Saddam Hussein Captured by US Military
If anyone was upset by the capture of Saddam Hussein last Saturday by American and allied forces, one couldn't hear any complaining. The supporters of Mr. Bush's war felt no small vindication, and the opponents of it could take solace in the fact that a mass murderer had been caught. But the talk of justice that filled the Sunday news programs was misleading -- the game of politics will determine the next several months.
For the Iraqi government, the upcoming show trial of Saddam Hussein will offer an opportunity to avenge the murders and the tortures. Meanwhile, the White House will have a chance to move the argument about the validity for the war from weapons of mass destruction (a pretext at best) to liberation and human rights (which should have been the justification all along). This should take place in September or October so Mr. Bush can rack up a landslide in November's election.
Which brings one to the losers in the event beyond Saddam himself. In the US, Governor Dean and his new best pal, Al Gore, took a beating. So did President Chirac, Chancellor Schroeder and President Putin (who alone has the talent to come out a winner on this). It must be very frustrating for more talented and wiser men to watch Mr. Bush succeed on the basis of his own distinguishing characteristic -- luck.
Finally, Saddam Hussein is one of the most loathsome individuals currently drawing breath. He was caught with a couple of guns, but seems to have come peacefully enough. That is a shame, because now the world's legal system will have to pretend that he merits a trial. It should be remembered that the Nuremberg Trials were Stalin's idea (a man who was to show trials as Shakespeare was to other forms of theatre). Churchill thought summary execution was far better.
Despite the political gains many are about to reap, it would have been better morally if a member of the US military had simply shot him. Pretending that any defense can be provided for his actions, as a fair trial must, degrades the legal system. Further, the argument that killing him creates a martyr is as vacuous here as elsewhere. Martyrdom is an over-sold concept -- if enough Ba'athists and Al-Qaeda are martyred, there will be none left. That would be the right number.
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