Outrage has swelled across Iraq�s Sunni heartland as a video of Saddam�s Shia observers mocking him before his execution has been distributed. Witnesses in the audience can be heard chanting the name of Moqtada al-Sadr, commander of the Shia Mahdi Army and main support for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Sunnis are now interpreting the events at the execution to have been more about Shia retribution and less about justice.

A senior Iraqi official even claims that a US ambassador tried to persuade Maliki to withhold the execution for two more weeks, fearing the speedy execution would fuel such a backlash. Maliki is known to be in a tug-of-war at times between his militant Shia base and his US boss. Unfortunately for the Bush administration, Saddam�s death has not brought about the democracy the president has promised, but rather inflamed sectarian divisions further.

Sunni protesters in Samarra broke the locks off a Shia shrine and marched through with a mock coffin and photo of Saddam. Until Saddam�s execution, the Sunnis kept a fairly low profile. This protest signaled a widening expression of defiance among them. An increase in such protests could even result in a growing number of insurgents from the Sunni population.

Additionally, Sunnis are upset that Saddam was executed on the Muslim holy day of Eid. Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, the first judge who presided over Saddam�s case, said the former US-ally�s execution was illegal since it was at the start of Eid. He said the law states that “no verdict should be implemented during the official holidays or religious festivals.”

source