- Now that the Evil Prince of Iraqi Darkness has been captured
by valiant US military forces, the Middle East is free to democratize and
the world at large is a much safer place. As Bush put it, Hussein's capture
means "sovereignty" for Iraq, "dignity for ... every Iraqi
citizen, the opportunity for a better life. All Iraqis can now come together
and reject violence."
-
- Any problems with this rosy assessment? Maybe my bullshit
detectors go into overdrive every time the Bush administration announces
a success, but this latest scenario just doesn't stack up.
-
- For one, how do we know that the dusty old guy dragged
out of the ground really is Saddam? Hussein was known to have had multiple
"doubles," exact lookalikes who, for security reasons, took his
place in meeting foreign dignitaries and in mingling with the public. Could
the famous prisoner just be a double? A stooge set up to take the heat
while Hussein lives lavishly-ever-after in some other country?
-
- DNA tests will apparently be conducted on the prisoner
to prove he's Hussein, but it's unclear where the necessary comparative
DNA samples will be obtained or how independent the verification process
will be.
-
- One could argue, of course, that the Bush administration
would look pretty dumb later on if an impostor testified in court, so the
prisoner must be Saddam. But face it: if Hussein ever does go on trial,
how public will it be? Imagine the testimony:
-
- "Well Your Honor, during the 80's I got all kinds
of battlefield intelligence and weaponry from my buddies in the White House.
Reagan and Poppy Bush gave me billions of dollars in credits for US agricultural
products, so I could buy more weapons on the side, and a whole slew of
stateside corporations sold me biological and other weaponry. Gassing Kurds,
crushing Shiite uprisings ... no problem for my American friends! Wanna
see a picture of me and Donald Rumsfeld?"
-
- Won't happen. We will not be hearing detailed depositions
from Hussein, any more than we'll be seeing open trials for Guantanamo
inmates.
-
- But suspend doubt for a moment and assume the prisoner
really is Hussein. Imagine he didn't escape with untold wealth to a mansion
in Moscow, a villa in Naples, wherever, and really did end up moving from
hovel to underground hovel in bombed-out Iraq. Then who revealed his location
and what were the true circumstances of his capture?
-
- The official version (brought to us by the same folks
who presented Jessica Lynch as a Barbie action figure) is that superior
US intelligence led Operation "Red Dawn" forces to their dusty
prey. Little mention is made of the $25 million bounty on Hussein's head
(namely if it was forked over, as was the $30 million for information on
his two sons), but the fact that information was reportedly obtained "under
duress" to discover his whereabouts would indicate harsh interrogation,
if not torture, was used to find him. The L.A. Times reported a US official
saying, "Some people were impossible to find, but we'd find their
relatives. One interrogation led to another raid, which led to another
interrogation."
-
- And then there's the matter of Hussein's spaced out,
arguably drugged, appearance upon capture. Conspiracy theory has it he
was actually being held prisoner, and the White House was just waiting
for the most politically expedient time to "find" him. None other
than Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently told a Fox news
analyst she suspects Bush knows where Osama Bin Laden is too.
-
- Bribery, mass raids/interrogations, political kidnappings?
Who knows the truth behind this sordid affair, but it appears "sovereignty"
and "dignity" for Iraqis were not the operating principles in
capturing Hussein.
-
- Bottom line: Prisoner Saddam is nothing more than a distraction,
a prop used to bolster sagging White House ratings, much like the plastic
turkey Bush offered troops in photo-ops last Thanksgiving. Hussein will
be dangled every now and then (just in time for Christmas, next year's
elections, Halliburton's latest accusation of corruption ...) and then
locked away in a dungeon for life, or maybe even bumped off, "Jack
Ruby" style.
-
- Because surely the White House won't need him for long.
The US will soon invade other countries far more evil, depose their dastardly
leaders, and win more hearts, minds, respect and security in the process.
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- Heather Wokusch is a free-lance writer. She can be contacted
via her web site: www.heatherwokusch.com
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