You know, you’d think the leftward fringes in this country would be ecstatic about the Iraqi government. Turn outs the current President (soon to be ex-President it would seem) is against the death penalty:

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in remarks that he would not sign a death sentence against his ousted predecessor Saddam Hussein even if it costs him his job.

“Once his (Saddam’s) interrogation is over, he will go before a tribunal,” Talabani told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel in an interview.

Should a death sentence be issued against the former dictator, “I will not sign it,” he said.

“I am a man of principles. I cannot forego my principles for the sake of my post. If there is a clash between the post and the principles, I will give up the post and keep the principles,” Talabani said in a snippet aired in advance of the full interview broadcast.

Well, that will make it tough for re-election in Iraq