A co-worker of mine mentioned her feelings about the execution of Saddam Hussein, and I agree: It's weird that he's dead. By that I mean, it's hard to believe - difficult to fathom, I guess - that he's gone. The man who, for years, has been an icon of evil, is dead. Not coming back.
I realize that he was convicted of mass murder and sentenced to death. Within the past couple of days, the prospect of that death became increasingly imminent. First, it was that he would be executed within 30 days. Then, we heard that it would probably be before the end of the year. By Thursday night, the time frame had been narrowed to 36 hours. By Friday afternoon, we heard on good authority that the execution would happen sometime around 10:00 p.m. And, that's when it happened.
So, it's not like we didn't know, or we weren't prepared. By mid-afternoon, I had my lead story at 11 slugged "Saddam Execution." But, still, he's dead. Wow.
It will be interesting to see if the "Princess Diana Syndrome" sets in with Saddam. Diana's death happened suddenly and under controversial circumstances. It took a while for it to sink in that she was dead. I couldn't really figure out why until I read an article in, I believe, TV Guide. The article pointed out that it was difficult to accept Diana being dead because, for days, weeks, and months after her death, news programs constantly showed pictures of her when she was alive.
So, I wonder if the same will happen with Saddam. I'm guessing, probably not. In this case, reality will set in very quickly.