Entry: Good News The Media Can't Ignore Sunday, December 14, 2003



Earlier this week I almost despaired as the "news" media almost completely ignored nearly 20,000 Iraqis marching in the streets of Baghdad to protest, as Baghdad blogger Zeyad put it, "against Arab media, against the interference of neighbouring countries, against dictatorships, against Wahhabism, against oppression, and of course against the Ba'ath and Saddam". 

Well, they're unable to ignore the good news coming out of Iraq today.  Saddam Hussein, the monster, the brutal dictator, the terrorist supporter that American and other soldiers have died to depose, has at last been captured alive.  He was found cowering in a hole, with a pistol he didn't even bother to fire. 

What does this mean for Iraq?

It means, for one thing, that Iraqis can finally begin to work towards a future for themselves without having to look back over their shoulders in fear. It means they can believe that the United States keeps its word.  It means they can begin to place trust in their burgeoning freedom and democracy, secure in the knowledge that the old regime has finally passed away.  This man, this monster, was a constant presence in their lives,  a shadow looming over every waking moment for decades. Now his regime is truly over.

According to al-Jazeera, there are those who hoped we would never capture Saddam. 

"Of course it's bad news. To us, Saddam was a symbol of defiance to the US plans in the region. And we support any person who stands in the face of the American dominance," said Azzam Hnaidi, an Islamist member of Jordan's parliament.

For my part, I'd rather see what some actual Iraqis are saying today.

Before this, I prayed the traditional prayers of thanksgiving. That I, and the Iraqi people should see this day! This, surely, is the mother of all days for us. The heroes of our valiant Pesh Mergas, and the heroes of the U.S. Fourth division have done it.
Alaa

This is the day of all Iraqi martyrs who were slaughtered just to please his sick lust for blood.
Rest in peace my brothers. The paradise is yours and the disgrace and hell is for all the tyrants on earth.
Thank you American, British, Spanish, Italian, Australian, Ukrainian, Japanese and all the coalition people and all the good people on earth.
God bless the 1st brigade.
God bless the 4th infantry division.
God bless Iraq.
God bless America.
God bless the coalition people and soldiers.
God bless all the freedom loving people on earth.
I wish I could hug you all.
Omar

I don’t know what to say.. I am confused.. no ... I am very happy.. I am very happy.. .. I am very happy.. .. I am very happy.. .. I am very happy.. .. I am very happy.. .. I am very happy..
This is the end of tyranny.. congratulations .. a great day.. for Iraqi and all the good people.. share us our great day.. I can’t express my feelings.. thanks to the coalition forces and all the honest people who helped in that great operation....thank you thank you thousand times..
AYS

To the Iraqis, I say that is only the beginning for you and for Iraq's future.  MABROOK!
   8 comments

Ninja Cow
December 14, 2003   02:59 PM PST
 
Do you think Saddam will leak any information regarding his WMDs?

I'm glad we finally got Saddam, really I am. I've been up since 4am with the boob tube on Fox News listening to the coverage.

'Tis a good day indeed!
JM
December 14, 2003   03:08 PM PST
 
I don't think he'll say a word about the WMDs. He's probably killed most of the people who knew anything important, and wouldn't want to give President Bush and PM Blair the satisfaction.
Patrick Holf, Holand
December 15, 2003   04:47 PM PST
 
Believe me on this: Americans will return from Iraq in two possible ways: in shame or in plastic bags... Vietnam once again!
JM
December 15, 2003   04:50 PM PST
 
Damn, listen to them go... helplessly spinning out their little hate fantasies, hoping against hope that the US fails... one could ALMOST feel sorry for them.
Naaah.
Jaqques Rouvière
December 15, 2003   05:07 PM PST
 
"We have no interest in oppressing other people. We are not moved by hatred against any other nation. We bear no grudge. I know how grave a thing war is. I wanted to spare our people such an evil. It is not so much the country [of Czechoslovakia]; it is rather its leader [Dr. Edward Benes]. He has led a reign of terror. He has hurled countless people into the profoundest misery. Through his continuous terrorism, he has succeeded in reducing millions of his people to silence. The Czech maintenance of a tremendous military arsenal can only be regarded as a focus of danger. We have displayed a truly unexampled patience, but I am no longer willing to remain inactive while this madman ill-treats millions of human beings."

-- Adolf Hitler, April 14, 1939, justifying the German invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Sounds familiar?
JM
December 15, 2003   05:12 PM PST
 
Sounds like a desperate attempt to justify anti-American sentiment to me. You're claiming the United Nations lied about saddam's WMDs, and Human Right Watch (and other such groups) lied about his crimes against humanity? And that the mass graves are, perhaps, on a Hollywood backlot? I think your tin-foil hat is leaking.
Ninja Cow
December 16, 2003   04:33 AM PST
 
"Believe me on this: Americans will return from Iraq in two possible ways: in shame or in plastic bags... Vietnam once again!"

Is that before or after the Easter Bunny leaps from George W. Bush’s hind end giving us details about how 9/11 was staged?

"Sounds familiar?"

Sounds like the other nutcase who posted prior to you.

"...and Human Right Watch"

Human Rights Watch is a very left organization, by the way. Looks like the lefties are turning on their own! Ha!
Ninja Cow
December 16, 2003   04:42 AM PST
 
One more thing. (Pardon my double posting, but I think this deserves some attention.)

A Kuwaiti friend of mine said yesterday that the Kuwaiti press is reporting Saddam murdered over 3 million people, crippled 2.5 million, and starved over 500,000 kids. I did some research, and the 500,000 kids thing adds up:

http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/hussein.htm

"Kill tally: Approaching two million, including between 150,000 and 340,000 Iraqis and between 450,000 and 730,000 Iranians killed during the Iran-Iraq War. Over 100,000 Kurds killed or "disappeared". An estimated 1,000 Kuwaiti nationals killed following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. No conclusive figures for the number of Iraqis killed during the Gulf War, with estimates varying from as few as 1,500 to as many as 200,000. No reliable figures for the number of Iraqi dissidents and Shi'ite Muslims killed during Hussein's reign, though estimates put the figure between 60,000 and 100,000 (mass graves discovered following the US occupation of Iraq in 2003 suggest that the figure could be as high as 300,000). Approximately 500,000 Iraqi children dead because of international trade sanctions introduced following the Gulf War."

Chilling. While the French, Russians, and Germans supported a mini-Hitler, many Republicans in the 1990's called for a regime change in Iraq. In 2003, they finally got their answer, but obviously it was WAY TOO DAMN LATE.

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