December 15, 2003

Forgive My Lack of Unrestrained Glee

The world is better off with Saddam Hussein locked up. No doubt. But several questions remain unanswered.

Where and when will he be tried? Trying him in an Iraqi court leads to the troublesome question of who's actually in charge over there. Trying him in front of The Hague or another international tribunal could lead to some real interesting public revelations about Hussein's dealings with the US in the past. I expect a Guantanamo Bay quickie trial, if it even gets to trial (Is there a would-be Jack Ruby out there?)

When we couldn't find Hussein, the Republicans cautioned that "this war isn't about one man". Now that they've found the man, is that still the talking point? No, I'm sure that this will be pitched as the greatest day in American history, and they'll try to cast Bush as William the Conqueror. And the turkey stunt last week was the motivation our troops needed. And the ADD-addled American public just might buy it. Look...Michael Jackson's in trouble!

Will Hussein help us find the WMD? Look! Paris Hilton! And she's doin' stuff!

Wasn't the Iraq thing just a sideshow? Aren't we still looking for Bin Laden and the people who actually perpetrated 9/11? Who? Look! Two people died of the flu 1,500 miles away!

What happens in Iraq next? Your guess is as good as mine. And unfortunately, probably better than the people running the show.

Look, any time you can remove a tyrannical dictator from the picture, it's a Good Thing. But Bush and his people have built up such a reservoir of cynicism and badwill in me that I can't see this as the end of anything. I don't know what the right move is; no one does. So let's not have V-J day just yet.

Comments

You know, if you say the name 'Harold Godwinson' just fast enough, it starts sounding like 'Hussein.'

I wonder if VH1 ever plans on making 'I Love the 1060s.'

Andy

Posted by: Andy at December 15, 2003 11:37 AM

Everybody go to newsgaming.com and play the terrorism simulation game, Sept. 12th. You can't win or lose, but you can blow things up.

Posted by: Hilary at December 16, 2003 02:51 AM

"Look! Paris Hilton! And she's doin' stuff!" is going down in my all-time-greatest attention-distracting quotes of all time. It's up there with the Chewbacca defense / "Look at the monkey!" on South Park.

Posted by: shannon at December 16, 2003 12:50 PM

Andy - I wonder how far VH1 could push the concept. As someone who's always been fascinated by catastrophic worldwide plagues, I think "I Love the 1340's" would be particularly interesting.

And Shannon - I wish I hadn't borrowed that from the Simpsons (Milhouse, specifically), but of course I did. And thanks for reminding me of the Chewbacca Defense. Hee hee.

Posted by: michael at December 18, 2003 09:43 PM

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