The Execution Video

Richard Woodward has a thoughtful piece, at OpinionJournal, about the video of Saddam Hussein's execution.  Here is a bit:

[I]n everything from the partisan chants of Shiite bystanders to the grainy, low-lighted jumpiness of the footage and the horror-movie ski masks of the executioners, the video images of the execution contradict the fragile message that a secure and democratic government is in charge, rendering justice to someone who deserves to die.

The intention of the U.S. in putting Saddam in the dock for crimes against humanity was to demonstrate the rule of law, a process he never followed while in power. . . .

In less than three minutes, the video undid that deliberate process. Saddam will now be frozen in time looking like a tested leader--angry but resigned to his fate--while the Iraqi government is seen hurrying to complete its nasty business before the new year.

With respect to the question of executing Hussein:  Although I try to oppose capital punishment, I agree with many of the points Steve Bainbridge made recently in this post.  Still, Woodward seems to be onto something:  The morality of an execution, it seems to me, is not unrelated to the plausibility of the claim that this particular government action is capable of meaningfully serving as an instrument or vehicle for justified retribution.  Having read about -- and also watched -- the video of Hussein's execution, I'm not sure this claim is all that plausible in this case.