News Flash: United States capures Saddam Hussein alive!

So... they got him. Remember the image of Paul Bremmer breaking the news to the media. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we got him. The tyrant is now a prisoner", those two sentences and the initial images of reporters within the press conference chanting "death to saddam" in Arabic and celebrating his capture will be bandied about in the next few weeks over and over again till we all start wishing for a quick and painless death ourselves.

The question now arises.. how does the US deal with this guy? what do they do? how do they try him? through a military trial like the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay or through the International Criminal Court or through the Iraqi system itself?

It's a complex question and as with any other decision in Iraq, there are many sides that deserve attention.

First, the United States is breaking pretty much every rule and clause of international law covering Prisoners of War and prisoners in general. Hundreds of people in Guantanamo Bay have not been afforded the same basic human rights that the United States claims to protect. There have been no lawyers for many. If there have been, then their jobs and positions of confidentiality have been severely restricted. Second, many prisoners have not been charged. This causes a problem for the US when it comes to Saddam. They can lock up some Arab from Houston for years if they want to because no one except for his/her family will make noise about it and point out the injustice. However, the whole world will be watching Saddam, and bringing attention to the issues surrounding Guantanamo would be a foolish move on the part of the US.

let's get something straight though... this guy deserves no human rights. I couldn't care less if they put him in a cell and throw the key into Guantanamo Bay and let him rot. He's an asshole. He's killed hundreds of thousands of people and many more live a life of misery due to his actions. So, when I write abt this stuff, I'm not writing cuz I'm concerened abt Saddam's rights... i couldn't care less about him, I'm writing this from a strategic point of view.

So, altho Guantanamo Bay and the prisoner of war process or 'armed combatant' process is an option, I don't think the US will go that route. Then you have the International Criminal Court which is a good option; however, the United States has been a vocal critic of the ICC for years. It is possibly the only western nation not to have signed the ICC agreement because it was not granted the previlege of its own army being exempt from allegations of war crimes in the past, present and future. So, the ICC would not seem a very good option because the US would be acknowledging the importance and viability of that court, something which the US has painstakingly worked against for years.

the third option is to take Saddam to trial under the new Iraqi system itself. This would be a highly dangerous move. There is no doubt that he would get convicted. The US would make sure of that. However, it would be absolute lunacy to keep Saddam in the country and risk his death or assasination. As I write this, insurgents are planning on how to either bust him out or kill him. Taking Saddam to trial in Iraq will not be hard to do, it'll be impossible.

It is important to remember that next year is an election year. And this news of Saddam being captured is the only good news in the midst of what has been a scandal plagued campaign that has resulted in the deaths of many US soldiers. Until last night, George Bush and his cronies weren't looking too good in the election run for next year. However, this morning is a completely different issue. This administration will milk this moment till it is dry. Saddam's face will be on our tv screens for months and the smiling face of George Bush will not be far behind.

For this purpose, the United States will pursue a very public form of trial. I mean a minute examination of each and every crime that he commited, a la Nuremberg: The invasion of Kuwait; The war against Iran; The gassing of the Kurds; The mass executions of the Shia; And every day acts of brutality meted out by his secret police.

One viable option could see the US could asking one of its allies, maybe Spain or Britain, to bring a war crimes charge against Saddam. Spain has done this before when it dealt with Augusto Pinochet. It was proven in that case, and is widely accepted now, that a 'crimes against humanity' charge can be brought against anyone in any country; hence, Saddam can be tried anywhere. This means that the US could potentially try him through one of their allies.

However, I feel that this would not afford them the flexibility they would need to really go media savvy and pump up their acheivement. I have a feeling that in the end, altho it might not be the best option, the US will try Saddam in Iraq and hope that their security measures hold up.. we shall see.

I'm happy he's caught. Like I said, he's a horrible man. However, I consider this a ominous sign that the United States will stay on for longer in Iraq now that they have acheived one of their main goals as insignificant as it might have been to the overall success of the campaign.

in other news:

President Musharraf of Pakistan was the target of a failed assasination attempt earlier today. His convoy had passed the site of the bomb blast just a minute earlier.

stay tuned... there will be a few interesting days in the next week or two..