Good golly, the US forces have captured Saddam Hussein! Incredible!
When's the last time something like this ever happened? When the leader of a sovereign nation was captured, rather than killed, during war? Has it ever happened in modern times - that is, in a conflict of this scale?
If, in fact, the recent uprisings, suicide bombings, and other attacks against US troops were due to Saddam directly orchestrating them or indirectly because of individuals loyal to him and his regime, then this could set that resistance back, if not eliminate it nearly altogether.
This is quite a feather in Bush's cap. The economy is rebounding, domestic jobs are growing, the war is over, Saddam Hussein has been captured. How will the Democratic party respond to this, I wonder? Will they continue to criticize Bush for the war after this, or will the tone of that topic begin to shift? How will the more vocal critics within the Democratic party, like Dean, respond to this? Among the responses I've read by Democratic Presidential hopefuls, Lieberman's is the only one that unambiguously celebrates in Saddam's capture.
"Praise the Lord. ... This is a day of glory for the American military, American intelligence, and it's a day of triumph and joy for anybody in the world who cares about freedom and human rights and peace." - Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.
Compare that sentiment with this:
In Yemen, Mohammed Abdel Qader Mohammadi, 50, said he was surprised Saddam didn't fight his capture. "I expected him to resist or commit suicide before falling into American hands. He disappointed a lot of us, he's a coward."Posted by scott at December 14, 2003 10:28 AM | TrackBack
I think the last time would probably have been Manuel Noriega--didn't we get him, or did we kill him? Or probably the most significant similar incident in recent memory is the capture and subsequent execution of Nikolai Ceaucescu. I don't think that he lived long after he was captured though.
Posted by: Matthew at December 14, 2003 12:01 PMNoriega is still imprisoned. In Miami, I think.
Posted by: Jim at December 14, 2003 03:38 PMSlobodan Milosevic was just arrested/captured two summers ago. His Kangaroo Trial at the Hague is still going on as we speak, I'm pretty sure.
Posted by: Xon at December 15, 2003 01:58 AMHow come Mohammed Abdel Qader Mohammadi wasn't surprised or disappointed that SH had murdered maybe 300,000 to 400,000 of his (SH's) own Iraqui Arab citizens?
Gee, why do Arab Muslim fundemetalists lack credibility in teh US outside of Berkely and Cambridge?
Posted by: bob at December 15, 2003 11:17 AM