1214031228-Rochester, NY–
Well, it’s happened. We got Saddam. We got the man who boasted about the number of people he’d killed:
“George Bush believes he is so powerful, so strong,” Saddam said. “But even with all of his bombs and missiles and Marines, he has not even come close to killing as many Iraqis as I did.”
Indeed; the evidence is mounting that those who died at the hands of Saddam, or those acting at his order, number in the millions. So much for the claims of the Baathist nuts, and their sympathizers here in the states who claimed this was a war not on terrorism, but on Islam. Weren’t the people Saddam is boasting of Killing, followers of Islam?
Clearly, this is a massive victory for the Iraqi people. Equally clearly, this is a massive vindication for the Administration’s policies.
What may be less clear to some, is the effect it will have here in the states, politically speaking. The domestic ramifications will take a while to identify, but there are a few we know about already.
A few offhanded examples: Hitlery was due to speak at the Council on Foreign Relations. Hitlery, who has of course been critical of our actions, was reportedly set t fire a massive broadside at Mr. Bush, apparently setting the stage for a Presidential run.
Howard “Duck” Dean, who has been taking a course vis-Ã -vis Mr. Bush, not unlike that of Hitlery, was also due for a major policy speech in LA on Monday.
Imagine with me, the furious re-writes going on, as the staff of both The Duck and Hitlery as they try to alter their positions to allow for reality, all without looking like they didn’t want this day to come to pass.
No statement from Hitlery as of this writing. However, she’s not in a good position at all. After her badwill tour of Bagram, where she badmouthed the chain of command, is less than 2 weeks was proven to be a total idiot..
The Duck, for his part, in his statement this morning, earns his nickname, by ducking what would have happened had we actually followed his advise of ‘duck and cover” regards Iraq; Saddam would still be in power.
More, The Duck in his statement this morning, said in part:
“Now that the dictator is captured, we must also accelerate the transition from occupation to full Iraqi sovereignty.”
Dean, in this insistence on push9ing all of this back into the hands of Iraqis… seems to want to ignore the advise of the vast majority of people, best exemplified by Newsweek columnist Fareed Zakaria. Zakaria says in a column published November 4th in the Washington Post that “Iraqification” —the quick transfer of power to local troops and politicians in Iraq—is an exit strategy, not a winning strategy. And this losing strategy, tantamount to placing a load on the foundation before the cement is dry, thus dooming the building to total collapse, is exactly what Dean wanted.
That particular argument is a moot point now, of course, except for the question of how Dean and his supporters could be so spectacularly and demonstrably wrong on this issue. And perhaps of greater import for the future, what is their basic thinking on world events that would drive them to be so flat-out wrong? Certainly, such ideas would lead them to be so again in future… and if given political power, they’d drag US down the chute towards destruction, along with them.
Dean, in the end, has, along with most of the rest of the Democrats, nothing but his hatred of Bush, and his raw powerlust, left to run on, now. Watch for them to become even more loudmouthed as their defenses disappear.
Some other notable reactions:
“Praise the Lord. … This is a day of glory for the American military, American intelligence, and it’s a day of triumph and joy for anybody in the world who cares about freedom and human rights and peace.” — Sen. Joe Lieberman D-Conn.
“For 35 years, the people of Iraq suffered under the rule of one of the most cruel and vicious tyrants in the history of the world. His capture puts a period to the statement that says the Saddam Hussein era is ended.” — Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz.
“Capturing Saddam Hussein and ensuring that this brutal dictator will never return to power is an important step toward stabilizing Iraq for the Iraqis. Let’s also be clear: Our problems in Iraq have not been caused by one man and this is a moment when the administration can and must launch a major effort to gain international support and win the peace.” — Sen. John Kerry D-Mass.
“This is a major, major step, a remarkable day for the world.” — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist R-Tenn.
“I supported this effort in Iraq without regard for the political consequences because it was the right thing to do. I still feel that way now and today is a major step toward stabilizing Iraq and building a new democracy.” — Rep. Dick Gephardt D-Mo.
And now perhaps we know why the Democrats haven’t taken Gephardt seriously…. because he was right, in this, at least. I wonder how that will play.
Other ramifications that pop into mind:
* The Morale of the military has to be sky high, even overcoming the cloud of doom imposed by Hitlery’s recent bad will tour of Bagram.
* The economy here is about to really take off come Monday morning. Says the AP:
“In fact, analysts believe Saddam’s capture will give a general boost to equities around the globe, as well as to the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries.
“It’s broadly positive for equity markets,” said Hilary Cook, director of investment strategy at Barclays Stockbrokers. “Concerns over the situation in Iraq have weighed on sentiment and help explain why shares haven’t rallied by as much as they could have in the face of some pretty positive economic data.”
So U.S. troops’ capture of Saddam, who was found hiding in a hole near his home town of Tikrit, could give the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average reason to extend last week’s gains above the psychologically sensitive 10,000 mark.”
* This will work to eliminate what little doubt there was about our capturing Bin Laden, in due course.
* Al Gore, who has been screaming for Dean louder than Dean was about how bad the war is, just a few days ago, now sees his house of cards collapse.
* All these factors must have the Democrats in a real funk this morning, because their disloyal opposition will be remembered as the failing policy it is.
* Ramsey Clark, the paid traitor, isn’t even on the radar.
* Oh, and the WMD’s? Does anyone think that he won’t be telling us about those, now that he’s been captured?
*With all of this, it’s clear that the President’s re-election has just been cemented.
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