Saddam; The dictator has no clothes
UNITED NATIONS Ñ The extraordinary capture of Saddam Hussein by American 4th Infantry units, brought early holiday cheer to the USA and chagrin to those who bought into the messianic myth of the fallen dictator. But beyond the political good fortune of capturing the Iraqi tyrant, the jarring psychological effect remains far deeper for Iraqis and the Arab ÒstreetÓ in general.
As I wrote at the liberation of Baghdad in April, the toppling of the ubiquitous Saddam statues would exorcise the ghost and the shadow of SaddamÕs hideous regime.
ÒThis cult of the personality must be defeated not only militarily as the American and British forces accomplished so splendidly, but smashed figuratively as the oppressed citizens of Baghdad did by toppling and smashing the statues, and thus the temporal political spell of SaddamÑthis faux-golden Baal of Baghdad.Ó
That said, there were still more Iraqis than one would imagine, who feared the eventual return of the toppled ruler as if he would rise from the political dead. Smashing that myth and exorcising the legend are only part of the story it appears; as many Iraqis in the most genuine Orwellian twist, actually loved Big Brother!
Saddam was the idol of self-created legendÑplaying to an Arab aura he so carefully crafted. Given that his rule was portrayed as monumentally heroic, thatÕs why discovery of this dishelved-looking hobo was anything but heroic, but patently pathetic.
The great leader, caught like a rat, not in a blazing shootout in his gold gilded bedroom but cowering in a fetid and dusty hole. This symbolism shocked many of his adoring minions, as it should. Let the Cult of Saddam see the Emperor in his ragged clothes not in the vulgar gilded uniforms of the generalissimo of the Arab World.
Even on the verge of the Allied liberation of Iraq last Spring, we find Saddam not as the glorious general preparing the dogged defense of his homeland, but little more than a vain idiot frittering away the time writing absurd novels! Nero move over!
Finding the proper method of Justice for Saddam may prove complicated but hardly insurmountable. ThereÕs victorsÕ justice (U.S. Military Court), international justice, (UN Tribunal) and thereÕs poetic justice (use your imagination).
SaddamÕs fate will be in Iraqi hands, President George W. Bush stated. As to trying the tyrant SaddamÑit should be in Iraq by those who suffered most from his heavy hand of terror There are many ghosts to be placated. The northern Kurds, the southern Marsh Arabs, the Shiites, and his own Sunni people, all fell victim to his socialist BaÕath Party terror.
This mass murderer of Mesopotamia has left a long and meticulously recorded trail. There are legions of victims who are fit to sit as Judge and Jury of his once-oppressed peers. This is hardly a question of getting even, as SaddamÕs singular loss of life would not count for the more than one million Iraqis who were sacrificed on the altar of his megalomania.
Understandably there are calls for an International Tribunal. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has weighed in against the death penalty for the dictator. That said, an international process in the Hague, while logical, could meander on for years. The International Tribunal for Ex-Yugoslavia, currently trying Slobodan Milosevic, will likely sentence him to the ultimate punishment of life in a Dutch prison.
A civil trial, held in Iraq where most of the crimes were committed, would be the best method to showcase SaddamÕs murders and to allow his victims the final word. Through this process, the restive spirits of Babylon who call for justice, may yet find solace.
John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense
issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.
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