They got the last ace. Bravo and high-fives to all the soldiers who have worked so had to run Saddam down. They’ve brought justice to him, as W likes to say.
My hope is that there will be a firing squad staffed by the new Iraqi army, soon.
I’ve got no more information than anyone else in Blogistan, so I’ll spare you my opinions for now.
All morning I have been breaking into a smile and Motorhead’s Ace of Spades has been running through my head:
I see it in your eyes, take one look and die,
The only thing you see, you know it’s gonna be,
The Ace Of Spades
An amazing surprise, and wonderful news. For Iraq. For the US armed forces in Iraq. For people in the Middle East who hope to break free of their own tyrants. Even at home, in terms of domestic politics. A few months ago, Bush looked great on the war, bad on the economy. Then it switched 180 degrees. Now he looks very good on both counts, building himself a full layer of political Teflon only weeks before the Democratic primaries. This goes to show trying to predict elections a year ahead of time based on the past few weeks is a dicey business, if not a losing proposition.
I wish we’d hear more about the details. But it is likely little information will be revealed about the details of the operation, now or later. Intelligence work and sources are at stake.
We shall, however, know very soon what influence, if any, Saddam had on the insurgency. We can only hope it was significant. And to the extent this could affect the attitude of ordinary Iraqis towards both US occupation and the insurgents, it probably is.
Overall, a great day.
That works for me.
It is indeed a great day.
Lex, I’ve got the same grin breaking out on a random basis, and it’s not a smug one either. I am just damned happy for the soldiers, the Iraqis, Bush, and all others who had the guts to stand with us, out on a lonely limb. I am also enjoying the game of musical chairs that began unfolding on this morning’s “news” shows, with all the naysayers of varying degrees now looking for a chair now that song #1 has stopped. Listening to NPR, the gloom in the voices reporting the Hussein capture was plainly evident. Rock On!!
I’m with you, Lex. I’ve had the same song in my head. “Lemmy, Official Songwriter of US Foreign Policy”
I think Motorhead should do a show for the 4ID. They could open AND close with Ace of Spades. I bet the troops would appreciate it. And I bet even Lemmy has never played Baghdad.
The more I think about it, the more it looks like the potential of this capture is in what it means. The man himself looked like a defeatred, dirty, tired bum like any you’ll see in the subway in Paris. Sure, some of the money he amassed and distributed was probably instrumental. But this was not some defiant leader organizing and coordinating an insurgency. So the connection between him and them could be more tenuous than we suspected.
However, this could very well turn the corner for the rest of the population, the vast majority of whom have been sitting on the fence to figure out who is boss, and who would outlast the other. Perception is everything and this is a huge win in this respect.