"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him": Saddam captured hiding in cellar
Well, Merry Christmas to George W. Bush...and let the war crimes trial begin!!! Or perhaps we could do what the Italians did with Benito Mussolini and simply hoist his body on a pole in the town square. It sure would be a hell of a lot easier, eh?
Yes, Saddam Hussein was a bad man who has much to answer and pay for. I can't help but wonder, though...will the American administrations who helped keep him in power over the years be held accountable? No? Ah, that probably would be a bit too much to expect, wouldn't it??
Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was captured in a farmhouse cellar by U.S. troops during a raid near Tikrit, U.S. officials said in a news conference in Baghdad today.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, said Sunday in his first, pithy comments to a Baghdad news conference. Cheers greeted the announcement.
"The tyrant is now a prisoner," he said, adding the capture was made in the town of Ad Dawr about nine miles south of Tikrit, Hussein's hometown.
Providing details of the capture, Lt. Col. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. general in Iraq, told the news conference that no shots were fired and no one was injured in the raid. It occurred about 8:30 p.m. Saturday local time (12:30 p.m. Washington time) and was conducted by 600 troops from the 4th Infantry Division and Special Operations units.
Sanchez showed a videotape of a bearded Hussein undergoing a medical check after being detained. The general said the former Iraqi leader was found hiding in a hole that was about six or eight feet deep and equipped with an air vent and fan.
Also found with Hussein were two AK-47 automatic weapons and a pistol as well as $750,000 in cash, Sanchez said. A white-and-orange taxi was parked nearby. Two other Iraqis were taken into custody at the same location, but U.S. authorities were still trying to determine their identities.
And here all this time I'd thought Dr. Evil was hanging out at his villa in Tikrit, directing the resistance and consuming large quantities of margaritas and young girls. Silly me. It would appear that he was just another tyrant on the run, hoping to hold out for as long as possible until he could defeat the Americans and resume power.
Well, so now American forces have cut off the head of the snake. It will be interesting to see what will happen to the overall security situation in Iraq. Will the random attacks on American troops fizzle out, the result of a leaderless rabble with no direction and no funding? Or will that leaderless rabble redouble their efforts out of sheer anger and vindictiveness?
While I am loath to pat George W. Bush on the back for anything, I also believe in giving credit where credit is due. Whether this particular success is because of or in spite of Bush's failed Iraq policy (and no, this success does NOT erase the fact that the overall policy has been a resounding failure), the American military in Iraq should be applauded for a job well done. This can only improve the prospects for bringing our men and women home.
I can see it now...the Bush re-election commercials that begin with him in a flight suit on a carrier deck and end with Saddam Hussein doing the perp walk. God, I can almost TASTE the testosterone, can't you??
