"But now he has become a symbol -- for the Shiite his execution is a victory over all the Sunnis, and for us we see it as one last move before establishing the empire [a reference to Persian rule of Iraq during parts of the 16th century] in Iraq again," he said.
"There will be blood baths in the streets," said another Sunni insurgent from north Baghdad.
As the plane landed in Baghdad and Haji Ali finished reciting his prayers, he said: "The people who rule today should remember that throughout history, Iraq's rulers were killed by the people who toppled them. Maybe Allah doesn't want for this nation to be stable."
Views of the experts
Rosemary Hollis, director of research at Chatham House, London
It's tawdry. It's not going to achieve anything because of the way the trial was conducted and the way the occupation was conducted. Life in Iraq has become so precarious that many people are saying it was safer under Saddam Hussein -- it makes the whole thing look like a poke in the eye as opposed to closure or some kind of contribution to the future of Iraq. The purpose should have been to see justice done in a transparent manner ... the trial was gruesome, occasionally farcical, and failed to fulfil its promise of giving satisfaction.
Mishkat al-Moumin, former environment minister in transitional Iraqi government, now at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
Ordinary people who were abused by him will be relieved. His opponents will be relieved when he is finally gone. He abused people severely and his abuses were on a nationwide scale. He killed so many people. At the political level, those who support him might try to take revenge but on the people's side they will feel they have seen justice done.
Kamil Mahdi, Iraqi expatriate, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Exeter University, UK.
Quite honestly, I don't think much of it any more, given what's happening in Iraq. It will be taken as a US decision. The worst thing is that it's an issue which, in an ideal situation, should have unified Iraq but the US have succeeded in dividing the Iraqis.
Toby Dodge, expert on Iraq at Queen Mary College, London University.
The new elite were bound to go ahead with the execution because they suffered at his hands. In the long term, though, this means very little in terms of drawing a line under the last four years of occupation or creating a new Iraq. In choosing to kill him, the current government of Iraq have simply reproduced Iraqi history instead of stepping away from the past ... it completes the Islamicization of the insurgency.
Chris Doyle, director, Council for Arab-British Understanding.
For Bush, Blair and their diminishing brotherhood of diehard supporters, Saddam's demise is their sole concrete victory in Iraq in almost four years. This should have been the crowning glory of their efforts, but instead it may pose yet another risk to their demoralized troops. For Iraqis, some will see it as a symbol of the death of the ancien regime. For some Sunnis, Saddam's death represents the final nail in the coffin of their fall from power. But Iraqis may also see this as the humiliation of Iraq as a whole, that their president, however odious, was toppled by outside powers, and is executed effectively at others' instigation.
RSS