Saddam: Hang 'Im High, Then What?

"On the Disposal of Dictators", Victorino Matus, Hoover Institution Policy Review, Dec 05/Jan 06

A study of what happened to other war criminals after they were shot, hung or whatever.

"Should the Iraqi government cremate Saddam’s body, scattering his ashes to the four winds, his name never to be uttered again? Perhaps the tribunal could simply bury Saddam intact but in an unmarked grave, his precise whereabouts kept a state secret. Or his corpse could be returned to his family and given a proper burial, turning his plot into a shrine for thousands of sympathizers. Then again, he could be both hanged and decapitated, his torso tossed into a ditch while his head is stuck on a spike in public view for the next several years. When it comes to dealing with an ex-dictator’s body (or that of a war criminal), at some point in time, men have done all of the above and more. But which methods have successfully closed dark chapters in history and which ones have led to public embarrassment or worse?"

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(updated 24 Dec 05)