24.6.03
Dead men tell no tales
Hesiod has a miniature roundup of the recent US airstrikes against a convoy either in northwest Iraq or eastern Syria. Apparently, the US blew up a smuggler convoy, instead of one carrying the deposed Iraqi tyrant.
By now, it should be clear that the US is not going to take Saddam Hussein alive under any circumstances. Bush will make sure that the US army kills Saddam with extreme prejudice. The BBC report indicated that land-based special forces were involved in the operation. But nevertheless, part of the convoy was blown to bits, so that only DNA testing will be able to ascertain the identity of the victims. The "decapitation" strike on the first day of the war and the bombing of a crowded downtown restaurant in Baghdad were other efforts illustrating the US's policy to kill, not to capture.
Again, this is for the reason that if the US captures Saddam, it will be obligated to put him on trial in public. The administration wouldn't be able to just shove him off to the concentration camp at "Gitmo" with the rest of its enemy combatants. It would be very embarrassing for Bush - especially during an election year - to have Saddam telling the whole world about Daddy's support back in the good old days, not to mention all the other American hi-jinx in the Middle East that would certainly come to light during such a trial.
So don't expect to see Saddam turning up in the near future - at least not with the ability to talk.
Hesiod has a miniature roundup of the recent US airstrikes against a convoy either in northwest Iraq or eastern Syria. Apparently, the US blew up a smuggler convoy, instead of one carrying the deposed Iraqi tyrant.
By now, it should be clear that the US is not going to take Saddam Hussein alive under any circumstances. Bush will make sure that the US army kills Saddam with extreme prejudice. The BBC report indicated that land-based special forces were involved in the operation. But nevertheless, part of the convoy was blown to bits, so that only DNA testing will be able to ascertain the identity of the victims. The "decapitation" strike on the first day of the war and the bombing of a crowded downtown restaurant in Baghdad were other efforts illustrating the US's policy to kill, not to capture.
Again, this is for the reason that if the US captures Saddam, it will be obligated to put him on trial in public. The administration wouldn't be able to just shove him off to the concentration camp at "Gitmo" with the rest of its enemy combatants. It would be very embarrassing for Bush - especially during an election year - to have Saddam telling the whole world about Daddy's support back in the good old days, not to mention all the other American hi-jinx in the Middle East that would certainly come to light during such a trial.
So don't expect to see Saddam turning up in the near future - at least not with the ability to talk.
