BILL ARDOLINO IS BLOGGING FROM BAGHDAD in the wake of Saddam’s execution.

And interestingly, David Kaspar reports that a majority of German, French, and Spanish citizens favor Saddam’s execution. He also notes that European media seem to have missed this. And here’s a roundup from Josh Trevino.

UPDATE: Nidra Poller looks at how it’s playing in the French media. “No one dared to pretend that Libya, Saudia Arabia, and Hamastan are against capital punishment, but their indignation was not any the less righteous for it. . . . All the torture stories had been used up…for Pinochet.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Some historical perspective: “Most of the great butchers of the 20th century died of old age, in their own beds, some of them honored by millions. Not a single one met justice in the sense accepted in free states across the world. The handful who died otherwise are aberrations, victims of strange events that act as models for nothing. There is one single exception – the hanging of Saddam Hussein on December 30, 2006 after a careful, lengthy trial carried out under extremely difficult circumstances according to internationally recognized judicial norms. The state of Iraq has succeeded where the rest of the civilized world has failed. It is a singular achievement, and it will stand.”

MORE: Some rather muted “outrage” in Mecca.