holy crap - they've found Saddam

[Steph]

Breaking news on BBC (and done much more crappily on CNN)

BBC has a reporter talking about some solid facts whereas CNN has some night vision shots of soldiers "smoking cigars" after the arrest.

[White Noise]

Yeah, we just got that report here in Australia

[White Noise]

For info

In Washington, senior military officials confirmed there was a raid based on intelligence that Saddam was at a certain house and that some people were taken into custody. They were unwilling to be more specific.


Earlier, Iran's official news agency, IRNA, also reported that Saddam had been detained in Iraq. "Saddam Hussein was arrested in his hometown of Tikrit," IRNA quoted top Iraqi leader, Jalal Talabani as saying. It gave no further details.


Nazem Dabbagh, a representative of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdestan, confirmed Talabani's statement when reached by phone Sunday by an Associated Press reporter in Tehran.


In Baghdad, residents fired small arms in the air in celebration, and gunfire echoed in neighborhoods across the city. Earlier in the day, rumors of the capture sent people streaming into the streets of Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi city, firing guns in the air in celebration.


"We are celebrating like it's a wedding," said Kirkuk resident Mustapha Sheriff. "We are finally rid of that criminal."


"This is the joy of a lifetime," said Ali Al-Bashiri, another resident. "I am speaking on behalf of all the people that suffered under his rule."


A spokeswoman for the U.S.-led occupation in Baghdad notified reporters that a "very important" announcement will be made at a news conference scheduled for 7 a.m. EST, but did not say who would be the speaker. The spokeswoman requested anonymity.


Rumors that the former dictator was in custody were making the rounds in Tikri, but reporters attached to the 4th Infantry Division, the U.S. unit in charge of security in the area, said there was no unusual activity there overnight or early Sunday.


Saddam, who ruled Iraq for 23 years until his ouster in April, has been a fugitive since then with a $25 million bounty on his head.


Rumors about Saddam's capture or death periodically surface, and a hotline set up by the occupation authorities for tips on his whereabouts is flooded with callers.

[dicksbro]

Just turned to the news because I read this ... seems like they've already done DNA testing and while the White House hasn't said anything yet, there seems to be widespread acceptance that this is Saddam.

YIPPEE!!!

[Englishlush]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally got the bastard!

[LixyChick]

OMG! They just showed a video of them inspecting Saddam...eyes, ears, nose, mouth...etc.....

He has a straggly beard and looks extremely haggard.....but it sure looks like him!

I thought he had a suicide kit? He's so cowardly, he can't even kill himself! Maybe that's what they were checking for in their physical inspection....to see if he had any pills on him.

They got him in a bunker (calling it a mud hole) with $750,000.00 in uncirculated American currency. They say that he hadn't been staying in any one place for more then 4-5 hours at a time. They are also saying that he is VERY talkative! Hmmm? What in the world could he have to say of interest? LOL!

We can't assume that this will bring about peace now......but it sure will help to bring some stability to Iraq!

Oh.....and Steph? I came here (Pixies) as soon as I heard the news....cause I was gonna post a thread! LOL! ^5 GF!

[jennaflower]

Fantastic News...

I only wish he was killed being taken....

[BigBear57]

Damn I'm glad they got him. Now maybe some of those bushwacking supporters will give in too. There's no way Sadam can ever make up for the trouble he's caused. Death would've been too quick a relief I think.

[LixyChick]

DNA tests say.......100% proof positive.......Saddam Hussein has been captured!

[PantyFanatic]

BBC has a reporter talking about some solid facts whereas CNN has some night vision shots of soldiers "smoking cigars" after the arrest.
Do you think the BBC reporters were somewhere BEHIND the guys that went into the spider hole? LMAO

Saddam, ... has been a fugitive since then with a $25 million bounty on his head. Rumors about Saddam's capture or death periodically surface, and a hotline set up by the occupation authorities for tips on his whereabouts is flooded with callers.
I’ll bet it is.:rolleyes:

... seems like they've already done DNA testing....
I don’t think they can do a DNA sequence that fast if lab techs had captured him.

They got him in a bunker (calling it a mud hole) with $750,000.00 in uncirculated American currency.
I wonder how much he had when they found him? LOL

I only wish he was killed being taken....
Probably for different reason, but me too.

[jseal]

Ozymandias

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Percy Bysshe Shelly , 11 January 1818

[krzykrn]

Pretty amazing stuff, the next few weeks should prove interesting as events unfold, and the months ahead...all I can say is Merry Xmas, now at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel and our boys and girls can come home "soon".

[Cheyanne]

According to Dan Rather (CBS News) the DNA tests did come back positive... it is Saddam.

I am glad that he wasn't killed during the capture. Hopefully the people of Iraq will calm down now, and the radicals will see that the Coalition Forces mean business.

Now, Mr. President - Act well, act with courage and be steadfast. Make sure that our soldiers stationed in Iraq can come home soon.

[Lilith]

Hopefully he will cough up some WMD:spin:

[jennaflower]

As a proud american.. and a republican... I can't help but hope that this is the proof that was needed to secure Pres. Bush's re-election...

Now.. Osama is next :)

[Steph]

Originally posted by LixyChick Oh.....and Steph? I came here (Pixies) as soon as I heard the news....cause I was gonna post a thread! LOL! ^5 GF!

LOL I was up late and was watching the news. I wanted to wake Tyler up but I couldn't tell anyone so I posted it here :D

ROFL Lilith - good one!

jseal ~ I like how you posted a poem by Shelly in a thread with the word crap in the title :D

[Miles&Cassidy]

Originally posted by jennaflower
As a proud american.. and a republican... I can't help but hope that this is the proof that was needed to secure Pres. Bush's re-election...

Now.. Osama is next :)

Proof of what?
Im happy he was captured and hopefully this means my 2 brothers will come home sooner, but what did this have to do with bush being re-elected?

[Navarre]

Originally posted by LixyChick
OMG!

They are also saying that he is VERY talkative! Hmmm? What in the world could he have to say of interest? LOL!

We can't assume that this will bring about peace now......but it sure will help to bring some stability to Iraq!

Oh.....and Steph? I came here (Pixies) as soon as I heard the news....cause I was gonna post a thread! LOL! ^5 GF!

They say that the CIA has some nice elixers that will make you talk your head off. :)

[Vigil]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C5AB7236-8A51-44C4-8A69-79EB38FE69EF.htm

Will probably tell you more useful things than our own media at this critical point.

I can't help but wonder how a pathetic figure with two allies can outsmart the coalition's intelligence services for 8 months.

I wouldn't be triumphalist - but I am very glad he's been captured and look forward to some justice.

Now where's Osama?

[PantyFanatic]

But the OIL! Did they find the oil?

Find that and THEN they can come home.:cool:

[Vigil]

The oil is also underground.

Do I get a reward?

[Steph]

Osama is still in the mountains, apparently.

[nikki1979]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok can u tell im happy?
~nikki~

[PantyFanatic]

Originally posted by Vigil
The oil is also underground.

Do I get a reward?

But who's barrels is it going into?:confused:

[jseal]

Originally posted by Steph
jseal ~ I like how you posted a poem by Shelly in a thread with the word crap in the title :D


Steph,

Well, yes, one does not usually see this juxtaposition.

I recall photographs from the recent past of Mr. Hussein in all his glory, firing a rife in the air, or brandishing a sword in a photo-op.

I though that the poem spoke to the diminution of Saddam Hussein, who, trapped in a cellar, dug a hole and buried himself before U.S. soldiers moved in to take him into custody.

"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away"

In a hole under a two-room mud shack on a sheep farm where he was hiding 9 miles outside of Tikrit … in so many ways it was far, far from any of his Presidential Palaces.

I wonder if any of Mr. Hussein's monuments will last as long as those in the poem.

[Vigil]

Not French ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do French soldiers and Saddam have in common?















They both carry weapons for no apparent reason.

[PantyFanatic]

They both carry weapons for no apparent reason.
*OOOOOONK*
No prize for you!:eek: You did not give the right name in time.:D

[Vigil]

Its that Jseal raising the tone again.

[Steph]

LOL from an e-mail from a journalism list I moderate (the guy writing is in Baghdad right now as a freelance reporter):

For the record: I did not recognize any one Fox news cheering.

(An aside: everyone I've met here who works for Fox always apologizes during introductions and says something like "don't hold it against me". I am
serious.)

[jseal]

Steph,

Wassup wit' Fox?

[Steph]

There's a discussion on this e-mail list about the fact that CNN has been showing clips of reporters giving standing ovations at press conferences (which shouldn't happen given the objectivity to which they should aspire), hence the comment from a reporter in Iraq.

[jseal]

Steph,

Aha! Well, this morning (EST) I watched the Bremmer "news conference" on the BBC, and yes, there was a burst of cheering and applause when he made the announcement and showed the picture.

The reporters I saw appeared (the camera didn’t give a very good angle) to be Arabs, and they seemed to be speaking in Arabic. If they were Iraqis, I can understand a certain exuberance on their part. It may be that that their objectivity in re Mr. Hussein has been compromised by their treatment at his hands.

I’m sure they will get their emotions under control soon.

[Bilbo]

Originally posted by PantyFanatic
But who's barrels is it going into?:confused:
Hopefully Iraqi Barrels.
It is their oil

[jseal]

Originally posted by Vigil
can't help but wonder how a pathetic figure with two allies can outsmart the coalition's intelligence services for 8 months.


Vigil,

It is also curious that Mr. Hussein was captured just AFTER the Iraqi "Crimes Against Humanity" tribunal was formed. Interesting how it saves them from trying him "in absentia", and how also it saves Uncle Sam the trouble of dealing with him.

[Vigil]

and the ruler of Pakistan just "evaded" an assasination attempt?

Watch this space for Osama!

[jseal]

Originally posted by Vigil
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C5AB7236-8A51-44C4-8A69-79EB38FE69EF.htm


Vigil,

I finally got around to following the link, and to the extent that my sojourn in Saudi Arabia 17 years ago is still relevant, the viewpoints it expresses seem representative of ME Arab sentiments. It has been, and continues to be, difficult to bridge the perspectives commonly held in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the States with those in the Arab ME. Finding the common ground on which to build a peace there is a very long-term project.

While "the West" stayed the containment course for the 45 years or so that it took for the Soviet Empire to implode, I’m not at all convinced that the current international political conditions will accommodate a strategy of similar duration today.

[Steph]

Originally posted by jseal
Steph,

Aha! Well, this morning (EST) I watched the Bremmer "news conference" on the BBC, and yes, there was a burst of cheering and applause when he made the announcement and showed the picture.

The reporters I saw appeared (the camera didn’t give a very good angle) to be Arabs, and they seemed to be speaking in Arabic. If they were Iraqis, I can understand a certain exuberance on their part. It may be that that their objectivity in re Mr. Hussein has been compromised by their treatment at his hands.

I’m sure they will get their emotions under control soon.

That was our discussion as well on the journalism list. If Iraqi journalists want to cheer, freedom of the press is being celebrated. People were wondering if FOX reporters were there.