be afforded basic human rights, then we must uphold our promise to the world. We must show faith in our tenants and live as we believe!

We must not hold ourselves and our virtues higher than those to whom we seek to teach virtue, for in doing so we would show ourselves not to be virtuous. Jesus in his sermon on the mount said:

Matthew 5: 38-48 38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39. But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosover shall smite thee on they right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43. Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love they neighbor and hate thine enemy. 44. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45. That ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? 47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? 48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect.

In his sermon Jesus set for us a harder task than the simple revenge of claiming an eye for an eye. He asks us to see our responsibility to those who would wrong us, and to see the harm we do not only our enemy, but ourselves by extracting such a revenge. If we do not afford everyone the same basic human rights that we expect to receive, how are we better than the Saddam's of this world? If we do not uphold our own virtue how can we expect others to do so?