Not surprisingly, the Iraqi court handed out a death sentence earlier today. This trial has dragged on for far too long and as such it continues to cast a dark shadow over Iraq's ability to heal itself and move on. The appeals phase however may take a few months.

Reactions of course differ depending upon where you look, the US government being content while in Europe the reactions were of a more qualified nature:

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the former Iraqi dictator should be held accountable for his actions, but added that Spain remains firmly opposed the death penalty. The death penalty is illegal across the entire 25-member European Union.

"Justice has been served for what he did," Balkenende told national public television, adding that the Netherlands also is opposed to the death penalty.

And in France, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy responded as follows:

“France notes the sentence made by the Iraqi court at the end of the Saddam Hussein trial. This decision belongs to the Iraqi people,” Mr Douste-Blazy said.

He said that France was, on principle, opposed to the death penalty everywhere and held “a constant position in favour of its universal abolition”. The minister said France and its EU partners would attempt to make this stance known to Iraqi authorities.

A unified position about Iraq remains elusive. A full reaction round-up can be found over at PJM, here.

UPDATE: Here is the formal EU position:

The European Union urged Iraq on Sunday not to carry out the death sentence passed on Iraq's former leader Saddam Hussein after his conviction for crimes against humanity.

"The EU opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances, and it should not be carried out in this case either," Finland, current holder of the rotating EU presidency, said in a statement.

No matter how abject you consider the death penalty to be, to ask Iraqis to not execute Saddam is to ask them to continue to forever live with a dark shadow looming over their society. Iraq's problems are manifold and the troubled nation can not afford a perpetual continuation of the Saddam chapter. It should be closed, soon.