The beginning of the beginning

Things aren't looking very good for the new Saladin, the great Butcher of Baghdad and presumptive leader of the pan-Arab world, at least on the surface. Unlike the hero in his farewell novel "Get Out, Damned One", his life has taken a somewhat different turn:

Abdel Amir said "Get Out, Damned One" describes an Arab leading an army that invades the land of the enemy and topples one of their monumental towers, an apparent reference to the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center in New York by Islamic militants of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

While the Shiites were preparing a special noose taken from the Abu Ghraib prison, Saddam's defense team wasted no time issuing a few proclamations from the boss. One seemed to direct Iraqis to forgive the invaders, but actually told Iraqis to unite and fight U.S. forces but not hold the 'peoples' of the invading countries at fault. Another came from his followers warning of severe consequences.

To most people this is a "what took them so long" moment, including many in Iraq. Others see a conspiracy, believing Bush is pressuring Maliki to finish off the Butcher before the Anfal gassing trial gets too far along, specifically before Saddam's lawyers can call Tariq Aziz to the stand:

"The Iraqi government wants to accelerate the execution process to avoid the testimony of Tariq Aziz," .

The inference is that Aziz might be holding cards related to the origin of Saddam's chemical weapons stockpiles, but why anyone would trust Tariq is beyond me.

Others believe the hanging of Saddam will provide much-needed closure for his victims and the country in general while sending a message to the meddlesome Saddamists to give up. I don't pretend to know for sure, but something tells me weird things are fixin' to happen in the region, if nothing else based on this:

The Baathists also issued a warning to Iran, which is regarded as a key supporter of Iraq's Shiite-led government.

The Baathists believe that the government and Iran are behind sectarian killings of Sunni Arabs.

The Baathists are asking Iran's "real leader" -- a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- "to be rational and study this matter and not to spill more Iraqi blood, because our retaliation will be in the heart of Iran and impact its leadership."

Exactly which side does that put them on?