Last Sunday (2006-11-05) an Iraqi court found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death by hanging. This verdict was no big surprise. Neither was the date it was delivered, just a few days before the American midterm elections. George W. Bush was of course quick to call it a "landmark event in the history of Iraq" and "a milestone in the Iraqi people’s efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law".  And yet, Iraq is worse off today than under the rule of the tyrant.

It reminds me of the Byzantine emperor Phocas (602-610) and since the pope has made it fashionable to quote Byzantine emperors, let me tell you his story.

Phocas became emperor by overthrowing his predecessor , Maurice, carried by a popular uprising. The new emperor felt rather insecure on the throne and instigated a regime of pure terror. First he executed Maurice and his sons, followed by virtually everyone who had been associated with the previous emperor. Most met their death by the ax or by strangulation with a bowstring or by slow torture. Meanwhile the empire fell to pieces. The Persian king raised a formidable army and invaded the empire. Phocas alienated en subsequently murdered his best generals. To make matters even worse he initiated a campaign for the persecution and forcible conversion of the Jews, most of whom lived in the eastern provinces i.e. the front line against the Persian invasion. The Jews reacted to the persecution by revolting and massacring Christians. Thousands of terrified non-partisan citizens, both Jews and Christians, fled the empire and sought refuge in Persian held territory.

In the light of the rapid disintegration of the empire plot followed plot. Phocas, by now paranoiacally instable, reacted with increasing cruelty. Jews and Christians throughout the empire fought each other viciously. It was no less than the gravest crisis the Byzantine empire had faced during its history. In these circumstances Heraclius, the exarch (military governor) of Carthage, far away from the capital Constantinople, took the initiative to raise, together with his brother Gregorius, a considerable army and a numerous fleet. They also cut off the grain supplies on which the capital depended. However, both were to old to campaign, so it befell to their respective sons to take the actual command. The fleet was commanded by Heraclius, who bore the same name as his father. In 609 Heraclius sailed for Thessalonica, where he received a rapturous welcome. For a year he stayed there, rallying all malcontents to his cause and augmenting his fleet. Finally, in the summer of 610, he deemed himself strong enough and set sail for Constantinople. No resistance was offered and the emperor Phocas was captured by the populace and brought to his ship.

When Phocas stood before him in chains, Heraclius asked contemptuously: "Is it thus that you have governed the empire?"

With a surprising burst of defiance, considering his situation, Phocas replied: "And will you govern it any better?"

It was a good question and one Saddam Hussein might ask of his successor(s). Are the Iraqi people any safer now or less so? The empire of Phocas was disintegrating and rife with religious factions who were at each other's throats. So is Iraq today. Under Saddam Hussein it was united, be it in an iron grip, and religious differences were kept at bay. Iraq was the closest thing to a modern, secular state in the Arab region. It had an elaborate, functioning infrastructure. Women could go to university. The American liberators have bombed all this to rubble and dust.

Of course, there is no defending tyrants like Saddam Hussein. But, on the other hand: with such liberators, who needs tyrants?