They Claim They've Captured Saddam - But Have They?

The Americans are gleefully claiming that they've captured Saddam Hussein. But have they?
      Not one journalist, commentator or politician has asked the obvious question: `How do we know that the man they've captured is Saddam Hussein and not one of the body doubles Saddam was known to use?'
      Are we really supposed to believe that this is Saddam Hussein because the Americans say it is? Are we supposed to believe them? (And are we supposed to believe the British Government which believes the American Government?)
      The Americans will doubtless claim that they have DNA evidence to support their claim.
      But that claim will be of no value whatsoever without independent corroboration.
      The DNA evidence could, for example, have been taken from one of the body doubles before the war started. (It was notoriously difficult to differentiate between the doubles and Saddam Hussein. On many occasion, the various doubles performed on television and at public ceremonies without the Iraqis knowing that they had been hoodwinked. And foreign visitors sometimes met one of the doubles too.)       Or the Americans might (shock, horror) simply lie.
      The Americans and the British Governments have lied so much that they must now pay the price: no one will ever again believe anything either of them say.
      Let's not forget that this alleged capture comes at a very convenient time for both the British and American Governments.
      In Britain, Blair is trying hard to deflect attention from the fact that he has now agreed pretty much most of the new EU constitution. (The only bit of the constitution for the new EU super state the various politicians haven't been able to agree on is how many retired politicians get to be Commissioners and, therefore, get to enjoy the huge salaries and massive perks associated with those jobs.) And he doesn't want people thinking too much about the new EU state and the constitution because if they do they might want to know Britain isn't doing what many other European countries are doing and having a referendum.
      In America, Bush is struggling to deal with anger about the length of time it is taking to extricate America from the war - and the cost in American lives and in hard cash (which the Americans can't afford.) Bush has an election coming up in 2004. He needs Saddam on trial as a sign that he did something his daddy couldn't do.
      This arrest is truly most convenient for both presidents.
      Now, (whether or not the man captured really is Saddam, or just one of the lookalikes) some other thoughts:

1. Will journalists please remember that Saddam was put into power and armed and supported by the Americans.

2. No more showing of film of the pulling down of the statue of Saddam Hussein, please. It is now well established that that was just a stunt by the Americans. Very few Iraqis were involved.

3. Commentators who talk about all the evil things done by Saddam Hussein (true enough) might like also to point out that recent American presidents may, between them, have killed more innocent Iraqis than Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, is undoubtedly guilty of some terrible crimes, but let's not allow the Americans to be too hypocritical about this. The Americans were responsible for the deaths of around 500,000 innocent Iraqis between the two Iraqi wars (when they insisted on maintaining sanctions and refused to allow the Iraqis to have clean drinking water supplies). And remember too that at the end of the first Iraqi war the Americans totally ignored the Geneva Convention when they fired on, and killed, vast numbers of Iraqi soldiers who had surrendered and were retreating.

4. Some Americans are already claiming that Saddam must stand trial before an American military tribunal. Others want to hand him over to Iraqis hand picked by the Americans. If they do either of those things they will doubtless turn Saddam into a martyr and extend the length of the war.

Finally, wouldn't it be nice to see one or two journalists and editors asking the question no one seems to want asking: `How do we know that this really is Saddam Hussein, and not one of the lookalikes?'
      Just don't ask us to believe it's really Saddam just because the Americans tell us that it is.


Copyright Vernon Coleman 14.12.2003