(Pretentious political rant. Please read the entry before this.)
It's far too soon to determine whether or not the capture of Saddam Hussein will have any effect on the presidential race this year.
First off, I realize this is taking a few liberties with what may or may not be the truth, but I think it's logisitcally sound to assume that Saddam Hussein hasn't been conducting attacks on American troops. Until Saturday. the man hadn't seen a comb or a razor it what looks like months. For that matter, Iraqis still aren't all that pleased with the way things are going in the country now that we're there, and Americans are still being attacked, and not necessarily by Saddam loyalists. (This link takes you to a wonderful Guardan article briefly explaining Jorge's wish to have Hussein put to death, and descriptions of some insurgents who explicitly say they are not fighting for Hussein. Reading is fun.) It's equally obvious that the administration has lied about the war before, and that they're not especially worried about getting caught in the act, so it's fully possible that we could see some interesting evidence popping up in the next few months about what's just transpired. I don't want to imply that the Junta has somehow falsified anything about Hussein's capture, but I would like to imply that the Junta has somehow falsified something about Hussein's capture.
At the end of the day, however, American troops are still in Iraq, fighting and dying, and while the death rate is not and probably never will reach Vietam levels, the fact remains that "our" military is currently in a country across the world surrounded by people they cannot and should not trust. I mean no disrespect to Arabs or Iraqis; however, the facts remain that the U.S. Government is almost singlehandedly responsible for the damage being done to Iraq, leaving citizens of the country with no reason to appreciate or trust U.S. troops. In short, they shouldn't trust us, so we can't trust them. But, I digress.
Honestly, I look at Saddam Hussein's bearded, tired face on the front page of the New York Times and I think the same thing I've thought from the get-go: nothing good can come of this. Monday, I heard Jorge at a press conference, explicitly stating that Hussein's arrest is an actual victory in the war on terrorism, explicitly stating that his capture makes the world safer for Americans, and even jaded, cynical me had to laugh.
In the end, the effect Hussein's capture has on the presidential race will probably depend on how Americans can handle fear. I'm certain I'm giving the American voting public far too much credit, but, now more than ever, it's easy to see how much history is repeating itself, that seeing a Muslim, any Muslim, even one as deplorable as Hussein, incarcerated on international television is not the way to send a message to Islamic fundamentalists. Because, and this is the point that absolutely no conservative or pro-war fuckwit in this nation is seemingly able to grasp: when we deal with Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations, we are dealing with people who have lost hope. And, as anyone who's ever read either these insipid rantings I write or a Daredevil comic can tell you, people without hope are people without fear. If America can take its fear to heart, honestly understand it, fucking embrace it, they will realize that the terrorists in question will not be cowed by U.S. troops pulling a tired old man out of a fucking hole in the ground. If America can somehow, through whatever magic of spirit or technology, understand that its government is intentionally creating an environment where it will have to be afraid all the time, then perhaps they'll turn to someone who won't make the fear worse.
It's far too soon to determine whether or not the capture of Saddam Hussein will have any effect on the presidential race this year.
First off, I realize this is taking a few liberties with what may or may not be the truth, but I think it's logisitcally sound to assume that Saddam Hussein hasn't been conducting attacks on American troops. Until Saturday. the man hadn't seen a comb or a razor it what looks like months. For that matter, Iraqis still aren't all that pleased with the way things are going in the country now that we're there, and Americans are still being attacked, and not necessarily by Saddam loyalists. (This link takes you to a wonderful Guardan article briefly explaining Jorge's wish to have Hussein put to death, and descriptions of some insurgents who explicitly say they are not fighting for Hussein. Reading is fun.) It's equally obvious that the administration has lied about the war before, and that they're not especially worried about getting caught in the act, so it's fully possible that we could see some interesting evidence popping up in the next few months about what's just transpired. I don't want to imply that the Junta has somehow falsified anything about Hussein's capture, but I would like to imply that the Junta has somehow falsified something about Hussein's capture.
At the end of the day, however, American troops are still in Iraq, fighting and dying, and while the death rate is not and probably never will reach Vietam levels, the fact remains that "our" military is currently in a country across the world surrounded by people they cannot and should not trust. I mean no disrespect to Arabs or Iraqis; however, the facts remain that the U.S. Government is almost singlehandedly responsible for the damage being done to Iraq, leaving citizens of the country with no reason to appreciate or trust U.S. troops. In short, they shouldn't trust us, so we can't trust them. But, I digress.
Honestly, I look at Saddam Hussein's bearded, tired face on the front page of the New York Times and I think the same thing I've thought from the get-go: nothing good can come of this. Monday, I heard Jorge at a press conference, explicitly stating that Hussein's arrest is an actual victory in the war on terrorism, explicitly stating that his capture makes the world safer for Americans, and even jaded, cynical me had to laugh.
In the end, the effect Hussein's capture has on the presidential race will probably depend on how Americans can handle fear. I'm certain I'm giving the American voting public far too much credit, but, now more than ever, it's easy to see how much history is repeating itself, that seeing a Muslim, any Muslim, even one as deplorable as Hussein, incarcerated on international television is not the way to send a message to Islamic fundamentalists. Because, and this is the point that absolutely no conservative or pro-war fuckwit in this nation is seemingly able to grasp: when we deal with Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations, we are dealing with people who have lost hope. And, as anyone who's ever read either these insipid rantings I write or a Daredevil comic can tell you, people without hope are people without fear. If America can take its fear to heart, honestly understand it, fucking embrace it, they will realize that the terrorists in question will not be cowed by U.S. troops pulling a tired old man out of a fucking hole in the ground. If America can somehow, through whatever magic of spirit or technology, understand that its government is intentionally creating an environment where it will have to be afraid all the time, then perhaps they'll turn to someone who won't make the fear worse.