Saddam's revenge. From the Sydney Morning Herald web diary:

When I saw the close ups of the tyrant I thought of his accessories, did you? Who will join him when he's tried for crimes against humanity? Which multinational companies and which western politicians? Reconciliation requires confession from all parties, after all, if all sides are to move forward to a democratic and free Iraq. You can bet the Iraqis haven't forgotten history. I wonder if Saddam's decision not to kill himself was about his final revenge--looking the West in the eye and saying "You too."

While the US mainstream press seems to be overlooking the fact that Saddam was on the CIA payroll when many of his atrocities were committed and WMDs acquired, Deakins University professor Scott Burchill, says, "It is hard to believe that either Washington or London would relish the prospect of an open trial. They would not want Saddam to adumbrate their support for him -- credit-by-credit, pathogen-by-pathogen, weapon-by-weapon -- during the 12 years before he became an official enemy by invading Kuwait in August 1990."