Like everyone else yesterday, I heard that they caught Saddam. Joy in the street, gunfire (always gunfire), dancing, etc. Footage at 11. The whole time I'm thinking, I don't trust the media. They're cheerleaders. The Bush administration has a habit of milking things for all they're worth (think Jessica Lynch desperately fighting off Iraqis vs. getting injured in a car wreck), so I don't trust their story either. So I wait for the alternate version(s) to come out. Doesn't take long.
Take a look at this, from DEBKAfile:
A number of questions are raised by the incredibly bedraggled, tired and crushed condition of this once savage, dapper and pampered ruler who was discovered in a hole in the ground on Saturday, December 13:1. The length and state of his hair indicated he had not seen a barber or even had a shampoo for several weeks.
2. The wild state of his beard indicated he had not shaved for the same period
3. The hole dug in the floor of a cellar in a farm compound near Tikrit was primitive indeed � 6ft across and 8ft across with minimal sanitary arrangements - a far cry from his opulent palaces.
4. Saddam looked beaten and hungry.
5. Detained trying to escape were two unidentified men. Left with him were two AK-47 assault guns and a pistol, none of which were used.
6. The hole had only one opening. It was not only camouflaged with mud and bricks � it was blocked. He could not have climbed out without someone on the outside removing the covering.
7. And most important, $750,000 in 100-dollar notes were found with him (a pittance for his captors who expected a $25m reward)� but no communications equipment of any kind, whether cell phone or even a carrier pigeon for contacting the outside world.
According to DEBKAfile analysts, these seven anomalies point to one conclusion:Saddam Hussein was not in hiding; he was a prisoner.
I don't know if anyone's else has picked up on this yet, but it makes some sense. If he was really directing the insurgency, that would indicate that Saddam was maintaining some sort of power, however diminished. The picture we all saw was not a man with any power.
Posted by Jason at December 15, 2003 04:49 PM