A sign of comprimise?

So Saddam has, predictably, been sentenced to death by hanging. It was never going to be any other result.

The British reaction to the decision was, however, extremely odd.

Margaret Beckett, foreign secretary, said:

"I welcome that Saddam Hussein and the other defendants have faced justice and have been held to account for their crimes.
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.
Today's verdicts and sentences by the Iraqi Higher Tribunal comes at the end of a trial during which evidence has been offered and challenged in the full glare of media scrutiny."

All very pleasent and proper, I am sure you agree. Except that when you think about it, and when you look at other countries responses, you realise that the statement is flawed. Britain does not have, or support, the death sentence. It seems hypocritical and strange, therefore, that we suddenly seem to be its number one fans.

Perhaps it is to show support for the Iraqi judicial system that is already under such intense international scrutiny? Well, maybe, but others managed to combine support with a re-iteration of their opposition to the death penalty.

For example, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero agreed that Saddam had to account for his actions, but said "Obviously it is a penalty which is not provided for in any legal system in the EU or, of course, in our country."

Likewise, the Irish foreign affairs ministry said "The minister welcomes the end of this long legal process" but qualified it with "Ireland is also opposed to it [the death penalty] being applied as a penalty in this case. "

But no word from Margaret. She is pleased they have faced Iraqi justice, apparently regardless of the fact that Iraqi justice goes against the principles we believe in. Is this symptomatic of a growing trend of comprimising our own principles to accomodate our failure to change Iraq into a mirror of our own society? We shall have to wait and see...