It has been broadcast on nearly every television news station, radio station and printed on the cover of my morning paper: Saddam Hussein Executed!

Saddam Hussein was one of the most vicious men in power. He was hanged in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah at 6:05 a.m. local time (10:05 ET).

An MSNBC article gives details of his hanging:

Saddam Hussein, among the world’s most brutal dictators, struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners. But as his final moments approached, he grew calm. Dressed in a black coat and trousers, he clutched a Quran as he was led to the gallows, and in one final moment of defiance, refused to have a hood pulled over his head.

While Iraqis and Shiites danced in the streets and shouted out cheers celebrating the dictator's death, the Sunnis in the town of Tikrit "lamented his death".

“The president, the leader Saddam Hussein is a martyr and God will put him along with other martyrs. Do not be sad nor complain because he has died the death of a holy warrior,” said Sheik Yahya al-Attawi, a cleric at Saddam Big Mosque.

His conviction was sealed by the testimony of Ahmad Hassan Mohammed Al Dujaili on December 5, 2005. He gave a moving account of the torture in Dujail in 1982. 148 Shiites were killed in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.

Obsidian Wings writes:

I have nothing to say about this. I can't possibly regret his death, but there's something ghoulish about the reporting today, which was like a death watch. Or maybe I just happened to tune into the news at all the wrong times.

I agree there is something morbid or ghoulish about the story and the celebration of one's death. Even though Saddam was a horrible, cruel man it's almost surreal to me to read about the public celebration of Saddam's death in Iraq.

However, for the pain and trauma he caused 148 Shiite families 24 years ago, they have every right to cheer. His hanging is only justice for the violence, hatred and attacks he brought forth to his victims.

Gateway Pundit writes:

A fitting end...
The Butcher of Baghdad dies in his own torture chamber.

While I am not sad that Saddam is dead, I can't help but wonder if he was given the easy way out. It seems as though his death was quick and painless. It pains me to admit he should have suffered a little longer, but I also wonder if many Americans feel the same way.

Bark Bark Woof Woof writes:

My stand on the death penalty has been stated previously and simply, but for those of you who don't remember, I am one of those who does not believe the state has a right to take the life of a citizen. Capital punishment is revenge, not justice. Executing Saddam Hussein will do nothing to erase the bloodshed by him or anyone else, and it will only provide propaganda to our enemies, proving that we are as barbaric as those we label as such, and it will provide political capital to those who will say that our soldiers died for a worthy cause -- a death for deaths.

True, the bloodshed and violence may not be avenged by the hanging of Saddam Hussein, but isn't it a step forward for the Iraqis? They have taken charge of the trial of Saddam as well as the execution of Saddam. Isn't this telling their country they can be trusted to run their own government? Isn't this setting an example for insurgents and future potential dictators?

President Bush stated:

“Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial — the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime,” in a written statement released by the White House after Saddam's execution.

“Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq,” Bush continued, “but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror.”

Contributing Editor Dana J. Tuszke also blogs at The Dana Files and Watch Blog.