Saddam Hussein 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. 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.
| Ummm... By this point, and by that measure, Arab honor looks like my hankie in the middle of a particularly bad cold... |
"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.
| Well, you expected him to lead you to glorious victory, too, didn't you? Dumbass. I don't know what kind of mental condition it is that makes it impossible for these guys to believe a word Bush says, but they're willing to swallow 11 whoppers at a time from Saddam without even a drink of water. I guess that's how they ended up with Baghdad Bob as "Information" Minister... |
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."
| Too important to The Movement™? |
In the Kurdish city of Kirkuk in the north, eight people were killed and 80 wounded from gunfire during celebrations of Saddam's capture.
| Wotta party! A wonderful time was had by all, except for the dead people... |
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."
| Looked like that $750,000 in cash he had with him shoulda been all dimes, didn't it? |
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." |