Saddam has been caught!

[KingFish]

Even in Feudal Japan, rival clans were already using scores of doubles called 'Kagemushas' to throw enemies off their trail while they mount a comeback.

Clones may be a little far fetched, but its not entirely impossible for Saddam to leak to the CIA his double's DNA sample from the very beginning. And we know how 'reliable' American Intelligence is, take the hunt for WMD for example.

For all we know, this is another propoganda campaign to divert attention from the failure of the American campaign in Iraq ... think 'Wag the Dog'.

[sps_dude]

the news says that the soldiers cought him without resistance ......thats so unlike him.....why fight a war when u know u are going to get captured......so i also think it is a propaganda....well everybody is entitled to his views...this is what i belive in.....who knows he might be even planting a bomb while disguised as a toilet cleaner...haha.....

[Tanzy]

Dumb question of the day by a journalist posed to Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, "What was Saddam doing when you caught him?" Reply, "He was hiding."

I think Saddam gave up when faced with the overwhelming odds of 3:600+. He looks thin and tired from all that hiding and evading. The DNA material of Saddam was compared to his brother's DNA as well as his sons'.

[KingFish]

Dumb question of the day by a journalist posed to Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, "What was Saddam doing when you caught him?" Reply, "He was hiding."

I think Saddam gave up when faced with the overwhelming odds of 3:600+. He looks thin and tired from all that hiding and evading. The DNA material of Saddam was compared to his brother's DNA as well as his sons'.

So CIA do not have a sample of Saddam's DNA?

How is it going to stand in reasonable doubt?

At best its a clinical guess that it MIGHT be Saddam, but I suppose he'll do. I guess the next question they'll be asking is where are his millions?

[Tanzy]

If his DNA matches 50% of his brother and 50% of his sons' then it is absolutely sure it is Saddam because a person carries 50% of a sibling's genetic material and children carry 50% of a father's genetic material.

[Achilles Tang]

[KingFish]

I thought they claimed they have Saddam's DNA profile back in April and were comparing it with dead Iraqis to confirm if Saddam was killed in action.

See the contradiction.

Anyway, 'his' refusal to drink any water while Iraqis are in bondage shows 'his' intentional use of the media to play things up a little ... then again, CNN & FOX can report whatever they want.

This just keeps getting better and better...

[Achilles Tang]

I bet Bush and his Dad must be dancing their alabama jig now.

[KingFish]

Bushdance?

[Tanzy]

They said that they have his DNA profile, not the whole genome. 50% match with a sibling is certainty unless they are incestuous..

More importantly, oil prices have fallen and US$ gained in strength. Also, I wonder if he will get the death penalty because at the moment, Iraq does not practice capital punishment. I would love a firing squad, LIVE telecast.

[terryansimon]

I would love grenades on testicles, followed by C4 down his throat. or something along those lines. poor iraqis did have bombs wrapped around them and blown apart.

[Achilles Tang]

Also, I wonder if he will get the death penalty because at the moment, Iraq does not practice capital punishment.

Oh yeah? Then what have they been practicing all these years? Death by tickling? Laughing gas?

[terryansimon]

hanging the person on his back on fish hooks.

[FuEl]

IT's NOT saddam i tell you!!!...I think saddam will rather risk dying and taking a few americans along with him rather than just sit and await capture.

SADDAM IS OUT THERE!

[darren]

IT's NOT saddam i tell you!!!...I think saddam will rather risk dying and taking a few americans along with him rather than just sit and await capture.

SADDAM IS OUT THERE!

i do believe its saddam. its easy to say and sincerely believe that you'd(saddam) rather die in a blaze of glory. take americans along with him if he dies, rather than get caught alive etc, etc when he is living it out in palaces lined in gold, good food good women. but when a person who has been living a king's lifestyle has to go into hiding, get dirty, on the run for months, those gung ho attitude will dissolve. like in saddam's case at present.

remember the times when you get called up to an outfield exercise and you're actually thinking "hey, digging a trench is going to be fun this time round" before the thing happens? 2 hours into digging and you'll think "f*ck the nation" ?

[Tanzy]

Oh yeah? Then what have they been practicing all these years? Death by tickling? Laughing gas?

I'm talking about the interim Iraqi government.

Also...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...tions_and_doubt

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) should have put up a fight or committed suicide, stunned Iraqis said Sunday after watching images of their fallen leader, haggard and humiliated, in American custody.

As news of his capture spread across the country, celebratory shooting erupted in Baghdad's streets, soldiers cheered and victims of his tyranny thanked the United States. Many said it marked a new beginning for Iraq (news - web sites).

But for some, his capture was a blow to hopes for Saddam's triumphant return, and his peaceful surrender was seen as a stain on Arab honor.

"He swore before the war that Iraqis would fight America, and then he didn't fire a single shot," said Kassem Shelshul, a 28-year-old chauffeur living in Baghdad. "We expected him to commit suicide or resist," he said after watching video of the captured dictator.

It was a publicly humiliating end to a leader who for 30 years presented himself to his people only in the most monumental terms. Video released by the U.S. military showed the bearded, wild-haired leader in custody, submitting to a doctor probing his mouth with rubber-gloved hands. Though U.S. officials said Saddam had a pistol with him when he was caught, he didn't use it.

Iraqis were shocked that the man they feared for three decades was found hiding in a hole and gave up without a fight.

"For the last 35 years Saddam Hussein presented himself as a lion against the Americans and the West and now today they found him like a mouse," said Laad Hamadi, an Iraqi civil engineer. "He didn't fight for his country, he didn't even fight for himself."

Some called Saddam a coward for getting caught. Others were glad he didn't die a martyr.

"He killed my son Mohammed and he tortured his people," 40-year-old Halem al-Jassen said as she celebrated in the street. "Thank God for the United States."

In the Kurdish city of Kirkuk in the north, eight people were killed and 80 wounded from gunfire during celebrations of Saddam's capture.

But for Saddam's supporters, the day was one of loss.

Safa al-Douri, a 36-year-old grocery store owner in Adwar, the town where Saddam was captured late Saturday, said it was too painful to watch the video.

"I could not stand looking at him. When I heard the news of his arrest it was as though somebody told me my father had died," he said. "But when I saw his face, it was even worse."

In Baghdad, members of the Iraqi Communist Party, which was banned and persecuted under Saddam's rule, were simply jubilant, passing around bags of candy and raising red flags outside party headquarters.

Shiite clerics offered sweets to worshippers who attended afternoon prayers; residents of the capital burned old currency emblazoned with Saddam's photograph, radio stations played festive music and bus passengers cheered: "They got Saddam, they got Saddam."

Ayet Bassem, who wore the traditional black cloak of religious Muslim women, was overcome with relief.

"Things will be better for my son," she said, clutching the hand of 6-year-old Zenalbadin. "My son now has a future."

But her sentiment wasn't shared by all.

At Baghdad's Palestine hotel, where foreign journalists and American contract workers are staying, Abil Daoud was sad.

"We lost our only hope and now we are stuck with the Americans," said Daoud, who is employed by U.S. troops as a security guard.

After two hours of celebrations, worried shopkeepers in the capital hurried to close their businesses early and get home before the shooting increased.

Among them was Yehya Hassan.

"I'm very happy. Now we can start a new beginning."

Outside the capital, in places such as Mosul, where attacks on Americans have been particularly intense over the past two months, Noha Fakhri wanted to cry.

"I love Saddam," she said. "I had hope that he might return to power, but now I know he won't."

___

AP correspondent Scheherezade Faramarzi contributed to this report from Adwar.

Edited December 15, 2003 by Tanzy