Differences of opinion about the war in Iraq and political affiliation were overlooked Sunday as ISU students and professors rallied behind the news of Saddam Hussein’s capture in Iraq.

“I was pretty shocked because I didn’t think we were ever going to find him,” said Anthony Hass, sophomore in pre-architecture. “I think people will see it was worth it, and that we weren’t over there for no reason.”

After hearing of Saddam Hussein’s capture in Iraq, students and professors predicted the future of the fallen leader and the country he once held on a short leash. The handling of Hussein’s trial and sentencing has many potential outcomes, which could either rally other nations behind the United States or further alienate them, they said.

Jacob Petersen-Perlman, sophomore in meteorology, said Hussein’s capture would prompt some conservatives to believe the United States can rebuild Iraq on its own. If the United States and the Iraqis don’t have an international front working to solve the country’s problems, “Iraq will be in a more chaotic state,” he said.

With Hussein in custody, the first step is to decide where he will be tried. Richard Mansbach, professor in political science, said President Bush will attempt to try him with an Iraqi court, in order to prove the sovereignty of Iraq and disprove American’s unilateralist agenda.

“They won’t take Saddam to Guantanamo Bay or try him in the United States because that would reinforce the idea that this is an American aggression against the Arab world,” he said. “They want to prove that Iraqis are judging their own [people] and starting a new day.”

Hussein’s trial will resemble those of past leaders who were charged with crimes against humanity, such as the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials following World War II. However, Mansbach said the nature of Hussein’s trial would be unprecedented.

In the past, citizens had no protection against their state. Only individual countries could try their own people and only states had legal standing under international law. The new precedent is that individuals are recognized by international law and have protection against the atrocities of their state.

“Although [Hussein’s trial] combines elements of Nuremberg, Tokyo and the Hague, there’s nothing exactly like this,” he said. “We’re living in a new world where globalization has transformed the way we do business. The law is being made up as we go along and new precedents are being set everyday.”

Steffen Schmidt, university professor in political science, said the nature of the trial wouldn’t be to determine Hussein’s guilt or innocence — since he has a public record of mass killings and the invasion of Kuwait — but determining the scope of his punishment. Schmidt said the faster Hussein is dead, the better it will be for Iraq.

“Iraqis will finally be relieved of Saddam with his burial,” Schmidt said. “Him being alive, there is still going to be worry because people will still see him as a risk. They need to try him quickly and shoot him.”

Mansbach disagreed, saying the Iraqi governing council would give Hussein justice, fearing terrorist retaliation. He doubted the governing council would execute Hussein, for fear of turning him into a martyr and spurring further terrorist attacks. Rather, they want to show him incarcerated and “publicize to Iraqis how helpless this man is.”

Once Hussein is tried, the next step will be consolidating post-Saddam Iraq. Schmidt said Hussein’s capture gives the coalition another boost, because Hussein has been hanging over Iraq as a heavy shadow.

Hussein’s capture will discourage, if not end, efforts by his loyalists against American forces in Iraq.

“There isn’t anyone left from the Baath party to take over Iraq. They have to make a decision if they want to continue without support or give up their efforts and try to blend in with the Iraqis,” he said. “With Saddam out, it gives a lot of people more of a sense that they can now go out there and rebuild the country.”

Another step is reaching out to European countries opposed to the Iraq war from the beginning. America will use Hussein’s capture as a sign they are winning the war and consolidating Iraq, Schmidt said.

“I think European countries are ready to cut a deal with the U.S.,” he said. “With him captured, this is proof they need to be a part of the game and become part of the solution to rebuilding Iraq. I think differences will be put aside.”

Although many students were joyful at Hussein’s capture, political paradigms weren’t necessarily shifted after the announcement.

“I still don’t support the war — even though he was a brutal dictator and the genocide needed to end — because we didn’t go about it the right way,” Petersen-Perlman said.