JR
12-16-2003, 12:35 AM
I realized today something real happened when Saddam was captured.
Bush will be re-elected.
Not because of the significance of the event itself... but because of what is about to happen as a result.
Saddam will most likely be tried in Iraq for a few reasons.
1) How will the world effectively politicize a trial where the man is being judged by the same people he murdered and brutalized for decades. I doubt that can be done effectively. Thats going to be a losing argument everytime. I am sure arguments will be made, i just dont think that they will stronger than the notion of "justice" being served in Iraq, by the Iraqi people.
2) This is THE ideal situation for a US Admistration to send a message to others in the region who also reign with brutal dictatorships. The message is clear... "your people dont appreciate it, they can and eventually will fight back... and NO ONE is above the law" etc etc. There will be a strong focus on human rights abuses in Saddams Iraq that coincidentally, also exist in neighboring countries. I am sure leaders in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other countries are going to be shitting in their pants as they see Saddam being humiliated in court like a common thief. It already began with the images release by the military which "coincidentally" showed a guy looking like a crazy, homeless drunk, being prodded and poked and probed in a very impersonal and invasive way... which would also coincidentally be the message you would want to send to would be and existing dictators.
3) - its the perfect way to draw media attention from any failures in Iraq and cause the news to be dominated with the worlds most watched and famous trial in Iraq. haha. perfect.
Ok.. so a trial happens in Iraq. Why does that matter? It matters because NOW we are going to forget 100% about the "search" for WMD's and be bombarded day and night with "evidence" against Saddam. It's a green light for a limitless propaganda campaign where we will see nothing but images of executions, mass graves, mass murders, genocide, use of chemical / biological weapons, invasions etc etc etc. It will be bigger than the OJ trial and the news of the day will always be the "evidence" that was presented that day and its significance. The further we get into this process, the more peoples painfully short attention spans will be drawn away from the other issues and it will be almost impossible to speak out against the war without looking like an ass (given the volume of brutal images and facts that are going to be presented on CNN 24/7).
I am starting to believe that Bush just got a free pass on the Iraq issue by Saddam being arrested. I dont think some democrats are playing it down because the event itself is overly important. I think they are worried about the coming tidal wave of sympathy and support that is coming for the Iraqi people.
It will be interesting to watch what happens with this issue and how its used. My opinion is that this is going to turn out being a major turning point in Bush's ratings as well as peoples opinion on the war. I am not saying that Bush is a great president or should be re-elected, but i am convinced he will play this for all its worth and it will benefit him much more than we realize today... the images of the beat up and defeated dictator are just the beginning... now we are about to relive every bad thing he ever did on the news everyday for months and months.
Brace yourselves. "WMD's" is going to be the word of the day again. Only this time, it will be all the evidence presented in court in Saddams trials rather than pleas to voters or to the UN. They will be able to present more evidence, more details and more information and testimony without losing their audience. Before, they were trying to sell something [war] on a limited time frame. Very limited. In court, they can go on for years with as much testimony, evidence and facts as they want and i suspect that will happen.
my predictions:
1) Bush will get re-elected. I believe that milking this issue will ensure it.
2) Democrats will be in a real panic once this becomes clear because they have to attack every aspect of capturing Saddam, bringing him to trial and the evidence presented to draw attention from it and it will be a difficult task to achieve without looking really bad. I expect some great political comedy in the near future.
In fact, this has already began (was it Dean?) Doesn't matter who is right or wrong. It was foolish to voice an unpopular position or opinion about such a sensitive issue at a point where opinions were shifting farther and father away from his. It will get worse, because i dont see any other options other than continued attack.
I suspect that as we near elections, its going to get comical.
Bush will be re-elected.
Not because of the significance of the event itself... but because of what is about to happen as a result.
Saddam will most likely be tried in Iraq for a few reasons.
1) How will the world effectively politicize a trial where the man is being judged by the same people he murdered and brutalized for decades. I doubt that can be done effectively. Thats going to be a losing argument everytime. I am sure arguments will be made, i just dont think that they will stronger than the notion of "justice" being served in Iraq, by the Iraqi people.
2) This is THE ideal situation for a US Admistration to send a message to others in the region who also reign with brutal dictatorships. The message is clear... "your people dont appreciate it, they can and eventually will fight back... and NO ONE is above the law" etc etc. There will be a strong focus on human rights abuses in Saddams Iraq that coincidentally, also exist in neighboring countries. I am sure leaders in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other countries are going to be shitting in their pants as they see Saddam being humiliated in court like a common thief. It already began with the images release by the military which "coincidentally" showed a guy looking like a crazy, homeless drunk, being prodded and poked and probed in a very impersonal and invasive way... which would also coincidentally be the message you would want to send to would be and existing dictators.
3) - its the perfect way to draw media attention from any failures in Iraq and cause the news to be dominated with the worlds most watched and famous trial in Iraq. haha. perfect.
Ok.. so a trial happens in Iraq. Why does that matter? It matters because NOW we are going to forget 100% about the "search" for WMD's and be bombarded day and night with "evidence" against Saddam. It's a green light for a limitless propaganda campaign where we will see nothing but images of executions, mass graves, mass murders, genocide, use of chemical / biological weapons, invasions etc etc etc. It will be bigger than the OJ trial and the news of the day will always be the "evidence" that was presented that day and its significance. The further we get into this process, the more peoples painfully short attention spans will be drawn away from the other issues and it will be almost impossible to speak out against the war without looking like an ass (given the volume of brutal images and facts that are going to be presented on CNN 24/7).
I am starting to believe that Bush just got a free pass on the Iraq issue by Saddam being arrested. I dont think some democrats are playing it down because the event itself is overly important. I think they are worried about the coming tidal wave of sympathy and support that is coming for the Iraqi people.
It will be interesting to watch what happens with this issue and how its used. My opinion is that this is going to turn out being a major turning point in Bush's ratings as well as peoples opinion on the war. I am not saying that Bush is a great president or should be re-elected, but i am convinced he will play this for all its worth and it will benefit him much more than we realize today... the images of the beat up and defeated dictator are just the beginning... now we are about to relive every bad thing he ever did on the news everyday for months and months.
Brace yourselves. "WMD's" is going to be the word of the day again. Only this time, it will be all the evidence presented in court in Saddams trials rather than pleas to voters or to the UN. They will be able to present more evidence, more details and more information and testimony without losing their audience. Before, they were trying to sell something [war] on a limited time frame. Very limited. In court, they can go on for years with as much testimony, evidence and facts as they want and i suspect that will happen.
my predictions:
1) Bush will get re-elected. I believe that milking this issue will ensure it.
2) Democrats will be in a real panic once this becomes clear because they have to attack every aspect of capturing Saddam, bringing him to trial and the evidence presented to draw attention from it and it will be a difficult task to achieve without looking really bad. I expect some great political comedy in the near future.
In fact, this has already began (was it Dean?) Doesn't matter who is right or wrong. It was foolish to voice an unpopular position or opinion about such a sensitive issue at a point where opinions were shifting farther and father away from his. It will get worse, because i dont see any other options other than continued attack.
I suspect that as we near elections, its going to get comical.