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Commentary: A great victory for Bush, but not a complete one WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - The capture of Saddam Hussein is a major victory for President Bush, but it does not solve all his problems in Iraq, the Middle East or at home. Despite the Americans' overwhelming victory over Saddam's military in March and April, the President had been dogged by struggles in the war against terrorists, notably the failure to find Saddam, Osama bin Laden and the elusive weapons of mass destruction. With daring and precision, the U.S. military has now removed the first of those irritants. And, not only has the United States eliminated Saddam as a future threat, it has also demonstrated growing control over Iraqi territory, even in regions most loyal to the old regime. Yet that control is not complete. Paramilitary attacks and suicide bombings targeting coalition forces have increased. More U.S. soldiers have been killed or wounded in the peace than were killed or wounded during the war. Coalition partners and international groups, including the United Nations and the World Bank, have suffered grave losses in the attacks, buckling their will to remain in Iraq. The Pentagon and the White House wish fervently that Saddam's capture will put an end to the armed opposition by suffocating the last hope that Saddam would somehow find a way to rally his supporters and return to power. They hope that with the ace of spades now taken, the game is surely over. The capture of the former dictator will also give former Secretary of State James Baker a dramatic calling card when he visits European capitals this week, hoping to persuade Iraq's creditors to write off all or part of the loans they extended to Saddam's regime. But the capture of Saddam is unlikely to help Baker's mission much. The administration has struggled in the rebuilding of Iraq, giving off the perception that revenge and favoritism are guiding U.S. policies. The Europeans were outraged by the Pentagon's decision last week to ban their participation in rebuilding contracts. The timing of the decision couldn't have been worse, coming as it did amid allegations that Halliburton's subsidiary was gouging the U.S. government in Iraq after winning a no-bid contract earlier. Vice President Dick Cheney led Halliburton prior to his election in 2000. The whole meaning of Saddam's capture won't be known for months. It could deflate the guerrilla insurgency that threatens to drag the United States into a quagmire occupation. There's no thought that Saddam, a scared rabbit on the run, was somehow directing and controlling the resistance from his warren. But his ability to remain free may have encouraged and inspired those who have fought back against the United States by any means available to them. The circumstances of Saddam's capture could help the U.S. cause. Rather than the bloody shootout that led to the deaths of Saddam's two sons, Saddam himself was taken without a struggle, although he was armed with a pistol, according to a U.S. Army spokesman. The opposition must answer the question: If Saddam would not give his life in the struggle against the Americans, why should ordinary Iraqis? And they must acknowledge that his capture would have been impossible with Iraqi cooperation. Saddam's fate can now be decided by the Iraqi people in a judicial proceeding, not by his American pursuers. The Iraqis should certainly feel empowered. The capture of Saddam does not put all of Bush's troubles behind him. Saddam's fugitive status was not a major factor in the opposition to U.S. occupation inside Iraq, in the Arab and Moslem communities, in the world community and within a large element of the American public. If the United States can turn over effective power to the Iraqis in coming months, if the attacks on coalition forces dry up, if the United States can win more international cooperation in the rebuilding of Iraq, then his capture may be seen as the turning point.Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of CBS.MarketWatch.com. |
