The Facts Machine

"And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide"

Sunday, December 14, 2003

SADDAM CAPTURED

Some quick thoughts on this:

--First of all, this is good news. Saddam is a shit and I'm glad that the chances of him returning to power in Iraq have just gone from slim to none. But...

(NOTE: I love America. Keep that in mind when reading any of the upcoming observations.)

--After all that, why was his capture so easy? According to Bremer in the press conference last night, it was done "without a single shot fired". That seems very strange to me. If Saddam is behind any of the actions of the insurgency, would he allow himself to be captured so easily? Unless this was a deliberate tactic on Saddam's part, I get the feeling that he had nothing to do with the insurgency.

--That's quite a beard he's got going, by the way.

--What about those Iraqi WMD we heard so much about earlier this year? Surely our new captive might give us some answers. Of course, he might also tell us about some receipts with "Warmest regards, George H. W. Bush" written on them. Thus, something tells me that our government will be very unlikely to let him end up in some sort of public trial.

--Early indications are that he will eventually be turned over to Iraqi custody and put on trial for 30 years of crimes against humanity. And he should be put on trial for those things. But given the brutal dictatoriships supported by both Bush (Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia) and his dad (Chile, Iraq!), we aren't in much of a position to claim any form of moral high ground out of this. Let the Iraqis handle it.

--The media sure is quoting Chalabi a lot. Sure, he was the INC leader and such. But will he use his stance on this situation ("put him on trial!") as a springboard to gain an eventual leadership role in the country? Will the southern Shi'ites lay down for him?

--SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS NEVER A THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Just thought I'd throw that one out there.

--Because he wasn't behind the insurgency, it will likely be a continuing problem for the US occupational forces. The good thing, though, is that because the possibility of Saddam's return to power has been removed, perhaps more Iraqis will be willing to assist the US in tracking down the guerrillas. It's unclear what will happen in the near future.

More to come, I'm sure

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