I am sorry that I had accidentally ¡®given only two options¡¯ ¨C
worse or better. I personally also believe that it should remain
more or less the same ¨C as I mentioned, Arab nations in both West Asia and
North Africa should become more wary of US unilateral
actions now , this also applies to non-Arab nations in
West Asia e.g. Iran.
Saddam¡¯s capture is also no humiliation to himself or
Arabs/Muslims.
Many Arab¡¯s, Muslims or those the dislike US (not
necessarily terrorist or extremist) felt that Saddam had
shamed himself; other Arab viewed his capture as another
Arab humiliation by Western forces. Others tried in vain
to give explanations why Saddam was captured without even fighting
back or committed suicide ¨C giving unsubstantiated stories like
he was drugged or gassed into submission and captured with
fainted.
I don¡¯t agree to such views.
Putting Saddam¡¯s atrocities and moral rights/wrongs
aside, Saddam defied US ¡®valiantly¡¯ before which
may make him an Arab hero
but that does not make him super human, Saddam, like
most rational human, are afraid to get hurt and afraid to
die.
The situation was very much against him,
he already accomplished
an amazing feat by escaping US forces for eight months, considering
US forces are everywhere in Iraq. He no longer had
large army protecting him, not even bodyguards (unlike his
sons who fought back and was killed together with bodyguards),
Saddam was also trapped in a hole with only 1 entrance/exit
¨C and that was block by his enemies, where else he could
go?
Moreover, as reported, Saddam quickly identified himself
just seconds before US forces threw in grenades to ensure
no harm will befall on US forces. So Saddam was really
forced into capture, no shame or humiliation for
that.
Who is not afraid to die?
Very few indeed, does the Arabs really still believe
in those Saddam propaganda and bullshit that he is not afraid to
die? Those are made for TV/media when he is still in
power and possibility of death/capture is never in his
mind, it is a very
different story when you are the no. 1 wanted man in Iraq escaping
from the US forces, no good food, shelter, water or entourage of
bodyguards for many many months.
Showing Saddam¡¯s medical check up is also not ¡®humiliation¡¯ to
Arabs, only showing standard of care giving to POW by Coalition/US
forces, his interrogation
was not showed on international TV or was Saddam paraded in a
humiliating way.
Some Arab¡¯s insistence
that Saddam should commit suicide or fight to the death
when Saddam is already a very defeated man with no other
means of escape is not only irrational, it also incites greater
hatred and glorifies suicide bombing against innocent
civilians.
Arabs and Muslim all over the world sometimes should ask themselves
whether are the world
portraying them in the wrong light or it is they themselves that prefer
to die a pointless and violent death, especially against innocent
civilians.
