If Saddam Hussein’s mood in the final moments of his life was to be summed up with one word only, the most fitting would surely be defiant.

Not a note of remorse, Saddam refused to wear a hood to cover his face, some of his last words were: “I started my life as a fighter and political militant, so death does not frighten me”.

Perhaps it is not surprising that a brutal dictator who spent his whole life torturing and killing others did not appear afraid. What was surprising for me was that this apparent calm acceptance and defiance by Saddam in the face of his death was happily broadcast worldwide. This was undoubtedly some of the most extraordinary television footage of all time. However, if there were ever concerns that this type of punishment would make a martyr out of this terrible man, the fact that Saddam’s final act of defiance, his refusal to have a hood cover his head, were blasted around the world on every TV channel and on the front cover of every newspaper reinforced these. Was this awful voyeurism really necessary or sensible?

This killing is bound to heighten short term violence, the very same day as Saddam’s hanging, more than 70 Iraqis died in car bombings. Yesterday, hundreds of the former dictator’s supporters took to the streets in protest.

At least the new Iraqi government can be credited for an effective, legitimate and swift trial, although not entirely exhaustive, this is the strongest sign of change in Iraq.

Unfortunately, the image of Saddam that will go down in history will be that execution footage, the former dictator dressed in his finest, exclaiming: “we’re going to heaven and our enemies will rot in hell”, defiant to the last as he refused to have his head covered. What was he given in his final moments? No less than a stage in front of a worldwide audience.

In my opinion this grave mistake gave Saddam the ultimate last request, an opportunity to launch himself as a martyr and hero in a facilitated appeal to his supporters worldwide.