What a strange period the 2006 holiday season proved to be - friends, family, the execution of Saddam Hussein. Nothing says, “Peace on Earth” like the hanging of a ruthless dictator, complete with unsanctioned cellphone footage of him being mocked at the gallows. It was like the Nuremberg Trials meets America’s Funniest Home Videos. Leave for dinner and Hussein’s alive. Drive back and he’s dead. Just bizarre.
Today, and yesterday, the U.S. has backed away from any involvement in the timing of the punking - err, execution - of Hussein. Major General William Caldwell was quoted today in a Reuters article:
“Had we been physically in charge at that point we would have done things differently,” Caldwell told a news conference.
“At this point the government of Iraq has the opportunity to take advantage of what has occurred and really reach out now in an attempt to bring more people back into the political process and bring the Sunnis back,” he said, singling out a need to ease restrictions on former members of Saddam’s Baath party.
Anybody want to take bets on the likelihood of that happening? It makes me wonder just what sort of government we have put in charge over there - since the mission was accomplished.
Hussein’s no great loss - the guy deserved a lot worse than what he got - but this was not the way to usher in a new era. And if things completely disintegrate, then the blood and carnage is on our hands for completely destabilizing the country with no workable plan that keeps the place from collapsing into civil war. But my views on this aren’t anything profoundly new to most people - so enough of this rambling for now.
Anway, the additional passings of Gerald Ford, James Brown, and the 3000th U.S. soldier killed in Iraq sure made it seem like there was a whole lot of carnage to fill in the holiday blanks. As for this mortal coil, I’m just happy to be back to the daily grind. Here’s to another year.
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