Two takes

Ogged and Juan Cole say the two things that need to be said about the capture of Saddam:

Juan Cole on why this is a great day and a frightening day:

A nightmare has ended. He will be tried, and two nations’ dirty laundry will be exposed, the only basis on which all can go forward towards a new Persian Gulf and a new relationship with the West.

What is the significance of the capture of Saddam for contemporary Iraqi politics? He was probably already irrelevant.

The Sunni Arab resisters to US occupation in the country’s heartland had long since jettisoned Saddam and the Baath as symbols. (See “Sunnis gear up” below.) They are fighting for local reasons. Some are Sunni fundamentalists, who despised the Baath. Others are Arab nationalists who weep at the idea of their country being occupied. Some had relatives killed or humiliated by US troops and are pursuing a clan vendetta. Some fear a Shiite and Kurdish-dominated Iraq will reduce them to second class citizens. They will fight on, as Mr. Bush admitted today.

My wife, Shahin Cole, suggested to me an ironic possibility with regard to the Shiites. She said that many Shiites in East Baghdad, Basra, and elsewhere may have been timid about opposing the US presence, because they feared the return of Saddam. Saddam was in their nightmares, and the reprisals of the Fedayee Saddam are still a factor in Iraqi politics. Now that it is perfectly clear that he is finished, she suggested, the Shiites may be emboldened. Those who dislike US policies or who are opposed to the idea of occupation no longer need be apprehensive that the US will suddenly leave and allow Saddam to come back to power. They may therefore now gradually throw off their political timidity, and come out more forcefully into the streets when they disagree with the US. As with many of her insights, this one seems to me likely correct.

And Ogged on the need for anti-jerking knee clamps for all of us on the Left:

But here we are in America, with half of us feeling at least a little uneasy because this is good news for George Bush. Get over it. We don’t want to become the caricatured left: actively wishing the country ill for the sake of putting our own people in power (and not for the sake of a greater good, so don’t comfort yourself with that thought: no matter how convinced you are of your political beliefs, you have to admit that you might be wrong, the other side might have the right idea, and the proof will be in the results).

Good advice.

Filed under: politics/war