Sound familiar?

The latest round of TWAT (The War Against Terror) has seen Europe, plagued by sectarian strife and a failure of power, take fatal vengence on former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

From the BBC

Romano Prodi said there was a “contradiction” in having a unified power network but no central authority.

Power failed first in Cologne, Germany, before shutting down across parts of France, Italy, Spain and Austria.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Croatia were also affected.

“My first impression is that there is a contradiction between having European networks but not having a central European authority. It is somewhat absurd,” Mr Prodi said.

Couldn’t have put it better myself. But what’s the usual reaction of a centralized authority when it finds itself powerless? Flail, that’s right. Execute something. So let’s check the rest of the net and see on whom their vengence has alighted:

Saddam Hussein.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s High Tribunal on Sunday found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to hang for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail. The visibly shaken former leader shouted “God is great!”

Saddam’s half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of the former Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to join Saddam on the gallows for the Dujail killings after an unsuccessful assassination attempt during a Saddam visit to the city 35 miles north of Baghdad.

The death sentences automatically go to a nine-judge appeals panel which has unlimited time to review the case. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days.