Had hoped

0One protester carried a banner that read: "The martyrdom of the father of two martyrs inspires the resistance to victory," a reference to Saddam Hussein and his two sons, Uday and Qusay, who were gunned down in a battle with US troops in 2003. 02br
00The BBC's Peter Greste in Baghdad says Prime Minister Nouri Maliki had hoped Saddam Hussein's execution would encourage some of his Sunni supporters to give up their weapons and join the political process now dominated by the majority Shias, but instead it seems to have widened the cracks. 02br
00The former president, 69, was hanged early on Saturday morning after being sentenced to death over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. 02br
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00Prime Minister Maliki had hoped Saddam Hussein's execution would encourage some of his Sunni supporters to give up their weapons and join the political process now domianted by the majority Shias, but instead it seems to have widened the cracks.02br
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00In the above, the words had hoped means past perfect. 02br
01b00The following is my understanding about using the past perfect tense here.02b02br
00Before the execution, the Prime Minister Maliki thought, after the execution the Sunni supporters would give up their weapons. He knew that the execution would take place very soon. He thought the Sunni supporters would give up the weapons after the execution.02br
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01font001. The execution took place on 30th of December 2006.02br
002. Probably, he conceived this idea a week or two before the date of execution.02br
00Is my understanding correct?02br
00If so, is it necessary to write the past perfect tense?02font0-