…The New York Times or the Prime Minister of a developing war-torn nation infested by fascists and religious fanatics? In the old days, that would have been a slam dunk for the Grey Lady. My how times have changed! Now we have to decide for ourselves. According to MSNBC, Iraqi PM Allawi says a ‘Distraught’ Saddam is begging for mercy.
“He is distraught and depressed,” Allawi said of Saddam, the man who was Iraq‚Äôs president for 24 years and is awaiting trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
“Saddam and his colleagues are not the giants that the media sometimes talks about,” Allawi said in an interview with the pan Arab al-Hayat newspaper. “Saddam sent us an oral message in which he begged for mercy. He said that they were working in the public interest and did not mean any harm.”
The portrait painted by Allawi differed sharply from that in a New York Times account published over the weekend, based on interviews with U.S. and Iraqi officials who have visited the former dictator in his air-conditioned 10-by-13-foot cell on the grounds of one of his former palaces.
The Robert Novak story, that the US is planning on leaving Iraq early next year is very probably the product of wishful thinking on the part of Robert Novak, and some anti Bush folk in the Pentagon and State
Novak has been consistent in his stance: he is ‘anti Zionist’, and anti Iraq War.
This whole story is in my opinion “spin”, an attempt to undercut Allawi, and even Bush.
Boy, it is nassty in Washington, is it not??
As to Saddam and the pickle he is in… it will be a very good thing for Iraq’s future, to put him to death, and to record his fear and trembling on national TV – he is a vicious Ghost at the Banquet, and must be excised.
Well, in this case, there is something that might give some indication as to which report is more credible.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5323918/
Not that I care.
The Bush campaign would be smart to shine the spotlight on Sadaam’s atrocities now that Kerry has decided to go on an all-out antiwar kick.
What we will see in the next few weeks is pictures of Sadaam’s henchmen chopping off hands, pictures of Sadaam machine-gunning people into mass graves, pictures of the Republican Guard using WMD, ec. Etc.
The goal will be to get every soccer mom in America afraid of Sadaam. A big, scary Arab who wants to kill us. A man who Bush stood up to and stopped cold. A man who Kerry didn’t want us to stop (or maybe he did — what time is it?)
Kerry is trying to draw a distinction between Iraq and the War on Terror. It won’t work. A lot of people here will be offended by this, but during the next several weeks, our enemy will be defined as the “big, scary Arab.” Sadaam is a big, scary Arab. Whether he is a fundamentalist or a Ba’athist- who cares? He’s evil, and he wants to kill us. Bush wants to fight; Kerry wants to run.
If tbe Bush admin is smart, they’ll start emphasizing the terrifying nature of Sadaam.
They can even play this both ways by describing all of the progress we have made. Bush should really bring a few of those guys whose hands were chopped off to a campaign appearnce or two — maybe even a debate. Stories like this will make people realize that we are making real progress in Iraq, even if it is hard, and will make Bush look compassionate and optomistic.
I agree with Joe. I think the Bush administration should insist that there are several of the brutalized innocents of Iraq that show up and just sit there in front of him.
This is the same tactic, in essence, that Israel used with the World Court, when it was so busy ruling against Israel’s sovereignty and right to build the Barrier/Wall. Israel just sent the commuter Bus #19 that was blown to pieces by Palestinian suicide bombers while everyone else was busy condemning Israel and the wall. They literally dropped the bus right outside the World Court building where the scurrilous EU justices had to see that reminder every morning when they went to work.
That particular bus was on display this weekend here in the USA in Dallas, TX (Arlington, TX Convention Center) at a conference and it was indeed sobering to see the damage and to know of the carnage that one person with bombs strapped to his body had achieved.
I think it is very possible that Saddam is begging for mercy. He knows what he has done.
I realize that it is fashionable in Demcorat circles today to averlook what Saddam was and what he did.
But I read a lot of the human rights reports before the war and there is no doubt he is a very cruel and very warped individual.
The strange thing to me is that there seem to be an effort on the part of some Dems today to minimize this fact when once upon a time they themselves knew the truth.
But that was before the Democrats went insane.
But I thought compassion for another’s suffering is the highest value. Isn’t that what our betters teach us, endlessly?
Fondly do I hope, fervently do I pray, that the election becomes a straight referendum on the wisdom of liberating/invading Iraq.
43 days to go.
Goof: given the state of the campaigns to date, I dont think you will know with any degree of certainty if it a referendum on Iraq. Had Howard Dean been the standard bearer, you would have gotten your wish–While I think Dean was a bit flakey (understatement), at least you knew where he stood.
Goof:
Like I told you before Goof if Clinton and his Democratic administration had not made regime change in Iraq official national policy perhaps we would not have invaded Iraq.
Perhaps if Clinton had been as interested in dealing with wmd in Iraq as he was the intern under his desk these problems would have been resolved during his 8 long years in office rather than dumped on the next guy.
Goof,
“Fondly do I hope, fervently do I pray, that the election becomes a straight referendum on the wisdom of liberating/invading Iraq.”
Wouldn’t that have been nice? Unfortunately, the Democrats elected not to choose the representative of their true beliefs (Dean) because they knew, perhaps subconsciously, that they would lose that referendum. Instead they picked a cipher, a man who can’t make up his mind who his advisors are, who can’t make up his mind what his positions are, who can’t make up his mind what his talking-points are, a man who is an anti-war war hero, a man who was for the war before he was against it, a man who is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. The Democrats, in short, hedged their bets. When they lose this next election, this will allow them to once again play the sad game that paralyzes the Arab world: it’s the fault of the other guy, not us. As Katherine has said, the Democrats will blame it on mean Republicans and stupid Americans. Yet again.
A straight up and down referendum would be just the ticket. The body politic would be cleansed, whatever the answer. Ain’t gonna happen.
Wichita Boy:
I would be happy if the Democrats would have a straight up and down agenda on themselves.
It gets confusing trying to keep up with the internationalist, isolationist, humanitarian interventionist, anti military, pro UN policies that lead up to September 11, 2001.
It is quite possible that both stories are true,Saddam Hussein is a gangster who will spin any tale that suits his purpose.He is probably playing both ends against the middle,the man will die with a lie on his lips.
If he ever gets out he has the psychopathy to wreak horrendous vengeance and would have the means since the oil for food money has not been recovered.
Hang him first discuss his mental state afterwards.
The words are the words of Kerry, but the voice is, the voice of the Clintonistas.
Change tune, change focus, change personnel.
Go after the president on the war, make the headlines scream “Iraq,” everyday and bet the chaos and bloodshed will usher a change in the American people’s view of the war and turn the polls against the president.
The Rather side show is all but over, Dan apologized and he will soon be rehabilated as
the media so often does – in its own way. The Rather show is old news.
Focus now: only 43 days to go, make the election the war, force the president to explain the deaths, the blood, the beheadings and the papers will be filled with stories of the tears and sighs of the homeland.
The MSM is ready to assist and they will.
Goof:
the following is somewhat of a rant…
I am glad to see the focus come back to real issues. I am glad that Kerry is getting away from his inept attempt to a continuous Clintonian triangulation. And I am glad to see the real face of John Kerry emerge.
Kerry has never changed his position on Vietnam. He supported Communist thugs in 1971 and he continues to receive business from the murders in Hanoi to this day. He supported the Communists in Central American and did his best to help them take over in this hemisphere. He supported Saddam Hussein’s seizure of Kuwait only to see his hopes dashed. Today, he supports the Mullahs of Iran, the Communist regime in North Korea and Islamic radicals no matter where they are. Kerry is socialist whose one goal is turn the United States into socialist country. He projects his socialist agenda onto our adversaries and does what he can to support them. Witness his sister sent down to Australia to defeat John Howard. He is out to destroy the alliance. We have not seen such treasonous acts in time of war since the Copperheads of the Democratic party in 1864. He rejects the notion of a war on Islamic terrorists because in his heart he believes that if the United States only turns to socialism and addresses the root causes of the Islamic unrest Osama’s legions will shout for joy and return to the peaceful ways of Islam. Of course most of the Jews of Israel will all have to die but you can make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs.
I am sure I will here somebody protest that Kerry isn’t a socialist, how could he be? He is super rich. However, socialism is not a ideology that attracts the working and middle classes. It attracts academic scribblers and rich elitists like Kerry who live an abstraction. The left wing sociologist [not the producer], Michael Mann has recently published a book on the democratic origins of fascism. Mann observes that fascists movements do not appeal to the middle class or the rich. Both Mussolini and Hitler found their initial support to strongest among the proletariat. He ponders why this should be so. I think the answer is that the fascist brand of totalitarianism has both a set view of human nature and no preconceived notions of economic determinism. Fascism seeks to create a society based on a set of preexisting national characteristic instead of the taking human nature as a blank slate to be molded. In the economic sphere it does not accept the homo economicus of either the socialist or the neo-libertarian . It explains why fascist societies outperform socialist ones in economic development and in many cases allows the individual to carve out a private sphere life. Of course the subtext of Mannís book is that democratic institutions must be suppressed or moderated by a socialist elite to prevent an outbreak of nasty fascism. That thought is at the root of Kerryís core values
Now I am also sure that some people will misconstrue my claim that fascism is a superior system to socialism. However, that has never been my purpose in pushing this point. It quite the opposite. It is to chide socialists and former socialists about their idealized political views. Fascism is an evil system, but socialism is incapable of even meeting the standard set by fascism save one area. Socialism is far superior in killing its citizens then any fascist state. The socialist leadership is as motivated by the will to power as any fascist leadership and black/brown shirts are as motivated by idealism as any rank an file communist. They are two sides of the same coin. Yet we still use fascism to imply evil while socialism is at qualified as idealism. Witness almost universal use of the term Islamofascism. Why not Islamosocialism? After all Radical Islam has far more in common with socialists ideals then it does with fascism.
Jerry:
I am surprised you see deep things in Kerry.
This talk about socialism and fascism is so much last century.
The only relevant “ism” in today’s jargon is terrorism.
Kerry is a guy who fixated years ago about being the next JFK, it tends to be a fixation with Democrat. Clinton and Kerry. Democrats get caught in that image warp. Whatever it takes to get the presidency is his philosophy.
He came home from Vietnam and did what would provide him the spotlight.
He campaigned as a senator on what he and Teddy thought would keep the seat.
He voted as a senator with a Massachusetts pragmatism: to retain office and give him an opportunity to position himself for a run.
He never did the heavy lifting as a senator; he was a show horse, not a work horse.
Let’s not get carried away; there is not a lot of political science 101 here.
His campaign now is pure and simple: hit the right note to get the electoral votes necessary to win. Count the electoral votes, select the middling states, put the president on the defense on Iraq and gin up the anti-Bush vote.
He will use the Clintonistas to get there. The Lockharts, Sassos, Begalas and Carvilles have focused him in these last 43 days to hit on one matter: Iraq. His past voting record on Iraq will be obfuscated in the din of the electoral race to come. These folks don’t have alot of respect for the electorate’s capacity to remember.
A smart move for him and probably the only stategy he has – now after his disasterous August.
jedbury:
Drudge is reporting that Kerry now says he would have left Saddam in power. I think that has been his position all along.
Jerry ó And Karl hi-fives Condi….
You know, if we really wanted Saddam distraught, we could send Pvt. England back over there with a fresh roll of Hefty Bags. Kind of a work-release deal…
“Mann observes that fascists movements do not appeal to the middle class or the rich”…I get a different impression from the diary of an anti-Nazi German who was there during the Nazi takeover of power. (The book is “Diary of a Man in Despair,” can’t remember the author). He said that some of the strongest supporters of Hitler were lower-middle-class bureaucrats: he specifically mentioned post office workers and schoolteachers.
jerry,
I’m also skeptical of Mann’s claims. Here’s a passage from one of my favorite books, Germany and Freedom by James Bryant Conant [doesn't seem to be available at Amazon!]:
This seems to be pretty clear evidence that professionals were in strong support of the attempts to destroy the Weimar Republic, destruction which culminated in the ascension of Hitler.
Maybe the headline was wrong. Shouldn’t it read a “distraught Dan Rather is begging for mercy”?
Algis Budrys, the author, has written of his childhood in Nazi-ascendant Germany.
He wrote of mobs of stolid Germans of all classes going into a frenzy as Hitler drove by, literally losing control of their bodily functions as der Fuhrer passed.
“That was when I realized,” he wrote, “that we were living in a nation of werewolves…”
The fascist impulse, the totalitarian impulse, the mob in the street, the bloody-handed fanatic with the pitchfork or the dead-eyed bureaucrat with the quota and the oven, transcend class and political faction.
Jerry:
I did see that post on Drudge about his “new new” stance on Saddam. What a silly non-sensical position. He is now trapped in another 2 or 3 day round of news abuse. He opens himself up to challenging the immutable Iraq images of graves and tales of Saddam death and torture. Impressions fixed in the mind of the American politic; nothing the War Hero says erases those images.
The flip flop, his willingness to take any stand to get elected, the impresssion of a politician who can only criticize and not build and stands for nothing but “the moment” becomes his image in the mind of the electorate.
When the voter goes into the box, he sees that even if he is slightly uncomfortable with the president.
This morning from Robin Wright in the WaPost, no friend of the president.
“John F. Kerry’s four-point plan for Iraq proposes ambitious solutions to accelerate the military transition, refocus reconstruction and ensure that democracy takes root, all while lessening the burden on the United States by bringing in greater foreign aid and support.
U.S. experts on Iraq generally laud the goals, applaud the idea of a national debate on Iraq and endorse the principles outlined in Kerry’s long-awaited plan. But they also question whether some of his proposals are realistic — or even all that new.”
All that work by Holbrooke, Albright and crew and Kerry’s big balloon is blown off in the second paragraph. Read on it only gets worse. So much for his friends in the press.
Photocurrier and Rich:
Eric Rohm, the leader of the strosstruppen, was the ideological center of the movemet. He primarily focused on the working class. He emphasized the socialist in the National Socialist Workers Party. After Hitler rose to prominence all sorts of people attached themselves to the movement. Also, many former communists in the working class had no problem switching from CP to Nazi allegiance.