Dear Mr. Bush: I have unsuccessfully written you hundreds of times begging for mercy for those human beings you deemed worthy only of execution. Saddam Hussein is however different in many ways and those differences demand that you consider him as a very special case. Invading his sovereign nation, deposing him, catching him, incarcerating him with international photo exposure of his forced physical examination, torturing him with various interrogation techniques, and now exposing him to summary execution, cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment are heavy burdens for you to personally bear now and beyond the grave. I recommend that you do not "turn him over to Iraqi authorities." Do not play semantic games with this man. You do not have the right to judge him nor to participate in carrying out the sentence imposed on him by our stooges. Free him. If you must, get the whole thing about execution into true perspective. Saddam Husein challenged you early on to a personal duel. If you were truly a man of principle and innate courage as you apparently think you are, you would have accepted his challenge and avoided immersing us all into this horrible war. You are certainly worth no more than he. So give him his confiscated pistol back. Take your rattlesnake hunting pistol. Meet him (with your seconds) on a golfing green in Madeira or in the Halliburton Hideaway island of Vanuatu. With full sealed compact/ Well ratified by law and heraldry,/ [either of you] forfeit, with his life, /[All that you stand seized of, to the conqueror], give to each of you an equal chance on neutral ground. Duels have an imposing body of literature. To execute Saddam in a conventional way, such as was done to Amon Goethe in _Schindler's List_, will precipitate a crystal never to be dissolved by any solution. Free Saddam or duel to the death with him, "exposing what is mortal and unsure/ To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,/ Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great/ Is not to stir without great argument,/ But greatly fo find quarrel in a straw/ When honor's at the stake." Pause before sending any more into that silent darkness. Very truly yours, Drs. John & Karen Dwyer Pax Christi Naples P.S. Addendum: The Washington Post announces the death of Saddam Hussein. Many blogs in the 10 pages of them afterward utter various viewpoints toward the matter. Here is mine: In a comment above, Rankon's phrase, DEFIANT COURAGE, sums up an attribute in Mr. Hussein’s character that is quite admirable. His behavior during the U.S. incarceration and the courtroom spectacle was surprisingly dignified and, one imagines, quite different from what might be expected from his nemesis, Mr. Bush, in similar circumstances. I, one American citizen among 300 million, proclaim that I admire Mr. Hussein’s unflinching faith and his head-held-high self-possession. Have mercy on him, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out his offense. Wash him more and more from his guilt And cleanse him from his sin. Saddam Hussein’s soul has fled our world and takes his place in the pantheon of steadfast ones. I grieve that our nation applauds the barbarism we have inflicted upon him.