"Long live the people! Long live the nation! Down with the occupiers! Down with the spies!" This doesn't exactly scream, "I just got sentenced to death," but those are the exclamations Saddam Hussein shouted after he received his court punishment — death by hanging.

After 24 years in power and almost three years after his capture, the Iraqi court has finally found Saddam guilty of crimes against humanity. His offenses include willful killing, torture, unlawful imprisonment and forced deportation of hundreds of people from Dujail to a desert camp in southern Iraq and "other inhumane acts."

While Saddam's sentence isn't surprising, it's an important step for the country to have self-sufficiently completed this trial. It's representative of one of the many ways a democracy supposedly functions. Still, we have to remember that Iraq is not the United States. Whether you agree with the death penalty or not, the Iraqi court has decided Saddam's fate, and we should not attempt to apply Western ideas to its court system.

Having said that, it also must be remembered that when considering the long-term stability of Iraq, the Saddam trial is merely one very tiny step toward reconciliation.

Where the country was a week ago is the same place it is today. With an all-out civil war between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni minority, the results of the trial mean very little in actual change for the country.

Iraq is quickly spiraling into complete chaos, and the United States is partially responsible. Our government needs to continuously examine our position in the country and develop strategies both to help Iraqis form a suitable, functioning government and a plan for U.S. soldiers to leave.

Documentation and narration also play a major role in Saddam's trial. Although Saddam was found guilty of certain crimes against humanity, he should also be held accountable for all of the atrocities he committed during his reign.

The fact that Saddam is sentenced to death does not erase the suffering of thousands of people as a result of his actions. Every single one of his crimes needs to be publicly and permanently recorded.

An automatic appeal of Saddam's death penalty will delay this case at least a little while longer, but despite the final results of this trial, there are still important battles to be fought in Iraq.