Reply #3: While I recognize

[H2O Man]

that Saddam was one of the most brutal sociopaths in recent history, I suspect that hanging him will have both immediate and long-term consequences that are not in the USA's favor. It may ignite the anti-American passions of a considerable segment of the population, even more than we suspect. Their country is already a powder keg, and all it takes is something that appears small to act as a fuse.

I am against the death penalty, and that may influence my opinion here. But I think keeping him alive, in a lonely cell block with others from his government, might be the best alternative.