12/14/2003
Must See TV
Was watching NBC news' coverage of the Saddam capture for about half an hour this morning. A few phrases uttered about 15 minutes apart caught my attention. Tom Brokaw, describing Saddam's later days in office, mentioned some opinion that Saddam didn't have strong day-to-day control of the government- that he was paying more attention to his novels, "famous or infamous, depending on your point of view."A little later, in a taped report that recapped the fall of Saddam over the last year or so, a reporter whose name I didn't catch mentioned that Saddam was the ace of spades on the "infamous deck of cards." No nod to alternate points of view this time.
This is no expose of NBC news. I just found it grating.
Merriam-Webster online defines "infamous" as:
1 : having a reputation of the worst kind
2 : causing or bringing infamy : DISGRACEFUL
3 : convicted of an offense bringing infamy
Meh.
12/14/2003
"We Got Him"
World Reaction:
George Galloway: "It might be seized upon by the prime minister as something to laugh about, but I very much doubt if it will be the last laugh, because the truth is the country was taken into the war on the basis of a lie.
"This will not stop the Iraqi resistance... if anything, it may set the resistance free, if you like, from the cloud of Saddam Hussein, and transform it into a purely national resistance movement without the charge that it's being controlled from behind by the deposed president."
Michelle Mauriere, Leipzig, Germany: "It's good that it's clarified where Saddam Hussein is now. But I do not hope that people forget now that George W. Bush has lead the world into a war without proof of WMD and a connection to Osama bin Laden. What Bush did was wrong. And Americans need to remember that next year when the presidential elections take place."
Jacques Chirac: "It's a major event that should strongly contribute to democracy and stability in Iraq and allow the Iraqis to master their destiny in a sovereign Iraq." (Via spokesperson.)
Derek Haslam, South Shields: "Great! Now some stability might return to Iraq. While they put him on trial for war crimes, they can put Blair and Bush on trial too. Lets not forget they waged an unprovoked war of aggression without a UN mandate, and they lied to their electorate regarding the 'Intelligence!'"
Gerhard Schroeder: "It's with great delight that I learned of Saddam Hussein's capture. I congratulate you on this successful operation.
"Saddam Hussein caused horrible suffering to his people and the region. I hope the capture will help the international community's effort to rebuild and stabilise Iraq. "
Roarke, London: "Aside from the questionable justifications for going into Iraq, now Saddam is captured he must be seen to be tried in a completely fair and open manner, with full cooperation from Muslim countries and the UN, for his horrendous endless catalogue of base atrocities against the swathes of helpless humanity that he viciously terrorised with his foul offspring, including the Northern Kurds, his own people, Kuwaitis and the Iranians for war crimes, and also Israel for the firing of Scuds in 1991. Anything that smacks of a show trial by the US will work in favour of this monstrous product of human shame."
John Kerry: "This is a great opportunity for the United States to get it right." "But I also know that if we had done this with a sufficient number of troops, if we had done this in a globalized way, if we had brought more people to the table, we might have caught Saddam Hussein sooner." (Fox News Sunday)
