US President George W. Bush said Tuesday the execution of Saddam Hussein "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing." Bush criticized the circumstances of Saddam's hanging last month, as well as Monday's execution of two top aides, including Saddam's half brother.
"I was disappointed and felt like they fumbled, particularly the Saddam Hussein execution," the president said in an interview with PBS. Bush said he had voiced his displeasure about the way Saddam's execution was handled to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"It basically says to people, 'Look, you conducted a trial and gave Saddam justice that he didn't give to others. But then, when it came to execute him, it looked like it was kind of a revenge killing,'" the US leader said. "It makes it harder for me to make the case to the American people that this is a government that does want to unify the country and move forward," Bush said. "And it just goes to show that this is a government that has still got some maturation to do."
