Originally Posted by Scribbler1

Perhaps Iraqis have the same lack of long-term memory as most Americans. True, he didn't fight to the death or kill himself when he was nabbed, but that was then and this is now. NOW we see a tough, strong defiant Saddam looking very much like his 20-story portraits on those Baghdad walls and seeing the scrufty bum in the hole is a distant memory.

This guy knows how to play to his audience, I'll give him that. He's even got the court cowed to a point.
What I think a lot of these people who think we can "democratize" Iraq miss is the history of the region. Saddam is a product of the area and NOT an outsider. Otherwise he couldn't have held on to Iraq as long as he did (and still would have if we hadn't taken his regime out). I also think he was/is a LOT more popular in that country than we are led to believe.

It's like Cuba. We have decades of Cuban expatriates yelling about what a bastard Castro is, and then along comes Elian Gonzales. We let his Father come over to get his son and where do they go? Right back home. Apparently not everyone sees Castro as the boogy man and I bet the same holds for Iraq. I can't believe ONLY that housewife is impressed by Hussein.