W isn’t talking about Saddam anymore…
The Alaska 2002 trip report expresses amazement that George W. Bush, the most powerful man in the world, would want to lower himself by mentioning Saddam Hussein in his speeches. How have things changed in the 12 months since that amazement was recorded? George W. isn’t talking about Saddam anymore… he’s talking about Saddam’s sons. Is this an improvement?
Saddam was a hero to Muslims worldwide. He was a self-made man. He kept civil order in a fractious country. One might argue, as I did, that Iraq was too insignificant a country to merit the direct notice of the U.S. President but as an Arab leader Saddam was probably above average.
Uday and Qusay are now the names on President Bush’s lips. What are their achievements? They chose their father wisely. That’s pretty much it. Uday and Qusay have been built up in the Western press as being especially cruel but by modern-day Arab or WWII German standards it is unclear that they are notably vicious. And even if they were, why glorify their memory with all of this personal attention from the leader of the U.S., the representative of the American people?
Can we not find larger concerns?
