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December 14, 2003

No Free Ride

I don't read much of Hesiod, but I think he's made a good point this morning. Saddam's capture may lead to more intense efforts by the surviving Ba'athists to try and disrupt the occupation. It may even lend some legitimacy to the survivors, as they can claim to be fighting for freedom rather than for Saddam. I think that Hussein's capture will lead to the elimination of the Iraqi fighters in time, but that's by no means a sure thing. As I said below, this is an opportunity we need to seize, not an opportunity to pat ourselves on the back.

Posted at December 14, 2003 10:11 AM

Andrew Olmsted

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» An early Christmas present from Too Much To Dream
Saddam Hussein has been captured. He was, appropriately hiding in a six-foot-deep hole in the ground. He looks like Bad Santa. Oh happy day. More links to reactions around the blogs: Viking Pundit. A small victory. Tim Blair. Jeff Jarvis.... [Read More]

Tracked on December 14, 2003 10:36 AM

Comments

Hm. Maybe instead of reading Hesiod (who would try to piss on news that George Bush had discovered the cure for cancer) you should read Omar. Sample, if Blogspot is down:

It's the justice day.
I'm speechless.
I'm crying.
The tyrants' hour has finally came. I went down to the streets to share the joy with my brothers. This is our day, the day of all the oppressed and good people on earth.
Tears of joy filled the eyes of all the people.
Saddam, the coward, hides in a hole, shaking in fear from being captured.
Not a single bullet was fired, without any resistance, God, he was even cooperative! The mighty tyrant, who exploited all our country's fortune for his personal protection, surrenders like the cowered I expected him to be.
Yes, he should be prosecuted in Iraq. We will not allow anything else.

At the very least, this Iraqi won't be supporting the Baathist "freedom fighters."

Posted by: Andrea Harris at December 14, 2003 10:28 AM

And I don't doubt that there are many more like him. This is great news, but nobody needs me to figure that out. My interest is in maximizing the benefit we gain from this victory.

Posted by: Andrew at December 14, 2003 10:35 AM

I do expect that attacks will increase in the next few weeks. I also expect that the increased morale and heartfelt relief among Iraqis will increase their own incentive to get rid of the Ba'athist remnant (and the Islamist invaders that they've never liked anyway).
There is now NO CHANCE that Saddam will come back and take vengeance. And showing that video was a stroke of genius. We've just turned their bogeyman into a cowardly pussycat. That's going to have a hell of an effect.

Posted by: Kathy K at December 14, 2003 04:10 PM

From armchair headquarters, it looks like the bad guys are already operating at pretty much 100% of their limited capacity. They don't have the reserves needed for stepping up their activities. Attacks will continue to happen but, not at any increased intensity.

Posted by: Fred Boness at December 14, 2003 11:20 PM