Saddam Hussein Arrested!!

[Mad_Mark]

The BBC has just broken the news that unconfirmed reports are coming in from Iraq that Saddam Hussein has been arrested. Let's hope that these reports are true!

Mad Mark!!! :mad:

[BEagle]

Reuters report that Saddam Hussein was captured in Tikrit; CNN say 'suspect captured being identified'.

BBC News 24 on Sky 507, CNN on Sky 513.

Hope it's true! No confirmation from MoD, Downing St or the US State Dept. Report seems to come from an Iranian source quoting a Kurdish leader.

I think there was also a statement saying that a press briefing will be given at 1200Z.

[TC27]

Tony Blair has just confirmed that Saddam has been captured. The US captured him yesterday and confirmed his ID with DNA analysis.

[propulike]

Good news!

This can only help the upcoming Iraqi Government to be a true new beginning for Iraqi people.

News breaking that it will be an Iraqi Court that will try Saddam Hussein for war crimes - also would be a stabilising move for the country if run correctly.

[Beeayeate]

As they say in the US mil - outstanding! :ok:

[Runaway Gun]

And he's been in disguise as Santa.
They probably found him at K-Mart. :p

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20031214/mdf427573.jpg

Oh, here's his other subtle disguise...

http://forum.airforces.info/attachment.php?s=&postid=227904

[TicketyBoo]

It's certainly good news.

I imagine Messrs Galloway and Chirac are fervently hoping at this very moment that he's not saying TOO much in any conversations he may be having!

[SilsoeSid]

The bad news for many of us is, should this be another case of mistaken identity, then there will be a lot of upset children this Christmas.

Living in a hole for a lot of the year and only coming out in December........he only has to bleach his hair, put on some glasses change his clothes and it's obvious who this man is........

.......Good old Santa.

Please be kind to him!

http://www.santa-klaus.info/images/Pictures/santa2w.jpg

[nimrodnosewheel]

Now there's a problem. For the past six months the (ever increasing) terrorist activity has been put down to SH running the show in secret with a willing army of accolytes hoping for a slice of the action if / when he was returned to power. The photos today don't exactly look like someone who's been running the show. So, who the hell has?

Also, if / when he's on trial I look forward to a thorough and searching examination of his friendly co operation with the good old US of A circa 1980-88. Donald Rumsfeld will make an interesting witness discussing why he had conversations with SH about the Bechtel installed trans Iraq pipleine to Jordan only a matter of months after SH had gassed the Kurds. Pip pip!

ps someone should have advised the **** Paul Bremmer that "well, we got him" might go down well with the gun totin' red necks back home, BUT THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WATCHING THAT PC.

[Bootz]

Well, they did get him, didn't they - credit where it's due surely?
Maybe just maybe, we are one step closer to an end to this war and to a successful conclusion.
Anything less and a lot of people will have died for nothing.
As to his choice of words, personally I hope Chirac and Schroeder are choking on them :E
well done yanks:ok:
Bootz

[tony draper]

Short pithy and to the point, the man wasn't delivering the Gettesburg address.
I remember another American making a short statement that upset the Germans, he just said

"Nuts"

:ok:

[BlueWolf]

Excellent news!

Now that we have the bounder, he can tell us exactly where all these bothersome damned "Weapons of Mass Destruction" are hidden...;)

....um, just to make sure, there were some, weren't there? I mean, that's why "we" wanted to get rid of him, isn't it? It wasn't anything to do with 9/11, or terrorism, because that was Afghanistan and the Taleban, wasn't it?

And of course it couldn't have had anything to do with Iraq's switch from the US Dollar to the Euro, as the currency for oil transactions; that probably had nothing to do with it.

Nope, it was a purely altruistic action, designed to remove a murdering fascist thug from power, in the interests of his oppressed people.

If I were Bob Mugabe, I'd be real worried right about now. Or maybe I wouldn't; Bob don't got no oil, and he hasn't upset the Dollar, and he ain't got no Weapons of Mass Destruction neither; but then maybe neither did Saddam. I guess he can tell us himself, now.

Ah, what the hell, Saddam needed got rid of, whatever the excuse. (thinks: so does Harare Bob). And he supported terrorism.

Well actually, no, he didn't. Iraq under Saddam (psycopathic genocidal fascist thug, as I have said several times before) was a relatively moderate secular state, with good schools and modern hospitals, where women could go about their business without having to cover their faces, where health was good and literacy high, where fuel was cheap and electricity reliable.

The supporters of terrorism were, and are, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and others, the deservedly ill-fated Taleban amongst them.

So if he didn't support terrorism, and he didn't have WMD, why did "we" get rid of him? Could it possibly be that his threat to the hegemony of the greenback was danger enough? If it wasn't that, and if we are serious about ridding the world of oppressive dictators for purely humanitarian reasons, are we going to go into Zimbabwe next?

Maybe I'm a cynic, or maybe I'm just curious....:E


Good on the guys on the ground who brought him in. However, I think that they erred somewhat in not killing him on the spot; I mean, what the hell are they going to do with him now?

[West Coast]

Chill out or I'll send Mugabe down under. His airforce can kick your airforces ass.

[GrantT]

As i have said before and i'll say again if the US decided to invade Zimbabwe tomorrow you would be the first to run to the hills to shout bloody murder and give the same rhetoric about Bush and imperialism. Why not give this crap a rest and think about how this is a good day for the people of Iraq who have been oppressed for 30 years.

[SwitchMonkey]

NoseWheel...

Perhaps saying "God bless America!" before he walked off stage may not have been the best thing to say in an Arab country before an international audience either... something about Allah may have gone down better... or maybe just "Goodbye."

Ah well... they did "Get Him", which is i guess the important bit.

Lets just hope he isn't made into a martyr.

[FFP]

Hang On !!!

There are further implications of all this.

My opinion. Great news. Glad he's caught. Historic Day.

BUT . . . . .

This may speed up the handover of rule in Iraq . . . . . . . .

So we'll be pulling out of Basra sooner than we thought . . .. .

WHAT WILL PEOPLE MOAN ABOUT !!!!!!!!!!!!

Calmed down a bit now. Realised we'll always find something :ok:

[Runaway Gun]

What will they moan about?

Not getting all of those generous allowances for being in the luxurious Basra.....

Ermm.... You do get generous allowances don't you? :ugh:

[FFP]

You'd think LOA at least . . . .. . .

I mean, you get it in Cyprus . . . .

[nimrodnosewheel]

Bootz & Tony Draper et al, surely it's about decorum. This was, afetr all, one of the most historic moments in Iraq probably since SH came to power. I for one would have preferred a bit more dignity and respect. I certainly don't think a diplomat of the standing of Bremmer should have played to a sycophantic audience whoopin' & hollerin' and giving each other high fives. Whatever SH has done (and we know it ain't pleasant) he's still a human being deserving of all the dignity and respect we're constantly being told he never gave to his enemies. We're better than that and it should have showed. That's it, the soap box is away until the next rant is required!!

[tony draper]

You have the answer yourself Mr Nimrod, they were journalists, is there not a old saying about casting pearls before swine?
:rolleyes:

[BlueWolf]

GrantT, I don't have the slightest problem with Bush or American Imperialism. I just believe they should be honest about it. If the US decided to invade Zimbabwe tomorrow I would actually be the first to run up the Stars and Stripes, cheering wildly.

Yes, the Iraqis have been brutally oppressed for thirty years and this is their day in the sun; good for them and good on the US for delivering it. My only quibble is that we should all be honest about why it was done, and that has nothing to do with either WMD or terrorism, because Iraq under Saddam was involved with neither.

The people of Zimbabwe on the other hand have only been brutally oppressed for twenty something years, though the severity of that brutality is likely to increase dramatically in coming months.

The humanist in me salutes the US for taking down Saddam and liberating the Iraqi people; the cynic questions whether the same concern will be afforded to oppressed peoples who don't have oil or who aren't mucking about with the dollar.

West: you have me at advantage, Good Sir. Fair point.

:D

[BEagle]

1 down, 2 to go.....

That's Uncle Saddam safely in the slammer, now for that odious piece of $hit bin Laden. And after that, it'll be your turn, Comrade Bob!

[GrantT]

WMD or terrorism, because Iraq under Saddam was involved with neither

I'm not going to start again with this argument because you obviously havn't a clue what your talking about.

Let's keep this thread on topic. :rolleyes:

[nimrodnosewheel]

GrantT

"Let's keep this thread on topic"

Couldn't agree more, I'm just staggered that the topic has only generated two pages of posts so far. I'd have thought it would have been the hot one for a long time.

Death sentence for SH? Never. Let him rot in jail for the rest of his natural, don't make him a martyr. Unfortunately for the USA there are far too many awkward questions that'll come out if he gets a fair trial. CONSEQUENTLY, they'll leave it to the Iraqis who'll dispose of the eveidence very neatly, trebles all round. Where's Tony Bliar's world statesmanship now? Time to take the lead Tony. You've dipped your toes in the water, time to stand up and be counted.

Ian Huntley, now there's someone who deserves the drop, I'll even volunteer to pull the lever.

[northernmonkey]

If he does get life imprisonment he will be blamed for every terrorist activity that happens from now until Kingdom come.

The septics will assume that from inside prison he can manipulate and impression the outside world and that will be the reason for the US not winning the war on terror.

Let his own people try him and deal with him as they see fit.

Unless of course they fancy the help of a northern vandal, a small room and a three foot length of carpet gripper rod:O

[FEBA]

Bin Liner must be the next to be extracted from a hole in the ground. Any body know where he might be? How about Pakistan, my starter for 10 :E
FEBA

[RubiC Cube]

Off topic, sorry BUT

Northern Monkey,

I hate to be the one to tell you, but your girlfriend is two timing you!

[northernmonkey]

Yes mate, I know she is a tart, I stole her from an F-3 jock as punishment to myself for being outrageously handsome:O

Back on topic, OBL has clearly got friends in high places all over the middle and far east, they aren't bowing to the FBI and CIA bribes of $25m for info.

Don't think we will have our mits off him for a long time yet.

Bet he is in the States working as a till teller on the main gate of Disneyland

[FEBA]

Northern Simian
Since when is being handsome outrageous ????
Bet he is in the States working as a till teller on the main gate of Disneyland
Do you reckon he's being helped by Whacko Jacko then!!
:E
FEBA

[northernmonkey]

OBL may be a nasty wicked man, but I don't think he is a kiddy fiddler, sex offenders should be dealt with in a far more sinister manner. Terrorists should be topped, nonces should be tortured first

Whilst not a crime to be outrageously handsome, its only fair that I don't hog all the tasty totty and let some of the melted lego heads have a chance.

[BEagle]

Well, northernmonkey, we may disagree on some things but I agree 100% with your scales of justice!

[BlueWolf]

OK, I'll play your silly game (but if you want me to correct your grammar and spelling, it will cost extra;) )

So if I don't have clue about that of which I speak, and Iraq under Saddam was involved in WMD or terrorism - the former charge being, of course, relevant to the current conflict - then where, precisely, is the slightest shred of supporting evidence to back up these claims?

Perhaps such evidence requires to remain secret, for reasons which cannot be explained to the uninitiated; if so, then just say so, and I'll happily accept it.

Or maybe there isn't any, because it was all fibs from the start. Now whose thesis was it that they plagiarised the "dossier" from?

I'm more than happy to accept gospel from those who may be wiser than me, but I'm a slow learner, and I need a few pictures and diagrams to help me understand. So where is the proof that Iraq under Saddam had WMD and supported terrorism?

Waiting eagerly.
:ok:

PS: I still think that taking him down was a good thing.

[teeteringhead]

I find it MOST amusing to see all the tree-huggers getting their homespun, organic dolphin-friendly knickers in a twist over the possibility of Iraqis topping thier erstwhile pres.

"We must respect the cultural traditions of others!" they cry, as they refuse to celebrate Christmas without invoking eid-al-fittah, diwali, hannuka and saturnalia too. But NOW they discover that these cultural traditions in Iraq include capital punishment!! Er, which is er, basically er, contrary to er .....:confused: :confused:

Are we going to respect that PARTICULAR cultural tradition?? I sit back and watch the show ......:O :O

[FEBA]

Sharia law.
Get the stones (not the ginger wine) out
FEBA

[Echo 5]

FEBA,

Thought the stones were for those guilty of adulterous behaviour.

E5

[10forcash]

If the Iraqi's really want him to suffer, they'll ask phoney tony to exile him to scotland :ugh:

[Echo 5]

10forcash,

I don't wish to appear picky but scotland is spelt Scotland. I'll allow you the tony as he doesn't merit a capital T.

E5

[FEBA]

E5
Have to confess that I'm not a Sharia lawyer. You obviously know more than me, maybe having survived a stoning yourself.
I thought stoning might be an appropriate form of punishment and one which the locals could enjoy.
FEBA

[Echo 5]

FEBA,

Sorry, didn't mean to be a smartass. No offence intended.
On reflection perhaps stoning would be appropriate for someone who has screwed a whole nation.

Regards,

E5

[Gainesy]

On reflection perhaps stoning would be appropriate for someone who has screwed a whole nation.

Blair or Saddam?

Either way, two large flat ones and a bag of gravel please.

[squire]

"If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do -- does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?"

- President Bush justifying war, 10/7/02


Its beyond belief the ****e people will swallow, firstly its an illegal occupation secondly they sure wont put him up for international trial as they will be hideously embarrassed by some of the disclosures.

INTERNATIONAL MILITARY HELP

WHITE HOUSE CLAIM: "Our mission has broad support from the international community, including troops from 18 out of 25 current and future NATO countries."

FACT: While the U.S. has over 160,000 troops in Iraq, the next largest force contingent is Britain, with about 9,000 troops. Additionally, since President Bush asked for more military help in September, not one additional new international soldier has been sent to Iraq. - UK Guardian, 12/12/03

WMD

WHITE HOUSE CLAIM: "We are now learning the full truth about Saddam Hussein's regime: clear evidence of Saddam's illegal weapons program."

FACT: “A draft report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq provides no solid evidence that Iraq had such arms when the United States invaded the country in March." - Reuters, 9/15/03

FACT: “We have not uncovered evidence that Iraq undertook significant post-1998 steps to actually build nuclear weapons or produce fissile material...We have not yet been able to corroborate the existence of a mobile biological weapons production effort…Technical limitations would prevent any of these processes from being ideally suited to these trailers...Iraq did not have a large, ongoing, centrally controlled chemical weapons program after 1991… Iraq's large-scale capability to develop, produce, and fill new chemical weapon munitions was reduced - if not entirely destroyed - during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Fox, 13 years of UN sanctions and UN inspections." - Bush Administration Weapons Inspector David Kay, 10/2/03

SADDAM-ALQAEDA TIES

WHITE HOUSE CLAIM: "[We have found] previously undocumented ties to terror organizations."

FACT: The bipartisan September 11th commission report “undercuts Bush Administration claims before the war that Hussein had links to Al Qaeda." - LA Times, 7/19/03

FACT: "Since the fall of Baghdad, coalition forces have not brought to light any significant evidence demonstrating the bond between Iraq and Al Qaeda." - NY Times, 7/20/03

FACT: "Three former Bush Administration officials who worked on intelligence and national security issues said the prewar evidence tying Al Qaeda was tenuous, exaggerated and often at odds with the conclusions of key intelligence agencies." - National Journal, 8/9/03

MILITARY SUPPORT

WHITE HOUSE CLAIM: "America and more than 20 allied countries are working to help the Afghan people rebuild their war-torn nation. More than 15 million Afghan citizens have been freed from the brutal zealotry of the Taliban."

FACT: The U.N. delegation reported that "insecurity caused by terrorist activities, factional fights and drug related crime remain the major concern of Afghans today." Insecurity is especially a problem in the southern part of the country where "attacks against non-governmental organizations was contributing to the slowing of reconstruction." Throughout the nation "individuals and communities suffer from abuses of their basic rights by local commanders and factional leaders." The problems are exacerbated in many areas of the country "by terrorist attacks from suspected members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda." Also of serious concern: "Arbitrary control exercised by local commanders and factional armies [that] has resulted in heavy casualties." - UN Report, 11/11/03Thursday, June 26, 2003
I Never Promised You a Ruse Garden -- A Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush


Dear Lt. George W. Bush,

I hope you don't mind me referring to you by the only true military rank you ever achieved, that being the one from your on-again, off-again "days" in the, um, Texas Air National Guard. Ever since I saw you in that flyboy outfit, landing on that ship, I assumed you now wanted to be addressed by your military title, as opposed to the civilian rank imposed on you by your dad's friends.

So, Lieutenant, I was wondering, would you do me a favor?

Could you PLEASE do better than a ROSE BUSH?

I saw the guy on TV yesterday that your boys found, the Iraqi who said he had "planted" some nuclear plans in his "back yard" in Baghdad -- 12 years ago -- "under a rose bush."

Woo boy. That's a good one. Do you really think we are as dumb as we look? I know our fascination with "American Idol" and Scott Peterson may make us Americans look a little light in the head, but when it comes to lying to us to lead us into war, we really do demand a bit more of an EFFORT and a FOLLOW-THROUGH.

You see, George, it's not the lying and the doctoring of intelligence that has me all upset. It's that you've had control of Iraq for over two months now -- and you couldn't even find the time to plant just a few nukes or vats of nerve gas and at least make it LOOK like you weren't lying to us.

You see, by not faking some evidence of weapons of mass destruction, it shows that you thought no one would mind if it turned out you made everything up. A different kind of president, who believes that the American public would be outraged if they ever found out the truth, would go to great lengths to cover up his subterfuge.

Johnson did it with the Gulf of Tonkin. He said our ships were "attacked" by the North Vietnamese. They weren't, but he knew he had to at least make it LOOK like it happened. Nixon said he wasn't "a crook," but he knew that wasn't enough, so he paid hush money to the burglars and somehow had 18 1/2 minutes erased from a tape in the Oval Office. Why did he do this? Because he knew the American people would be pissed if they found out the truth.

Your blatant refusal to back up your verbal deception with the kind of fake evidence we have become used to is a slap in our collective American face. It's as if you are saying, "These Americans are so damn apathetic and lazy, we won't have to produce any weapons to back up our claims!" If you had just dug a few silo holes in the last month outside Tikrit, or spread some anthrax around those Winnebagos near Basra, or "discovered" some plutonium with that stash of home movies of Uday Hussein feeding his tigers, then it would have said to us that you thought we might revolt if you were caught in a lie. It would have shown us some *respect*. We honestly wouldn't have cared if it later came out that you planted all the WMD -- sure, we'd be properly peeved, but at least we would have been proud to know that you knew you HAD to back up your phony claims with the real deal!

I guess you finally figured that out this week. It started to appear that millions of us were calling you on your bluff -- those "fictitious reasons for the fictitious war." So you quickly produced this man and his rose bush and some 12-year old piece of paper and some metal parts. CNN broke in at 5:15pm and screamed they had the exclusive! "IRAQI NUCLEAR PLANS FOUND!" But a few good reporters started asking some hard questions -- and, barely 3 hours later, your own administration was forced to admit the plans were "not the smoking gun” proving that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Oops.

Never a good idea to rely on a bush, Lieutenant.

Yours,

Michael Moore

www.michaelmoore.com

PS. Sorry, I still can't get that padded flyboy suit out of my head. I know, I need help. But when you landed on that carrier, and that banner read, "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED," just what mission was that that was accomplished? 'Cause by my count, more than 50 of our young soldiers have died since you said the mission was accomplished. Anarchy still reigns, the Brits are losing kids, too, and wacko fundamentalists now seem to ready to rule the land. Women are already being told to cover their face and shut their mouths, store owners who sell liquor have been executed, and movie theaters showing "immoral" Hollywood movies have been forced to shut down. And hey, this isn't even west Texas! Maybe you could get back into that jumpsuit, fly over to Baghdad and land at the former Saddam International Airport, jump out and give one of those big happy waves -- under a sign that reads, "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE."

[Big Unit Specialist]

For the doubters please just take a look at this information......

http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/uav-iraq.cfm

There is so much more out there that supports the argument and rubbishes the tree-huggers arguments. Rant over.

A merry easter to all;)

[nimrodnosewheel]

For f**ks sake BUS, take a look at Squire's post above, read, mark, digest. Which evidence do you trust. I had a look at CDI and couldn't find any background info, methinks it's slightly govt sponsored, lots of impartiality then (!!).

Rgds,

Lefty, pinko, commie tree hugger in chief.

[Dan Winterland]

Yesterday's Gulf Daily News (Dubai) carried an article regarding a photo released by the Pentagon which showed 2 American soldiers looking into the entrance of the hideaway where Saddam Hussein was found. The article pointed out that there was a date tree in the background with bright yellow fruit on it. The date season finished about two months ago and if dates were still on the tree when the caprture was supposed to have happened, they would be dark brown.

Interesting!

[WE Branch Fanatic]

British forces in Iraq - this page not only includes UK forces but other forces in the south of Iraq that come under British command - mostly European/NATO (http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/forces.htm)

As for the UAVs, I seem to remember them being discussed at the time of the earlier spat of Saddam's weapons in 1998.

[SASless]

I must be living in Dreamland with that ghoul Mikey Boy! Suggesting Saddam has any claim to dignified treatment...I prefer to think the Italians had the right idea on how to handle out of office Dictators. Dragging them through the streets by the ankles seems dignified enough for me.

A couple of video's of folks having their tongues cut out by his henchmen convinced me of just what he deserves. But then I must be easily led.

I suggest a couple of Willie Pete grenades down the sump with the scumbag would have been all the dignity I would have offered....then shut the lid and call the case closed.

[skychef]

Well, the Yanks have found Saddam!
Now they can concentrate on finding Nemo....