Saddam Verdict Tomorrow, Civil War to Follow

Sometime tomorrow Saddam will hear the verdict in his trial for crimes against humanity. The verdict is expected to be "guilty" and the sentence "death". The media is already warning us that civil war is sure to follow:

IRAQ is bracing itself for another surge of violence tomorrow, when Saddam Hussein is expected to be sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.

Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, told The Times that the central provinces of Baghdad, Diyala and Salahaddin would be placed under curfew. “There are more security measures under consideration,” he added.

Saddam, his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Taha Yassin Ramadan, his VicePresident, and Awad al-Bandhar, a judge, face possible death sentences for the execution of 148 Shia villagers from the town of Dujail after a failed 1982 assassination attempt on the then Iraqi leader. Four others face lighter sentences. Saddam is likely to win the right to appeal against any death sentence.

The trial, which started a year ago, aimed to heal Iraq’s wounds after Saddam and his Baath party’s 35-year regime. Instead, it has become a symbol of Iraq’s divisions, between the long-oppressed Shia majority, who now rule the country, and Saddam’s Sunnis. Clashes between them tomorrow could push Iraq over the edge.

Iraqi officials worry that Sunni insurgents will attack Shia communities when the high tribunal announces Saddam’s fate. “Once they see their dictator being sentenced, at that historic moment, I’m afraid they will escalate their attacks and mobilise,” said Bassam Ridha, an adviser to the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. Mr Ridha fears that Sunni insurgents will attack Dujail because of residents’ testimony against Saddam during his trial.

So what would the esteemed journalists have us do? Let Saddam go because there might be violence after the verdict? If you want to see violence after a guilty verdict, all you'll have to do is read the lefty nutroots blogs. They'll be going crazy.