(from Living Room)

Last night well after midnight watched the statue of Saddam topple and I had mixed emotions. I have to run to present a paper I've just written but let me share some of them very briefly with you.

- I was really excited that someone who had done so much harm was gone from power. I felt satisfaction as I saw that statue hit the ground.

- I worried that perhaps this wasn't the end of Saddam and that the celebrations were perhaps a bit premature.

- I felt great happiness to see the joy of those celebrating on the streets of Baghdad.

- I felt amazed at the power and speed of the progress of the ¡®allies¡¯ campaign

- I felt distressed about the 1000 or so Iraqi citizens that have been killed so far in the fighting that brought the regime to topple.

- I felt distressed about the deaths of the soldiers on both sides of this conflict.

- I felt angry that humanity seems to breed characters like Hussein who are often unjust in the way they rule and cause real suffering to so many others.

- I wondered where the Weapons of Mass Destruction that this conflict seemed to be about are? I worried that if they exist they still might be used.

- I felt disillusioned with the worlds leadership that they could not find a peaceful solution to dealing with this complicated situation.

- I felt concerned that the dispute has left our world with major splits - not only between some middle eastern countries and the 'coalition' but also Europe after the France v US fiasco.

- I felt worried about the splits within my country, about how we will resolve our feelings about this war. I worry about the impact of seeing war 24 hours a day on our children.

- I felt desperately worried that whilst many Iraqis celebrated - that this conflict may have actually caused many others to react even more strongly against the West. Has this war inflamed the situation and been a recruiting poster for terrorist action against the US and its allies?

- I felt angry at the waste of money that has been poured into this conflict. Hundreds of billions of dollars blown up in just a few weeks.

- I felt concerned for the Iraqi people who still await aid and relief. For those who have not had fresh water in weeks, for those who are beginning to suffer treatable diseases as they wait.

- I worried about the damage that this conflict has done to relationships between people of different faith communities here in Australia. I felt sad about the reports I've had from Muslim friends who have been verbally abused on the streets of Melbourne from being Saddam's cohorts.

- I worried about 'where to from here?' Who will lead this country? What will their agenda be? How will the different racial groups that live in Iraq move forward? Will this 'peace' last?

- I prayed, I smiled, I shed a tear and I went to bed and lay next to my wife and wondered about where humanity was headed.