|
|
| Author |
Message |
lk
|
|
Saddam Hussein Captured
| 
Dec 14 10:24 UTC 2003 |
ABC and BBC are now reporting that Iran is reporting that Saddam Hussein
has been captured. (Nothing yet on CNN)
From Ha'aretz:
11:57 Iraqi Kurdish ruler: Saddam Hussein captured in Tikrit
12:04 Al-Arabiya television reports widespread celebrations in north
Iraq city of Kirkuk, after report of Saddam`s capture
12:12 After reports of SADDAM'S CAPTURE, U.S. administration in Iraq will
convene press conference on `important matter`
|
| 140 responses total. |
scott
|
|
response 1 of 140:
|
Dec 14 13:37 UTC 2003 |
It's been officially announced now.
I wonder if/how this will affect the guerilla resistance?
|
bru
|
|
response 2 of 140:
|
Dec 14 14:03 UTC 2003 |
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we got him!"
My guess is the loyalists will become disheartened, but the terrorists will
be unaffected. We may see an upsurge in attackes in the short term, and
possible suicede attacks to kill him and make him a martyr, but it will break
the back of resistance in the long run.
|
jmsaul
|
|
response 3 of 140:
|
Dec 14 15:08 UTC 2003 |
"We?"
|
twenex
|
|
response 4 of 140:
|
Dec 14 15:21 UTC 2003 |
I disagree that it will "break the back of resistance". EWe've seen no
evidence of links between saddaam and al-Qaida or other terrorist
groups beyond his own loyalists ( a small number), other than that
which has been presented to the weorld by the Bush and Blair regime,
but never indpendently verified; It isw also the case that the
terrorist activity no wtakijng place has bveen against co-alition
forces, and that the oportunity for them to fight has come because of
the lack of securiry in Iraq and the presence of Western (presumably
particularly because of hte presence of American) troops.
|
jp2
|
|
response 5 of 140:
|
Dec 14 16:01 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
|
gull
|
|
response 6 of 140:
|
Dec 14 16:20 UTC 2003 |
It's true 'cause jp2 sez so. ;>
I think this will greatly reduce the reluctance of people on the street
to support the Americans. There was always fear that Saddam would come
back.
Now, can we find Osama Bin Forgotten?
|
happyboy
|
|
response 7 of 140:
|
Dec 14 18:37 UTC 2003 |
as i keep saying "big deal."
WHERE ARE THE GUYS THAT HELPED THOSE SAUDIS BLOW UP THE WTC?
|
gull
|
|
response 8 of 140:
|
Dec 14 19:20 UTC 2003 |
In my more cynical moments I think we went after Saddam because getting
a bad guy that would be relatively easy to capture would make people
forget about the fact that we've never found Osama.
|
twenex
|
|
response 9 of 140:
|
Dec 14 19:20 UTC 2003 |
s/Saudis/Renegade Saudis/
|
twenex
|
|
response 10 of 140:
|
Dec 14 19:21 UTC 2003 |
Re: 8: Yeah, and now they've captured him people are already asking,
"What about Osama Bin Laden"? I wonder how long they can get away with
not answering that one.
|
jmsaul
|
|
response 11 of 140:
|
Dec 14 19:27 UTC 2003 |
Re #5: Like they needed money from Saddam, when they had all that Saudi
cash.
Re #9: The Saudi government systematically promoted Wahhabism, and funded
even the radical clerics. They're partially responsible.
|
scott
|
|
response 12 of 140:
|
Dec 14 20:22 UTC 2003 |
(That's one hell of beard to grow in less than a year...)
|
tpryan
|
|
response 13 of 140:
|
Dec 14 21:18 UTC 2003 |
What I said in last new item.
|
lk
|
|
response 14 of 140:
|
Dec 14 21:44 UTC 2003 |
Saddam was much easier to capture because he was hiding in an urban
area (rather than a mountain wilderness) and because (according to
some reports) someone squealed.
While I'm sure that some of the guerrilla and terrorist attacks in
Iraq were by "me too" copy-cats, I think their focus was by Saddam
loyalists hoping to make the US quit and restore their leader.
That now cannot happen. So their will be some more spoiler attacks,
but I suspect they'll peter out.
On the other hand, the new danger is that groups within Iraq will
attempt to move in and gain greater power for themselves. In this
sense it's good that Saddam was loose for this time because it gave
a chance for the ruling coalition to gel. But will it now hold?
I sure hope so.
|
jp2
|
|
response 15 of 140:
|
Dec 14 22:21 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
|
eprom
|
|
response 16 of 140:
|
Dec 14 22:48 UTC 2003 |
hmmm....
from the video footage on the major networks, I could have swore I saw
the iraqi's waving red flags with a yellow hammer and sickle logo.
|
jmsaul
|
|
response 17 of 140:
|
Dec 15 01:04 UTC 2003 |
Re #15: Various Saudis, including their government, have been pouring money
into Wahhabi outreach programs and related Islamic charities for
decades. I'm sure a lot of that money wound up with Al Qaeda.
Re #16: We can only hope. At least Communism is secular, and intolerant
of religious radicals.
|
richard
|
|
response 18 of 140:
|
Dec 15 01:40 UTC 2003 |
Saddam's trial is going to make O.J Simpson's trial seem like it got little
coverage in comparison. I hope they put it off until after next year's
electon, so it doesn't get politicized. Saddam will need OJ's Dream Team of
JOhnny Cochran, F. Lee Bailey and Robert Shapiro, plus Alan Derschwitz and
the guy defending Michael Jackson and every other great defense lawyer to
avoid execution
|
other
|
|
response 19 of 140:
|
Dec 15 02:49 UTC 2003 |
Saddam will be executed, and no great lawyers will be able to do
anything about it, even if they do turn out to be qualified to
represent clients under the system that will try him.
You sound like you're rather gleefully anticipating the spectacle.
Personally, I'm dreading the gargantuan effort it will take to avoid
being sickened by it.
|
jp2
|
|
response 20 of 140:
|
Dec 15 03:01 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
|
jep
|
|
response 21 of 140:
|
Dec 15 03:06 UTC 2003 |
I'm glad Saddam has been captured. I was glad when he was removed
from power and still think it was a good thing.
I am still upset that I was misled into supporting the war in part by
false guarantees of finding nuclear weapons. Capture Saddam, bin
Laden, and 50 other huge terrorist figures, and that one still isn't
going away. The phrase, "Oops! We invaded another country, it was a
mistake" doesn't work well for me.
|
russ
|
|
response 22 of 140:
|
Dec 15 04:27 UTC 2003 |
Re #4: Terrorists require nothing, true.
However, consider the environment. The Saddam Fedayeen no
longer have any authority figure behind them. Neither do
the other Ba'athists trying to get rid of the coalition
forces; their prospects of regaining their old perquesites
under a restored Saddam regime just went from slim to zero.
And the anti-Ba'ath forces are energized. This is going
to make it much harder for the foreign jihadis to operate,
as they are much more likely to be reported than before
(perhaps even by Ba'athists trying to curry favor).
This is not a good day to be a jihadi in Iraq. Thank goodness.
Interestingly enough, the conspiracy theory that Saddam was
already in American custody just waiting to be trotted out when
Bush needed a PR boost has just taken a serious hit; the problems
with Kellogg, Brown and Root overcharging the DoD might have been
sufficiently dire in some people's eyes, but are not convincing.
|
jmsaul
|
|
response 23 of 140:
|
Dec 15 04:41 UTC 2003 |
Re #20: If Hussein donated to them, he's one of many. Most of whom are our
allies. That's messed up, that is.
Re #21: Meanwhile, the Saudis had more to do with 9/11 than Iraq, and we
didn't invade them. Iran actually *has* a nuclear weapons program,
and we didn't invade them. Hmm...
Re #22: I've never heard anyone advance the theory that they've had Saddam
on ice all this time. I've heard a theory that they've been holding
back evidence on WMDs for the election, but if they had Saddam
they would have let us know pretty quick.
|
richard
|
|
response 24 of 140:
|
Dec 15 04:57 UTC 2003 |
The question now becomes, "Did the ends justify the means?" Yes, we captured
Saddam but at what cost, how many billions of dollars and how many american
lives to get this moment. Was the price too high? You know that we almos
certainly just didn't stumble upon that hole he was hiding in. There was a
$25 million bounty we had on Saddam's head. One of Saddam's ex-friends may
soon have a nice fat swiss bank account
|