"Then, with his eyes wide open, no stutter or choke in his throat, he said his final words cursing the Americans and the Persians."

Marc Santora writes a vivid description of Saddam Hussein's last moments. I believe the full video of the hanging can be seen on the web now. I won't watch it. I have watched the video that goes up to the part where the noose is put around Saddam's neck. It is very disturbing, and one must admit that he accepts his fate with dignity.

ADDED: Allahpundit writes:

I don’t know whose bright idea it was to let three punks in leather jackets and balaclavas take care of business instead of the Iraqi army, but the more I watch it, the more it looks like a hit instead of a state execution. This doesn’t help either:

The room was quiet as everyone began to pray, including Mr. Hussein. “Prayers be upon Mohammed and his holy family.”

Two guards added, “Supporting his son Moktada, Moktada, Moktada.”

Mr. Hussein seemed a bit stunned, swinging his head in their direction.

They were talking about Moktada al-Sadr, the firebrand cleric whose militia is now committing some of the worst violence in the sectarian fighting; he is the son of a revered Shiite cleric, Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who many believe Mr. Hussein had murdered.

“Moktada?” he spat out, a mix between sarcasm and disbelief.

IN THE COMMENTS: Some readers don't think I focused enought hate on Saddam for what he did in his life. I say:

When I look at the video, I see a man who is facing death. I see death itself, and it distracts me from the details of what this man did before he arrived in that place.

Oligonicella responds:

Sorry, Ann, I think you need to learn to compartmentalize about death. Everyone dies; you, me, Saddam. It's what happens before that is important, not what happens at.

Why do you not notice your own failure to compartmentalize? What is happening in the picture is the state executing a man. In the past, that man did things, and I recognize the evil of it. In the video, I am witnessing the state's grim, methodical destruction of a human life.