A guy who has a different wardrobe every day of the week ends up living in a hole with rodents.
How the mighty have fallen.
But seriously folks, Saddam's capture is indeed big news. He should be put on trial for crimes against humanity committed both in Iraq and in other nations. Juan Cole gives a great summary of the atrocities committed by Hussein. He also points out that we should be careful what we ask for. Iraqis may become emboldened to do things we don't want, like demand a Shiite government. We did say we wanted them to have the government of their choosing. Now we will find out if Bush and company mean what they say.
Remember, when Hussein was committing some of those evil acts he was the friend of the United States. During the Reagan/Bush administration Saddam Hussein was using chemical weapons against Iran. He wasn't planning to use them, thinking about using them, or developing a plan to use them. He used them. He killed thousands of people with the blessings of the then U.S. envoy, Donald Rumsfeld. This photo is for those with selective amnesia.
Will Rumsfeld be a co-defendant when Hussein is tried? Ironically, the 20th anniversary of Rummy's visit with Saddam is approaching. On December 19th and 20th of 1983 Rumsfeld made it clear that an enemy of Iran was a friend of the U.S. Several months later Hussein used chemical weapons against Iranians.
By the way, when Hussein gassed the Kurds in 1988, he did so by using helicopters purchased from the U.S. The Senate passed legislation to prevent further arms sales to Iraq. The Reagan White House killed the measure.
So much bad karma, so little time.
