BY JAMES TARANTO
Monday, December 15, 2003 1:32 p.m. EST
Who's Whooping It Up Now?
We don't know for sure that Saddam Hussein was directly involved with the attacks of Sept. 11, but in at least one respect his capture allows Americans to enjoy a measure of revenge. Remember how Palestinians whooped it up on that infamous day, dancing in the streets and handing out candy, unable to contain their joy over the mass murder of Americans? Well, they're pretty bummed right about now, and it serves them right.
"Palestinians in the West Bank reacted with shock and disbelief to the capture of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, with many expressing deep disappointment that the man who symbolized defiance against the US and Israel surrendered without resistance," reports the Jerusalem Post's Khaled Abu Toameh:
Jihan Ajlouni, a 24-year-old university student, said, "This is a big loss for the Arab nation. Saddam was one of the great Arab leaders who supported the Palestinian people and many Arabs. We feel very sad today, and we say to all the traitors and collaborators: Don't rush to celebrate because there are millions of Saddams in the Arab world."
A million Saddams? All we can say is bring 'em on! Come out of those holes with your hands up!
The Post adds that "the Palestinian Authority declined to comment on the arrest of Saddam, but a senior PA official in Ramallah said Yasser Arafat was 'saddened' by the news from Baghdad. 'President Arafat was sad to see an Arab leader in an humiliating position,' said the official."
Arafat won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.
America's Palestinians
Here's a sampling of comments on Saddam's capture from the Howard Dean campaign's "Blog for America (some appear on this page and this one):
Carrie B: "I can't believe this. I'm crying here. I feel that we now don't have a chance in this election."
Leslie in SF: "I think it is shameful that the ACLU has not commented on the obvious mistreatment Hussein has suffered at the hands of the American military."
Muslims4Dean: "If the Death toll mounts--good. It will teach the American people not to support Nazi Republicans who invase [sic] Muslim lands."
Johnny Smith: "Muslims4Bush [sic]-- don't think we can put it that way. We don't want Americans to die. But if Bush will not bring our boys home--then they're going to have to die so that Howard Dean can win."
The Angry Left is America's equivalent of the Palestinians: a self-destructive political movement based on nothing but a collection of grievances rooted in a falsified, self-justifying history. These grievances so distort their view of the world that they lose the capacity for ordinary moral judgment and cannot understand something as simple as that the fall of a genocidal tyrant is a good thing.
What Would We Do Without Arab Experts?
"Arab Experts: Saddam Surrender a Sign of Cowardice"--headline, Reuters, Dec. 15
What Would We Do Without Body Language Experts?
"Body Language Experts: Saddam Tired and Worn Out"--headline, Zaman (Istanbul, Turkey), Dec. 15
What Would We Do Without Iraq Scholars in Minnesota?
"It's Not Over, Iraq Scholars in Minnesota Say"--headline, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dec. 15
Saddam the Chickenhearted
Reuters has this wonderful vignette from Saddam's surrender:
Despite his bushy-bearded, unkempt and bewildered look--seen around the world on a U.S. military film--the former president reacted as if he still held power.
"I'm Saddam Hussein, I'm the president of Iraq and I'm willing to negotiate,' " he was quoted as saying by Maj. Brian Reed, of the Fourth Infantry Division which captured him.
"The response from soldiers was: 'President Bush sends his regards,"' Reed added.
Try to imagine a soldier telling Saddam "President Gore sends his regards," or "President Dean sends his regards" and see if you can keep a straight face.
The New York Times, meanwhile, reports that Saddam got a personal visit from four free Iraqi leaders, including Ahmad Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress:
Mr. Chalabi said Mr. Hussein had . . . suggested that he was behind the recent wave of attacks against American soldiers in Iraq since his defeat.
"He said, 'I gave a speech, and I said the Americans can come to Iraq but they can't occupy it and rule it,' " Mr. Chalabi said. "He said, 'I said I would fight them with pistols, and I have.' "
The reality, of course, is that Saddam proved too chickenhearted even to pick up his pistol when the Fourth Infantry Division arrived.
The Mother of All Plea Bargains
One great thing about the death penalty is that it can offer useful leverage when a coward like Saddam is in the dock. Ha'aretz reports on talk of a plea bargain:
Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein could be offered a deal in which he would give his captors information on if and how he hid weapons of mass destruction and if he smuggled some of them into Syria. In exchange, he would face life imprisonment and not be executed for war crimes, senior Iraqis attending a conference here on the future of the region have hinted.
If those weapons are in Syria, that country's Baathist dictator, Bashar Assad, may find himself on the run, just like Saddam. Hey Bashar, better keep a shovel handy.
Still Red, Still Dead
Among those celebrating Saddam's capture in Bagdad yesterday were members of Iraq's Communist Party. We can't help but wonder, though, if perhaps this wasn't a mistake. They might have just seen the early photos of Saddam and thought Karl Marx had returned from the dead.
Quagmire and Mystery in Reuterville
"Joy at the capture of Saddam Hussein gave way to resentment toward Washington Monday as Iraqis confronted afresh the bloodshed, shortages and soaring prices of life under U.S. occupation," Reuters "reports" from Baghdad. The piece is bylined "Joseph Logan," but who knows if someone by that name actually wrote it; as Deanna Wrenn found out, Reuters isn't above fraudulently affixing someone's byline to its anti-American boilerplate.
And check out the headline of this Reuters dispatch, which moved at 8:16 EST today: "Saddam's Whereabouts Still a Mystery." Oh well, it's probably just as well that word of his capture hasn't reached Reuterville; folks there will no doubt be devastated if they ever find out.
This Just In
"Saddam Used Fear to Rule Iraq"--headline, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Dec. 14
Bad Timing Watch
Note to Andrew Sullivan: The New York Times seems to be angling for your prestigious Von Hoffman Award for spectacularly mistaken pessimism. Even as the Fourth Infantry Division was capturing Saddam, the paper was publishing this gloomy editorial on Saturday:
Isn't this about where we did not want to be at this point? While the Bush administration says things are going well in Iraq, the news from the American-led occupation is looking like a catalog of easily predictable, and widely predicted, pitfalls.
Then the Times offers this laughable advice:
Instead of driving away France, Germany, Russia and Canada with financial sanctions, the president should be creating the room for compromise that will lead to those countries' sending money and troops to Iraq. That would help to create a secure enough environment for the United Nations to come in and take over the nation-building responsibilities, giving the occupation an international face.
Yesterday's Times carried a column by Frank Rich that began with this slap at the president:
The "Top Gun" image of George W. Bush's victory landing on an aircraft carrier has been officially recalled. Since the mission was not accomplished after all, we were given a replacement tableau of the president bestowing Thanksgiving grub on troops stuck in a long, hard slog.
Wow, we see why the Times pays Rich the big bucks. Granted, Rich's observations are stunningly unoriginal, but you have to give him credit for publishing them on the day when they would make him look most foolish.
Today's Times editorial acknowledges that Saddam's capture is cause for celebration, but then goes on with the usual incantations:
We would suggest this trial be conducted in Iraq under United Nations auspices by international and Iraqi judges. A tribunal picked by Americans would lack legitimacy. . . . The capture does not diminish the need for Washington to find ways to broaden the international nature of the occupation, and to put the nation-building efforts under the United Nations.
Has it really escaped the Times' notice that the U.N. not only blinked when it came time to make good on its years of threats against Saddam's regime, but also cut and ran from Baghdad the instant it became a target for terrorists? The liberal belief in the United Nations can no longer be said to have any basis in reality; it has entered the realm of pure superstition.
We Aim to Please
"If only the capture of Osama Bin Laden were as easy to accomplish as it was easy for Ms. Noonan to write about, the world would indeed be such a lovely place and we could all get back to our earlier lives. Maybe next week she could write an equally fanciful account of the capture of Saddam Hussein and then we wouldn't have to go to war against him."--Steven Platzer, response to Peggy Noonan's March 10 column
OK, so it took her awhile, but she finally got around to it yesterday.
Oh, by the Way, They Tried to Kill Musharraf
"Pakistan's president narrowly escaped an apparent assassination attempt on Sunday when a bomb exploded seconds after his convoy passed by," the BBC reports. "President Pervez Musharraf was returning to his official residence near Islamabad when the bomb went off, damaging a bridge. The president said he was certain he was the target."
No one was hurt in the blast. But while Musharraf wasn't injured, he must have been insulted that hardly anyone noticed.
Some Afghans actually are complaining about being "upstaged by Saddam," Reuters reports:
"Yesterday we were obviously celebrating one of our greatest national days," presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin told a news briefing adding that the Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly, had been topping world news headlines.
"Then it suddenly changed," he said. "We Afghans feel that Iraq has always overshadowed us, which is kind of unfair."
Yeah, well, life's tough.
The European Quagmire
"Karzai Confident of Deal on Afghan Constitution"--headline, Reuters, Dec. 13
"European Constitution Summit Collapses"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 14
So Long, Breaux
Sen. John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat, won't seek re-election, bringing to five the number of Southern seats to be left vacant by retiring Dems. Republicans have been competitive in some recent Louisiana Senate races--Sen. Mary Landrieu beat Suzanne Terrell 52% to 48% in a runoff last December--the last Louisiana Republican in the upper chamber was Sen. William Pitt Kellogg, who left the Senate in 1883.
He's Down to One?
"Kerry Asks Supporter to Stick With Him"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 14
What Would We Do Without Democrats?
"Democrats Expect Candidate Field to Shrink by February"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 13
There's a There. Where? Over There.
"Being the most recognized actor in the world certainly has power, but there has to be a there there, and Schwarzenegger has demonstrated there is there there."--Timothy Hodson, executive director of the Center for Governmental Studies at California State University at Sacramento, quoted in the New York Times, Dec. 13
News You Can Use
"Homeless Who Pass Cold Night Outside Need Warm Clothes"--headline, Des Moines Register, Dec. 12
What Would We Do Without Experts?
"Thin Ice: Experts Say 'Stay Off of It' "--headline, Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle, Dec. 14
It Really Does Conquer All
"Love Withstands Birdie Spree by Woods"--headline, Seattle Times, Dec. 15
Another Anti-Martian Hate Crime
"Hunter's Green Woman Assaulted"--headline, Tampa Tribune, Dec. 15
They Should Have Stuck to Graven Images
"Sun Worship Exposes Australians to Cancer"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 15
Not Too Brite--CXXVII
"A man killed himself with a gunshot to the head on Friday after lying down on the X in the road marking the spot in Dealey Plaza where former U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas 40 years ago," Reuters reports from Dallas.
Oddly Enough!
Patriotism for Bimbos
Our friend Merrie Spaeth, a Dallas-based public-relations woman, gives out something called the "Bimbo Award":
The Bimbo Award recognizes dumb public comments made during the year. The criterion for nomination is that the speaker causes the listener to believe exactly the opposite of what is said. The award is a reminder that repeating negative words only reinforces the negative message as well as misses the opportunity to convey the right message to the reader or listener.
The Bimbo Award was created by Merrie Spaeth, former Director of Media for President Reagan at the White House, memorializing the protest of a young lady whose tryst with a well known evangelist some years ago made news around the world. Her comment, "I Am Not A Bimbo," became the headline in scores of newspapers and a cover of People Magazine in 1987.
Democrats are constantly having Bimbo eruptions on the question of patriotism. By constantly talking about how unpatriotic they're not, they lead people to wonder how patriotic they are. Check out this Reuters dispatch on the Democratic response to President Bush's Saturday radio address:
Senate Democratic Whip Harry Reid cataloged several cases where congressional Democrats had resisted President Bush's proposals this year--including an energy bill, Iraq reconstruction money and administration efforts to change overtime pay rules. . . .
"I believe the voice of dissent is often the true voice of democracy," Reid, of Nevada, said in the Democrats' weekly radio address.
"I have to say, I'm troubled by the way this administration brands Americans who disagree with its policies as 'unpatriotic,' " Reid continued.
What's even funnier about this is that the administration has never characterized a Democrat as "unpatriotic." The idea that Dems are unpatriotic is entirely a Democratic creation!
(Elizabeth Crowley helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Gad Meir, Barak Moore, Ami Avivi, Jerome Marcus, Brendan Shulman, Carl Sherer, Dan Friedman, Glenn Taubman, Yehuda Hilewitz, C.E. Dobkin, Marc Levin, Robert LeChevalier, Joel Goldberg, Aaron Krakowski, Michael Segal, Heidi Huettner, Monty Krieger, Pesach Wolicki, Miriam Himmelfarb, Jonathan Yunger, Hershel Ginsburg, Natalie Cohen, David Bookless, Edward Tannen, John Williamson, Aaron Gross, Zach Roberts, Steve Barnett, Ari Egi,Jim Peterson, Mark Schulze, David Beebe, Jennifer Ray, Dave Evers, Jim Orheim, Michiel Visser, Jeff Smith, Joseph Carragher, Peyton Randolph, Douglas Welsh, Matthew Carolan, Chris Mykrantz, David Kaspar, Kenneth Killany, Jim Miller, David Spetner, Raghu Desikan, David Gerstman, Craig Rolle, Steve Prestegard, Edward Schulze, Tony Booth, Darren Gold, Kevin Hisel, Paul Ruschmann, Ian Colle, Ronald Cansler, Pete Drum, Skip King and Michael Nunnelley. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
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