Comments about the execution of Saddam Hussein:
"Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him, and there will be no review or delay in carrying out the sentence." —Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, before the execution
(Saddam's execution was) "the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime." — President Bush
"This is something that shows the world that justice can be served and that terrorist activities won't be tolerated. (For U.S. troops in Iraq,) I think this is going to be a big morale booster. ... This is one more step toward bringing the troops home." — Marine Sgt. Derryl Spencer, Salt Lake City
"I think he deserves punishment and sharp and unequivocal punishment.... But I would say of him what I have to say about anyone who has committed even the most appalling crimes in this country, that I believe the death penalty effectively says there is no room for change and repentance." — Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury
(Saddam's execution punishes) "a crime with another crime.... The death penalty is not a natural death. And no one can give death, not even the state." — Cardinal Renato Martino, Vatican
"Saddam is paying the price for murdering tens of thousands of Iraqis. This is an unprecedented feeling of happiness.... Nothing matches it, no festival or marriage or birth." — Abu Sinan, a resident of Sadr City, Baghdad's Shiite slum
"This is an unfair verdict, and if Saddam is executed or not ... he will remain a symbol and no one can delete it, neither the Iraqi government nor the Americans." — Muhssin Ali Mohammed of Tikrit, Saddam's hometown
"Iraqis have so much on their minds, all the deaths that are taking place. The Iraqis are not blaming Saddam now, they're blaming the occupation and the Iraqi government." — Benan Zahawi, a Utahn from Iraq
"We are against the death penalty. However, what I think is important about this is to recognize that this trial of Saddam has been handled by the Iraqis themselves.... It does give us a very clear reminder of the total and barbaric brutality of that regime." — British Prime Minister Tony Blair
"Saddam's heinous crimes against humanity can never be diminished, but he was our ally while he was doing it.... Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth will make us blind and disfigured." — The Rev. Jesse Jackson
"Putting into action such an inhumane sentence casts aside the aspirations of the Iraqi people for the transformation of their country." — Ravil Gainutdin, Russian Council of Muftis