Justice Denied? You're kidding right?

Saddam's execution could have been more 'dignified': Bush

U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday he wished the execution of Saddam Hussein "had gone in a more dignified way."

But Bush said the former Iraqi dictator was given justice, unlike the victims of his regime.

"My personal reaction is that Saddam Hussein was given a trial that he was unwilling to give the thousands of people he killed," Bush told reporters Thursday at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"He was given a fair trial — something he was unwilling to give thousands of Iraqi citizens who he brutalized."

Source: CBC News (Full Article)

George W. Bush talking dignity and denied justice is the most laughable thing I’ve heard in a long time. Thanks George, I’d been feeling a little down lately… needed a good chuckle.

First of all, I believe there is no dignity to be found in public executions. But different cultures may view things differently, and since the execution did take place in a different country and culture, to them I must defer. I do not subscribe to measuring other country's cultures, values and norms by the standards of the country I live in.

However, the words of "justice denied" coming from Bush, a few short months after the signing of the Military Commissions Act which pretty much denies justice to anyone he sees fit seeps with irony. The MCA which empowers the authorities to hold anyone they consider an "enemy combatant" without charges, without legal representation and without trial for an indefinite time does not seem all that different from Saddam's regime. I guess Bush just had a better marketing team on his side. Note to future totalitarian regimes: It's okay to suspend Habeas Corpus and inflict torture as long as it is legislated.

Additional note (added Jan 14) pilfered from Eric K.

How does one make an execution dignified? Give the victim a smoking pipe and a monocle?