There's "a high degree of confidence" that the man captured is Saddam, the official said. He said scars on his body matched those that U.S. officials believe he would have suffered in past coup attempts.
Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, president of the Iraqi governing council, said that DNA tests have confirmed that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured in Tikrit.
He said Saddam was sporting a fake beard and was hiding in a store in his hometown, when U.S. forces captured him.
A coalition news conference in Baghdad, scheduled for 3 p.m (1200 GMT), is expected to shed more light on the status of the Iraqi leader.
Saddam captured
Saddam captured
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/ ... index.html
Pengu
- Wonko Wenusberg
- Star Farmer
- Posts: 451
- Joined: July 17, 2002, 7:03 am
- Location: Sweden, Stockholm
Cheers , they captured a man!
Does this mean the terrorism is put to an end, Sir Bush?!
And I will smile when the peace is solid as stone
Does this mean the terrorism is put to an end, Sir Bush?!
And I will smile when the peace is solid as stone
Last edited by Wonko Wenusberg on December 14, 2003, 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
cweeedit cwuunch
- Akaran_D
- Way too much time!
- Posts: 4151
- Joined: July 3, 2002, 2:38 pm
- Location: Somewhere in my head...
- Contact:
If anything, I imagine it will pick up in response to this.
However, this is an evil man. I'm glad they got him.
However, this is an evil man. I'm glad they got him.
Akaran of Mistmoore, formerly Akaran of Veeshan
I know I'm good at what I do, but I know I'm not the best.
But I guess that on the other hand, I could be like the rest.
I know I'm good at what I do, but I know I'm not the best.
But I guess that on the other hand, I could be like the rest.
- Arundel Pajo
- Almost 1337
- Posts: 660
- Joined: July 3, 2002, 12:53 pm
- Gender: Male
- XBL Gamertag: concreteeye
- Location: Austin Texas
I am quite glad they finally got him...but there are four nagging questions I have, and I'm curious still to see how they play out:
1 - ICC or Gitmo?
2 - Geneva Convention? Britain is already claiming that the GC does not need to be followed in this case, as "war" has technically been over since May. I may be totally wrong on this, and that's OK, but I thought Geneva still applied to nations occupied after a war. Otherwise, what would stop some country from invading another, making a quick end of it, and then doing all sorts of nasty things?
3 - I'm seeing several sources citing DNA test matches that confirm that this is Saddam. Just how long have we had this guy in custody? DNA tests take time. Lots of time. Now either we've had him for a few weeks and not been told about it, or there is no such DNA match. Either option sorta stinks to me.
4 - Osama? As nasty as Saddam is, personally, I'd still like to see the man who actually blew up our buildings brought in.
...Additionally, my gut tells me that this development will not do much to quell the Iraqi resistance in the long run - though I hope I am wrong about that.
Still - much kudos to our men (and women) over there for finally finding him.
EDIT > ...and I bet this is the last we will hear about Halliburton owing the people of the US 60 million.
1 - ICC or Gitmo?
2 - Geneva Convention? Britain is already claiming that the GC does not need to be followed in this case, as "war" has technically been over since May. I may be totally wrong on this, and that's OK, but I thought Geneva still applied to nations occupied after a war. Otherwise, what would stop some country from invading another, making a quick end of it, and then doing all sorts of nasty things?
3 - I'm seeing several sources citing DNA test matches that confirm that this is Saddam. Just how long have we had this guy in custody? DNA tests take time. Lots of time. Now either we've had him for a few weeks and not been told about it, or there is no such DNA match. Either option sorta stinks to me.
4 - Osama? As nasty as Saddam is, personally, I'd still like to see the man who actually blew up our buildings brought in.
...Additionally, my gut tells me that this development will not do much to quell the Iraqi resistance in the long run - though I hope I am wrong about that.
Still - much kudos to our men (and women) over there for finally finding him.
EDIT > ...and I bet this is the last we will hear about Halliburton owing the people of the US 60 million.

Hawking - 80 Necromancer, AOC Mannannan server, TELoE
Also currently enjoying Left 4 Dead on XBL.
Also currently enjoying Left 4 Dead on XBL.

- Forthe
- Way too much time!
- Posts: 1719
- Joined: July 3, 2002, 4:15 pm
- XBL Gamertag: Brutus709
- Location: The Political Newf
Just because you were not willing to kill thousands of Iraqis to remove\capture Sadam doesn't mean you wouldn't like to see it happen (minus the costs). Here we have a situation were the costs have already been paid.Sargeras wrote:ROFL. I'm reading what the world leaders are saying about the capture. Those who opposed the war and are all happy and patting Bush on the back.
Priceless.
All posts are personal opinion.
My opinion may == || != my guild's.
"All spelling mistakes were not on purpose as I dont know shit ." - Torrkir
My opinion may == || != my guild's.
"All spelling mistakes were not on purpose as I dont know shit ." - Torrkir
what i hope happens is that in the next year Iraq's governing council is set up and they also get a court system operational. At that time, the Iraqis get to try and execute Saddam.
It is the blood of their people that he has spilled, and IF anybody deserves the right to kill this guy, it is the people of that country.
So in the meantime we'll keep him in a box somewhere. Supposedly he's been pretty cooperative in terms of answereing questions, etc. I would almost imagine he's happy to be caught. COnsider the opulence he used to live in - requiring people to cleanse themselves before shaking his hand, etc - and now he was living in some 1 room hut, hiding in a whole in the ground, disheveled and lice riden. i imagine he's probably looking forward to the running water that whatever prison facility he'll be sitting in for the next few months has.
SOmebody needs to make a "Bad Santa" parody poster with his face on it =)
It is the blood of their people that he has spilled, and IF anybody deserves the right to kill this guy, it is the people of that country.
So in the meantime we'll keep him in a box somewhere. Supposedly he's been pretty cooperative in terms of answereing questions, etc. I would almost imagine he's happy to be caught. COnsider the opulence he used to live in - requiring people to cleanse themselves before shaking his hand, etc - and now he was living in some 1 room hut, hiding in a whole in the ground, disheveled and lice riden. i imagine he's probably looking forward to the running water that whatever prison facility he'll be sitting in for the next few months has.
SOmebody needs to make a "Bad Santa" parody poster with his face on it =)
Er, maybe not free, as you say. 100B would have been cheap at the price. Add in the cost in loss of human life and you're well into Mastercard "priceless" territory.Cartalas wrote:kyoukan wrote:they probably could have saved some lives and just paid him $100bn to retire to the carribean.
Why pay he is going to Cuba for free,Well maybe not free.
Oh and then there's the opportunity cost of not spending those resources actually fighting terrorism.
The Boney King of Nowhere.
So how long before he tells the locations of all his seekrit caches of WMD? You know the ones the CIA didn't really plant to gain back a little credibility for the Bush Admin?
I'll be honest: I thought the justification for this whole invasion was fucked up, but I am glad he has been captured. Maybe the US occupation will now be more peaceful and people can get on with rebuilding the country... but somehow I doubt it...
I'll be honest: I thought the justification for this whole invasion was fucked up, but I am glad he has been captured. Maybe the US occupation will now be more peaceful and people can get on with rebuilding the country... but somehow I doubt it...
Wulfran Moondancer
Stupid Sidekick of the Lambent Dorf
Petitioner to Club Bok Bok
Founding Member of the Barbarian Nation Movement
Stupid Sidekick of the Lambent Dorf
Petitioner to Club Bok Bok
Founding Member of the Barbarian Nation Movement
On the news this morning, ,most likely fox news i heard the quote comming from someone saying "the capture of Saddam is likely to end the terrorist attacks on american soldiers", my ass started cracking up right then and there
Im glad hes captured but unfortunately all were going to hear for the next 3 weeks is conservative flaunting about the justification of "operation iraqi freedom" and a higher probrability of dubyahs dumb ass sittin in the office for another 4 years, etc
Im glad hes captured but unfortunately all were going to hear for the next 3 weeks is conservative flaunting about the justification of "operation iraqi freedom" and a higher probrability of dubyahs dumb ass sittin in the office for another 4 years, etc
- Boogahz
- Super Poster!
- Posts: 9438
- Joined: July 6, 2002, 2:00 pm
- Gender: Male
- XBL Gamertag: corin12
- PSN ID: boog144
- Location: Austin, TX
- Contact:
This sure wasn't from Fox News unless it was from someone that they interviewed. Everyone I heard interviewed by them said that it wouldn't.Xzion wrote:On the news this morning, ,most likely fox news i heard the quote comming from someone saying "the capture of Saddam is likely to end the terrorist attacks on american soldiers", my ass started cracking up right then and there
I think it is good that Saddam was captured. I don't think it will stop the attacks but it should make the iraqi people less afraid to start the road to their own governance. Saddam was in a power a long time and there are a lot of people very loyal to him. There are also a lot of non-iraqis who went to iraq just to kill americans. It will be harder to stop those people.
After world war 2, there were german loyalists still fighting 5 years after the war was over.
After world war 2, there were german loyalists still fighting 5 years after the war was over.
Deward
- Adex_Xeda
- Way too much time!
- Posts: 2278
- Joined: July 3, 2002, 7:35 pm
- Location: The Mighty State of Texas
According to the man on the street interviews I saw yesterday, the big thing is most Iraqi families have had some kind of horror story incident with Saddam's former government. To them it's a great release of frustration to see him finally captured.
Also, the figurehead of a political movement was captured in a humiliating manner that helped burst the mystique he'd built up as being some kind of tough guy.
Overall I think his capture will be a morale boost of the everyday Iraqi. It's another indicator that things are indeed changing.
He's not coming back, and that is a great emotional release.
Also, the figurehead of a political movement was captured in a humiliating manner that helped burst the mystique he'd built up as being some kind of tough guy.
Overall I think his capture will be a morale boost of the everyday Iraqi. It's another indicator that things are indeed changing.
He's not coming back, and that is a great emotional release.
all european markets are up on the news. regardless of the fact that it is a symbolic matter from a military matter most likely, it is a symbolic matter that has real effects.
all arab analysts that i've seen on air this morning are saying it has substantial implications in the region at large, with one caveat.
and that is that the US still must demonstrate that this war is not about occupation and exploitation of Iraqi resources, and in their opinion (more or less) the more say an Iraqi court has in Saddam's ultimate fate the better it will be for the larger US political agenda in the region.
all arab analysts that i've seen on air this morning are saying it has substantial implications in the region at large, with one caveat.
and that is that the US still must demonstrate that this war is not about occupation and exploitation of Iraqi resources, and in their opinion (more or less) the more say an Iraqi court has in Saddam's ultimate fate the better it will be for the larger US political agenda in the region.
- masteen
- Super Poster!
- Posts: 8197
- Joined: July 3, 2002, 12:40 pm
- Gender: Mangina
- Location: Florida
- Contact:
With so many terrorists focused on hurting our interests in Iraq, it'll be pretty hard for them to mount another attack on the US proper.Mplor wrote:Er, maybe not free, as you say. 100B would have been cheap at the price. Add in the cost in loss of human life and you're well into Mastercard "priceless" territory.
Oh and then there's the opportunity cost of not spending those resources actually fighting terrorism.
"There is at least as much need to curb the cruel greed and arrogance of part of the world of capital, to curb the cruel greed and violence of part of the world of labor, as to check a cruel and unhealthy militarism in international relationships." -Theodore Roosevelt
Its a good gig if you can get it.kyoukan wrote:yes ruining two businesses his daddy gave him as well as snorting coke and binge drinking his way through the 80s and 90s is a sure sign of genius.Adex_Xeda wrote:Hehe, go ahead thinking that he's a goof.
Underestimating your opponent provides a quick path to his re-election.
- miir
- Super Poster!
- Posts: 11501
- Joined: July 3, 2002, 3:06 pm
- XBL Gamertag: miir1
- Location: Toronto
- Contact:
Are americans really that gulliable?Skogen wrote:I don't know about Iraqi, but it just might greatly improve the odds of having george fucking W bush in office for another 4 goddamn years.miir wrote:Aside from the obvious symbolism, what effect will 'capturing' him actually have in Iraq?
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
Yesmiir wrote:Are americans really that gulliable?Skogen wrote:I don't know about Iraqi, but it just might greatly improve the odds of having george fucking W bush in office for another 4 goddamn years.miir wrote:Aside from the obvious symbolism, what effect will 'capturing' him actually have in Iraq?
[65 Storm Warden] Archeiron Leafstalker (Wood Elf) <Sovereign>RETIRED
The better question to ask is:miir wrote:Are americans really that gulliable?Skogen wrote:I don't know about Iraqi, but it just might greatly improve the odds of having george fucking W bush in office for another 4 goddamn years.miir wrote:Aside from the obvious symbolism, what effect will 'capturing' him actually have in Iraq?
Will the Dems ever put up a decent candidate and not some Al Gore's-coattails riding partisan poster boy?
and you seriously cant turn that analogy around and use it for bush and his daddy? come the fuck on dudePahreyia wrote:The better question to ask is:miir wrote:Are americans really that gulliable?Skogen wrote:I don't know about Iraqi, but it just might greatly improve the odds of having george fucking W bush in office for another 4 goddamn years.miir wrote:Aside from the obvious symbolism, what effect will 'capturing' him actually have in Iraq?
Will the Dems ever put up a decent candidate and not some Al Gore's-coattails riding partisan poster boy?

Dean doesnt seem like a bad canidate at all, Clark also sounded like a pretty badass possibility(my favorite so far)
Sounds like he had fun!kyoukan wrote:yes ruining two businesses his daddy gave him as well as snorting coke and binge drinking his way through the 80s and 90s is a sure sign of genius.Adex_Xeda wrote:Hehe, go ahead thinking that he's a goof.
Underestimating your opponent provides a quick path to his re-election.
All is explained here.
Hope this isn't a repost, but with all the stupid flames and someone actually arguing that Bush isn't a complete fucktard I figure it's appropriate.
Hope this isn't a repost, but with all the stupid flames and someone actually arguing that Bush isn't a complete fucktard I figure it's appropriate.
Current Incarnations:
Flintler, EQ2, Crushbone, HOOAC
Grahmiam, WoW, Firetree, The Crazy 88
Flintler, EQ2, Crushbone, HOOAC
Grahmiam, WoW, Firetree, The Crazy 88
Okay, so we can turn in one ultra conservative president for an ultra liberal one. Sounds great. Let's just rock this boat to a capsize.Xzion wrote:and you seriously cant turn that analogy around and use it for bush and his daddy? come the fuck on dudePahreyia wrote:
The better question to ask is:
Will the Dems ever put up a decent candidate and not some Al Gore's-coattails riding partisan poster boy?![]()
Honestly, moving from such extreme differences in partisan leaders would cause more bullshit political manuvering and introduction of so many new bills to overwrite the ones from the previous 4 years that we might as well shut down the federal government for the next 4 years.
Yeah, it's too bad that a moderate liberal like Clark can't harness the money for his campaign that the Miir's and Skogen's are dumping into Dean. Clark seemed to be the kind of guy that would think with logic and reason first, and how his political party would feel about it second, which is exactly what America needs in their leadership these days.Dean doesnt seem like a bad canidate at all, Clark also sounded like a pretty badass possibility(my favorite so far)
Bush is conservative? ahahahahahaha do you even listen to yourself? Bush is the biggest liberal that's been in the white house since Carter. He's spent money on social and welfare programs that would make Clinton look like Scrooge McDuck. He is quite possibly the farthest you can get from being a traditional conservative that you can possibly be, outside the redneck rhetoric that he spews. the man has essentially put your entire country into a deficit landslide that will take decades to climb out of and you call him a conservative? why? because he's anti abortion and brings up jesus in every second sentence?Pahreyia wrote:Okay, so we can turn in one ultra conservative president for an ultra liberal one. Sounds great. Let's just rock this boat to a capsize.
- Arundel Pajo
- Almost 1337
- Posts: 660
- Joined: July 3, 2002, 12:53 pm
- Gender: Male
- XBL Gamertag: concreteeye
- Location: Austin Texas
He spends way too much. He panders to the lowest common denominator too much. He is too much a tool of the PNAC. ...and his stance on stem cell research is alone enough to make me want him out of office - NOW.
But is he evil? Nah, he's just placed himself in a position to be influenced by people who I think *are* evil - the PNAC. Dumb? Nah. In fact, the man is frighteningly media savvy (though a lot of that is Rove's doing). He's not dumb - I just really don't approve of him as my president.
This comes as a large disappointment to me, also. He did an OK (not fantastic...but ok) job governing our state. It was an unremarkable run here. He didn't achieve greatness, but he didn't screw up to any great degree, either. I expected as much from his presidency - a "ho-hum", four year wait until the next president.
I wasn't much of a fan of his father - he was too much Reagan's lapdog, and I think we have all seen with disastrous results just how well Reaganomics (voodoo economics, trickle down economics, etc...) actually work. Our income distrubition has grown remarkably polarized in the last couple of decades. Up until the 1970's, social inequality was shrinking. Our society was becoming more and more equal, both in terms of income and in terms of wealth. Since Reagan was elected, that trend has reversed. Matching wealth and income against inflation, our society is now is less equal than it was in Hoover's day. You simply can't stimulate an economy by giving the wealthy more money. In order for a tax cut to properly stimulate an economy, the money released by the cut has to find its way back into the economy. The rich just don't spend enough in the right places - they save and hoard, and when they get cuts, historically, it just makes them richer at the expense of everybody else.
Unfortunately, GW has continued this. It's just not great economics.
Then you have the stem cell thing. This is where pandering to the lowest common denominator comes into play. His administration's stance on this important medical research is that they don't feel right producing human embryos just to have them killed and used in research - that it amounts to murder.
This, I am sad to say is a blatant pull to capture the anti-abortionists. Stem cells are undifferentiated embryonic cells - they are gathered from the blastula and morula stages of the embryo, when it is just a mass of a few cells. In addition, regardless of your view on abortion, these embryos are not produced just for this research. They are leftovers from fertility clinics. Every potential parent who visits a fertility clinic creates dozens of embryos. These clinics have enough viable embryos laying around to keep stem cell research going well into the next century. These embryos were going to further some of the most important medical research in recent history, now they go...in the garbage. No lives are being saved, only wasted. Bush even signed into effect a social program giving more money to fertility clinics, but the pro-lifers (most of them) still eat up his policy on stem cell research, because they are unaware of the connection. I say "most of them" because I do know several pro-lifers who are also pro stem cell research. Personally, I find this sort of ethical duplicity to be pandering and deplorable.
Anyway - all things conisidered, those are my two biggest beefs with GW. Are Dems perfect? Hell no. The most certainly are not. At this point, I don't care *what* party is in office, I want somebody with a $&^$% backbone, who will be honest and think rationally.
Foolishly, this last election was the only one of the last 3 in which I did not vote. My logic at the time was that I liked Gore better for the most part, but since there was a Bush running, there was no way Gore was gonna carry Texas, anyway...so I was sort of hamstrung. Dear God, how I regret that these days. I won't make the same mistake again.
But is he evil? Nah, he's just placed himself in a position to be influenced by people who I think *are* evil - the PNAC. Dumb? Nah. In fact, the man is frighteningly media savvy (though a lot of that is Rove's doing). He's not dumb - I just really don't approve of him as my president.
This comes as a large disappointment to me, also. He did an OK (not fantastic...but ok) job governing our state. It was an unremarkable run here. He didn't achieve greatness, but he didn't screw up to any great degree, either. I expected as much from his presidency - a "ho-hum", four year wait until the next president.
I wasn't much of a fan of his father - he was too much Reagan's lapdog, and I think we have all seen with disastrous results just how well Reaganomics (voodoo economics, trickle down economics, etc...) actually work. Our income distrubition has grown remarkably polarized in the last couple of decades. Up until the 1970's, social inequality was shrinking. Our society was becoming more and more equal, both in terms of income and in terms of wealth. Since Reagan was elected, that trend has reversed. Matching wealth and income against inflation, our society is now is less equal than it was in Hoover's day. You simply can't stimulate an economy by giving the wealthy more money. In order for a tax cut to properly stimulate an economy, the money released by the cut has to find its way back into the economy. The rich just don't spend enough in the right places - they save and hoard, and when they get cuts, historically, it just makes them richer at the expense of everybody else.
Unfortunately, GW has continued this. It's just not great economics.
Then you have the stem cell thing. This is where pandering to the lowest common denominator comes into play. His administration's stance on this important medical research is that they don't feel right producing human embryos just to have them killed and used in research - that it amounts to murder.
This, I am sad to say is a blatant pull to capture the anti-abortionists. Stem cells are undifferentiated embryonic cells - they are gathered from the blastula and morula stages of the embryo, when it is just a mass of a few cells. In addition, regardless of your view on abortion, these embryos are not produced just for this research. They are leftovers from fertility clinics. Every potential parent who visits a fertility clinic creates dozens of embryos. These clinics have enough viable embryos laying around to keep stem cell research going well into the next century. These embryos were going to further some of the most important medical research in recent history, now they go...in the garbage. No lives are being saved, only wasted. Bush even signed into effect a social program giving more money to fertility clinics, but the pro-lifers (most of them) still eat up his policy on stem cell research, because they are unaware of the connection. I say "most of them" because I do know several pro-lifers who are also pro stem cell research. Personally, I find this sort of ethical duplicity to be pandering and deplorable.
Anyway - all things conisidered, those are my two biggest beefs with GW. Are Dems perfect? Hell no. The most certainly are not. At this point, I don't care *what* party is in office, I want somebody with a $&^$% backbone, who will be honest and think rationally.
Foolishly, this last election was the only one of the last 3 in which I did not vote. My logic at the time was that I liked Gore better for the most part, but since there was a Bush running, there was no way Gore was gonna carry Texas, anyway...so I was sort of hamstrung. Dear God, how I regret that these days. I won't make the same mistake again.
Hawking - 80 Necromancer, AOC Mannannan server, TELoE
Also currently enjoying Left 4 Dead on XBL.
Also currently enjoying Left 4 Dead on XBL.
