the middle finger of triumph

To all the people who said it couldn't be done...

FUCK YOU!

Yes, Saddam is in custody. We can only hope this means the Iraqi people will hear the news, go through a short period of disbelief, then realize that an amazing weight has been lifted, and Saddam isn't the magical being they've made him out to be. Perhaps this will dishearten the equally superstitious insurrectionists. That's what I hope, anyway.

In the meantime, the mainstream press will concentrate, as it's already doing, on the fact that we haven't found a significant cache of WMDs-- or any WMDs, for that matter. Again, they'll have passed over something major in pursuit of their ideology, whatever that is (personally, I remain confident we'll find WMDs, too, and Saddam may be key in helping us locate them... once his confusion fades). They'll also be humming about how this event is gravy for Bush's reelection campaign. No denying that it is, but as was done with post hoc coverage of Bush's covert trip, the spin will be reflexively cynical.

Saddam didn't even have the common decency to kill himself-- the only honorable thing to do. Instead, like the coward he ultimately is, he surrendered without any struggle. The pistol he had with him in his six-foot rathole remained unused.

Saddam emerged 8:30PM, Iraqi time on Saturday, looking a heck of a lot like Osama bin Laden (or Santa Claus, as my brother David offered). I can't believe he chose to stay in Tikrit; if I were him, my ass would've been out in Pakistan, kickin' it with the tribesmen who've proven more loyal to bin Laden than Saddam's men were to Saddam. So the ball is more firmly in al Qaeda's court to step up the terror and solidify the networks, within Iraq and without. No more help from Saddam is possible; the Ace of Spades has been caught.

Over the past few months, our soldiers (it was an all-US special ops force that caught Saddam-- the Wolverines of Operation Red Dawn, a hilarious movie reference) have conducted some 1500-1600 raids in Tikrit (if I understand this correctly), so I'd wager they know the city better than Saddam does. The man couldn't run forever.

Amazing. I'm bowled over. The President's speech was just on-- stiff as usual, but short and very sweet. It renews my belief that we will find the WMDs, and gives me hope that we will eventually track down Osama and nail his ass, too.

_