Two peas in a pod

Good morning! Everybody feeling just a little bit safer this morning? Happy Christmas tidings.

All right, let's see where we stand....

[An] official said Hussein was "compliant in the sense he is responding, as opposed to being obstinate and not speaking at all, but he is not helpful".

When asked about weapons of mass destruction, Hussein reportedly responded that Iraq did not have any and that "the US dreamed them up itself to have a reason to go to war with us".

He said UN weapons inspectors were denied access to several key sites in Iraq, including the presidential palaces, because "we didn't want them to ... intrude on our privacy".

US President George W. Bush said he doubted any enlightenment would come from Hussein. "I don't trust Saddam Hussein. I don't believe he'll tell the truth. I can't believe he's going to change his ways. I don't think we ought to trust his word," Mr Bush said.  article

I guess "helpful" would be if he would say he had WMD.

I don't think we ought to trust anything either of these "leaders" says. Interesting, though, that Bush would say these things. I would have thought they would want him to leave it open, so that they could use whatever Saddam says to their advantage either way - some things he says are true, some are lies.

Maybe that's what they did want Bush to do, but you know Bubblehead.

Fresh violence Tuesday showed Saddam Hussein's capture offered no quick solution to Iraq's woes, but U.S. leaders hoped it would help win global allies for their plan to speed up Iraqi self-government.

...President Bush, whose ratings leapt in opinion polls after Saddam's arrest in a boost for his re-election bid next year, said Monday "terrorists in Iraq remain dangerous" and told his arch foe: "Good riddance. The world is a better place without you."  article

Well, Double-dumb, he's still in the world. And there is a great portion of the world's populace that thinks the world would be a better place without you.

And those ratings did not "leap" - there was one version that said 4 points, which, with the typical plus or minus three point error, could be one point or seven. Either way, polls, as I've said many times, are fairly meaningless and certainly fickle. So that bit was just a plug for the Oaf, but it does remind us how much "the capture" is tied to "the election".

And the timing of "the capture" was of course the real story. The hope for it to win allies at least seems like an honest statement. It's kind of hard to sort those out these days.

A briefcase found at the farmhouse, however, did lead US forces to capture two men identified as leaders of the insurgency.

It is believed inside the briefcase were minutes from secret meetings conducted by former regime powerbrokers. The MSNBC network reported at least six men were identified, including two financiers and two bomb-makers.

Maybe that was the real treasure. A briefcase full of information. I don't know why we are expected to believe the stuff they find isn't also planted, but let's just follow along for now.

(I'm going to start a new page on my website: The Amazing Saddam Show)

It took months for the U.S. Army to arrange for Saddam Hussein's humiliation in the so-called spider hole he hid in near his hometown of Tikrit, Iraq.  article

There's a telling little slip of the wording from the Oregonian.

Saddam Hussein crawled out and raised his hands above his head, just as special forces soldiers were about to throw a grenade into the hole where he was hiding, U.S. military officers said yesterday.

"I am Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq. And I'm willing to negotiate," the former dictator said in English when he stepped out, according to Maj. Bryan Reed of the Fourth Infantry Division's First Brigade Combat Team, which conducted the raid with the special forces team.

A soldier replied: "President Bush sends his regards."  article

And there's your sound bite - your one-liner to repeat that Americans thrive on. Like: "I'm an American soldier, too" (from the Amazing Jessica Lynch Rescue) and "Did I just see Air Force One?" (from the Great Turkey Day Caper).

Now, let's think about this. I saw a Tom Brokaw report on TV with a graphic depiction of the "spider hole" where they "captured" Saddam. It showed, and the reporter noted, that they found him lying face down. The commanding officer on the scene also said Saddam was "very disoriented". Put that together with this report. They don't match, do they?

Colonel James Hickey and his men have been major raiders in the hunt for Saddam, winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis as they "hunted" him in places like Samarra. You remember Samarra.

Since April, Col. James Hickey, 43, the commander of the First Brigade Combat Team, was trying to get ahead of Hussein. Like many U.S. soldiers, the Chicago native and graduate of the Virginia Military Institute was profoundly affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Iraq, for him, was an extension of the war on terrorism - and Hussein was one of its bogeymen.

"As long as I am on duty, people are not going to attack America or kill Americans," said Hickey, a tall, well-built former Army fellow at Georgetown University.

You gotta love that tough talk. Col. Hickey, please look around you.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.