Finally

[theist]

When I first say hs picture on tv I thought it was the unibombers dad but then someone said Saddam. Then they showed the Iraqi's pouring into the streets dancing and celebrating so I figured "yeah they finally got the snake."

 

The lingering fear of the sadists possible return to power was evident in their cheering faces by its absence.

 

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Saddam's hero-like image shattered in Arab eyes

By Samia Nakhoul

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - For many Arabs Saddam Hussein's meek surrender to U.S. forces marked the total humiliation of a man who portrayed himself as a champion of Arab rights and the reincarnation of the 12th century Muslim warrior Saladin.

 

Repeated broadcasts of close-up footage of Saddam submitting to medical exams at the hands of U.S. soldiers were seen with disbelief, shame and disgust.

 

Of course many were revelling in his spectacular humiliation.

 

But even those who predicted his downfall did not imagine it would be that way -- plucked by U.S. soldiers like a rat from a hole.

 

"No Arab and no Muslim will ever forget these images. They touched something very, very deep," veteran Moroccan journalist, Khalid Jamai, a leading independent commentator, told Reuters.

 

"It was disgraceful to publish those pictures. It goes against human dignity, to present him like a gorilla that has come out of the forest, with someone checking his head for lice."

 

The deposed Iraqi leader's Arab supporters and enemies alike watched over and over again U.S. film of his surrender without firing a shot to defend himself.

 

A U.S. medic combed gloved fingers through his hair and beard, prised open his mouth, poked into his ears and took swabs from his cheek. Saddam appeared grubby, dishevelled and submissive.

 

"I wish it was a Hollywood movie, the wishful thinking of an American director," said Palestinian Salah Ahmed. "The scene of him being examined by American doctors was the most painful since his statues were destroyed."

 

The gulf between the image Saddam created over three decades and the ignominy of his defeat and final capture had been shown to Iraqis, Arabs and the world.

 

In the end, many said, the man who had forced his people into three ruinous wars demonstrated the hollowness of his boasts.

 

"I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this really Saddam Hussein (on TV), the Saddam that frightened Iraqis to Arabs? I thought that was a mistake, maybe a new American game. But then I remembered that he gave up Baghdad just like that... I am more than upset am angry," said Nabil Gazawi, a human right activist.

 

"I was expecting a more honourable end for him like shooting himself," said Lebanese student Salam Berri. "But he was just a typical Arab leader; (they) stay in power forever and then give their countries and themselves up to their worst enemy."

 

FALSE HERO

 

Many said Saddam's hope of founding an Arab warrior dynasty like his ancient hero Saladin was exposed as fantasy.

 

"What we saw was the televised unveiling of 30-year-old lie. A leader surrendered without fighting, the Arab street is stunned, and the Arab media appear to be in a state of shock," wrote Tareq al-Hamed in the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat.

 

Arab newspapers splashed Saddam's photos in U.S. custody, looking broken and haggard in contrast to old pictures of the arrogant then Iraqi president in smart suits and in palaces.

 

Many Iraqis, who were the main victims of Saddam's brutality over three decades, were ecstatic to see the man who ruled them by fear now broken, humbled and in the dock.

 

"I hope that we get the chance to try him our way, to let everyone who suffered make him taste what he had made us taste," said Ali Hussein, 29, a stationery shopkeeper.

 

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter and a strategic U.S. ally, greeted the capture of its menacing neighbour with quiet relief, tinged with concern over Washington's future plans for Iraq and the Gulf.

 

In stark contrast to Kuwait, the tiny state briefly occupied by Saddam's forces 13 years ago, there was no jubilation in Saudi streets and the kingdom's rulers marked a final chapter in the Iraqi leader's demise without comment.

 

"We are happy that a dictator like Saddam, who was an enemy of Saudi Arabia, has been caught and is not a menace any more to the region, his people and to Saudi Arabia," said Khaled Batarfi, managing editor of al-Medinah newspaper.

 

In Kuwait, occupied by Saddam for seven months in 1990, it was the "Mother of all good news" -- a reference to Saddam's term for the 1991 Gulf War, the "Mother of All Battles".

 

"Many still refuse to believe that... the 'great and awe-inspiring one' was arrested in hiding after loudly claiming he'd die a martyr," wrote Jassem Boudi, al-Rai al-Aam's editor.

 

Arabs begrudgingly admitted that Saddam in custody was a tremendous boost for U.S. President George W. Bush. But regardless of their feelings, many wanted to believe his capture would lead to the end of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

 

"I hope this will be the beginning of the departure of the coalition forces from Iraq, for they have completed their mission," said Sheikh Ali Ahmed Abdillahi.

 

 

[Kulapavana]

I'm glad they caught him alive. His humiliation is complete. He is de-mistyfied and shown as just another low life caught in his hiding hole. After his interrogation is complete, the families of his victims should be allowed to rip him to shreds and feed the scraps to their dogs... Hare Krishna! (even devotees rejoice when a demon is killed)