World Reaction to the Hussein Verdict

American and foreign leaders reacted today to the guilty verdict and death sentence handed out to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by a special Iraqi tribunal. Here is a sampling, according to wire service and television reports and officials' prepared statements:

· U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Hussein's conviction was a "hopeful reminder to all Iraqis that the rule of law can triumph over the rule of fear and that the peaceful pursuit of justice is preferable to the pursuit of vengeance."

"The United States government and the American people applaud those brave Iraqis, whether they be judges, prosecutors, or defense attorneys, who continue to work every day in the name of justice, democracy, and the rule of law for Iraq."

· Zalmay Khalilzad , the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, called the verdicts "an important milestone for Iraq . . . in the building of a free society based on the rule of law."

"A former dictator feared by millions, who killed his own citizens without mercy or justice, who waged wars against neighboring countries, has been brought to trial in his own country -- held accountable in a court of law with ordinary citizens bearing witness," he said. "Although the Iraqis may face difficult days in the coming weeks, closing the book on Saddam and his regime is an opportunity to unite and build a better future."

· Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, said the verdict was just but it "must not distract Americans from the more pressing issue: the need for a change in the direction of our country's policy toward Iraq, both the conduct of the war effort and our pathetic, corruption-stained attempt at reconstruction."

· Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said the verdict brought long deserved justice for Iraqis but added that Iraqis "have traded a dictator for chaos" since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. He urged President Bush "on this day of justice" for Iraqis to explain to Americans how he intends to change course so U.S. troops will have a strategy to complete the mission.

· House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said the former Iraqi leader "has come long way from torturing and killing his own people to hiding in a hole in the ground to experiencing the very rights he denied his fellow citizens."

· Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said the verdict "is a reminder of the stark difference between genocide and justice."

· Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said the verdict reflects that the Iraqis have established a functioning judiciary and a rule of law. But, he added, "Holding Saddam Hussein accountable for his crimes against the Iraqi people is a necessary and significant achievement, but I fear that the verdict will have no affect in quelling the violence in that country, and may very well inflame sectarian violence in some areas, particularly among Sunnis."

· "Saddam Hussein is a war criminal, and he's getting what he deserves," Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said. "But I don't think it has any impact on the safety of America."

· House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the verdict and sentence was a "victory for the Iraqi people." Whether it will help Republicans in Tuesday's elections, Boehner said, "It's too early to tell."

· Vitaya Wisethrat , a Muslim cleric in Thailand, where an Islamic insurgency is raging in the southern part of the country, said, "The hanging of Saddam Hussein will turn to hell for the Americans "The Saddam case is not a Muslim problem but the problem of America and its domestic politics. The Americans are about to vote in a midterm election, so maybe Bush will use this case to tell the voters that Saddam is dead and that the Americans are safe. But actually the American people will be in more danger with the death of Saddam."

· Cardinal Renato Martino , head of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace, said that carrying out the death sentence by hanging would be an unjustifiably vindictive action.

"For me, punishing a crime with another crime -- which is what killing for vindication is -- would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," he said. "Unfortunately, Iraq is one of the few countries that have not yet made the civilized choice of abolishing the death penalty."

· Louise Arbour , the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, urged Iraq to refrain from executing Hussein even if the sentence is upheld by the appeals court.

· "Appalling crimes were committed by Saddam Hussein's regime. It is right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice," British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said.

· The European Union urged Iraq not to carry out the death sentence. Although the statement by Finland, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, did not directly comment on the trial's outcome, it said: "The EU opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances, and it should not be carried out in this case either."

· "This is a political court, not a judicial court," said Iraq's former U.N. ambassador Mohammed Aldouri , who now lives in the United Arab Emirates. "Iraq is under occupation. The conflict of interest is clear and obvious. You put your enemy in jail and try him. What is the meaning of that? It is illegal under international law."

· Kuwaitis, who were invade and occupied by Hussein's military in 1990, praised the Iraqi court's verdict and sentence. "This is good news," said Kuwaiti political analyst and former oil minister Ali al-Baghli . "Saddam deserves to be hanged because of the atrocities he inflicted on his people for the past 35 years and on his neighbors also. He sent millions of people to their deaths."

· Iran, which also had been at war with Iraq, welcomed the verdict. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said: "Although Saddam and his allies carried out those crimes, it should not be forgotten that Saddam's Western supporters also paved the way for him to carry out those oppressive acts and crimes."

· Chandra Muzaffar , president of the Malaysian-based International Movement for a Just World, said Hussein's trial "violated many established norms of international jurisprudence," but "Saddam was undoubtedly a brutal dictator, and even though I wouldn't subscribe to the death penalty, he deserves to be punished severely for the enormity of his crimes."

· Palestinian leaders were sympathetic to Hussein. Fawzi Barhoum , a spokesman for Hamas, the governing Palestinian movement, said the verdict was politically motivated: "The trial · was a message to the entire Arab and Muslim world of the fate of those who do not obey the orders of the United States [and] who clearly support the Palestinian people."

· "Any trial conducted under occupation is illegitimate," Syrian Information Minister Muhsin Bilal said, when asked by reporters in Damascus about Syria's view of the verdict.