Saddam's Reign of Terror

This weekend I watched a show on the National Geographic channel called Saddam's Reign of Terror, which will air again this coming Saturday at 9pm. This rather tame expose chronicled his rise to power, his escapades into war and especially his brutality through images, videos and the testimony of eyewitnesses and/or survivors.

I was riveted to the TV screen, in a rage-filled awe that the world's powers did nothing to stop him for decades. I was especially angry that we decided to leave him in power and not help the Shiite and Kurdish uprising after the first gulf war. Ooooh! I was mad. And now, after President Bush finally toppled his Baathist regime, he's more demonized than Saddam, the real demon. The world is so upside-down sometimes...most of the time.

However, there was nothing upside-down or out of place when Saddam's statue in Baghdad was toppled and the people cheered. I have to be honest. I got teary-eyed, having a much better idea why they were cheering after seeing what that monster did. Solomon's wisdom in Proverbs 11:10 became much more clear: "When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting."

Question: After watching what he and his cronies did, I was happy he got the death penalty for his crimes, that justice was done. I think justice is a good thing, a beautiful thing. Injustice, like the first OJ verdict, is bad and ugly, but justice is right. It's beautiful.

As a Christian, am I wrong for thinking like that? Also, in one sense, all human beings are wicked according to the Bible (cf. Rom 3:9-19), and in another sense, Saddam Hussein is wicked. Is there a difference and what is it?