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Letters on the capture of Saddam Hussein

Below we post a selection of letters on “Saddam Hussein’s capture will not resolve Iraqi quagmire http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/sadd-d15.shtmland “The official US response to the capture of Saddam Hussein: a degrading spectacle

Mr. Walsh’s article was entirely appropriate; the display by the media since Hussein’s capture has been nothing but sickening. I’ve almost had the impression that every newspaper has been competing for some award, given to the especially vile, ignorant or violent. The comparison at the end of the article was fascinating; though Hussein is neither Napoleon nor Lee, the level at which this administration and media operates, as seen through their treatment of the enemy, is by comparison utterly uncivilized and bloodthirsty.

Thank you for what is certainly a heroic article.

DG

16 December 2003

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Thank you so much for all your wonderfully clear, thought-out comments on so many subjects. I’m prompted to write this short message about the capture of Saddam Hussein because it exactly reflected my feelings of revulsion at the embarrassing puerile carryings-on of Bush and his vile crew at this “triumph.” Wouldn’t you love to see how he would behave in similar circumstances? His actions on 9/11 gave us a hint of what could be expected. (Coupled with his military history, I would say that could cautiously be called a trend.)

Now that the November 17th group has been tried and convicted (responsible over about 25 years for probably the number of murders that occur in Los Angeles on any given night) and Saddam Hussein has been found, I’m sure we all feel ever so much safer. Now if they could only find Bush and Sharon. Sharon, being a “man of peace,” probably wouldn’t offer much resistance. Bush is trickier since he takes his orders from The Almighty Himself, but one can hope.

Should we expect Saddam Hussein to suffer an “accident” or an “acute illness” or assassination by “one of his victims” before he has a chance to put on a defense that would implicate Washington? If he’s put on trial there will be much more attention focused on his testimony than there is on Milosevic’s, who is doing an outstanding job of defending himself in spite of the fact that the result is a foregone conclusion.

Again, thank you for the excellent service you provide.

DC

Athens, Greece

16 December 2003

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Mr. Walsh’s article captures a collective feeling over this ignominy. The action by the US government and troops did not appeal to reason but to backward emotions. The leaders and the media in Australia have hurried to support the death penalty for Hussein. The new leader of the Labor Party has committed the worst mistake of his campaign. After criticizing Bush’s illegal war against Iraq now he is calling for Hussein to be put to death. It is more than disgusting. This is the beginning of the end of the era in which people believed in the Western politicians.

VB

16 December 2003

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Although I agree with so many of the views of the WSWS, I must take exception to the article by David Walsh (Dec. 16) regarding the media reports of Hussein’s capture.

This man is an acknowledged tyrant, murderer, thief and god knows what else and the descriptions of “a rat in a hole,” etc., are totally valid.

After reading Mr. Walsh’s comments, one has to wonder what it would take (if possible) for him to say anything positive about the US and the West, in fact about anything in general.

I despise George W. Bush as much as any person but not to the extent of lauding and protecting Saddam Hussein who is responsible for the torture and deaths of untold thousands of people, Iraqi and otherwise. This article destroys much of the credibility of the WSWS and goes a long way to justify the term “liberal media.”

Mr. Walsh should open his eyes and take one good long look at the world and his place in it and realize he is doing more harm than good to the world and to WSWS with articles like this.

BH

Texas

16 December 2003

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Editors,

Watching the corporate media report on the capture of Saddam Hussein is a nauseating experience. Contrary to the celebratory overindulgences displayed by certain elements in the population, I feel no joy and no relief. I just feel sick. When I first heard of his capture, I immediately wondered if it were, in fact, Hussein, and not one of his many doubles. And judging by the over the top triumphalism expressed in the news reports, it was natural to question whether Hussein had been found long ago and whether the administration was keeping him on ice to spring his capture on the public when little difficulties like the Halliburton and KBR rip-offs came to light.

How in the world does his capture make the war against Iraq all right? How in the world can the media depict Bush as a “hero” just because Saddam Hussein has been found in a hole in the ground in Tikrit? No mention is made of the destruction of civil liberties at home by John Ashcroft’s Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security, or the destruction of thousands upon thousands of Iraqi as well as American and European lives. No mention of the outrageous lies told by this government in the attempt to mask its naked greed for resources and power in the Middle East. Everything must come to a halt, it seems. I’m disgusted. Saddam Hussein was no friend of humanity, but his captors are hastening to catch up with his record of extrajudicial murders and torture by rounding up unfortunate folk at airports and shipping them to torture-friendly jurisdictions such as Syria.

I begin to feel like Lady Macbeth, endlessly washing, washing, trying to get rid of the stink that clogs my nostrils and permeates the very air.

CZ

San Francisco

15 December 2003

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Gentlemen:

Another great article. Most of the information I already knew, but WSWS organized the material in a spectacular way—the wars with Iran and Kuwait; oil; domination of the region. The only other significant fact was Israel’s bombing of the almost finished nuclear plant in 1981. After listening all day Sunday to the official pap this was absolutely great.

15 December 2003

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