Saddam could be offered deal

Ha'aretz ^ | 12/14/03

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

I wonder if we will be able to bluff the Syrians into believing that Saddam spilled the beans on some WMDs going across the border. If we start massing troops in western Iraq, maybe Bashar Assad will get the message and come clean.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

Speaking of incarcerated despots, whatever happened to Manuel Noriega?

I think Steinbrenner wants to sign him to play second base.

[Ron in Acreage]

Dean will offer him the Veep spot.

[cynwoody]

The Iraqi Ruling Council outlawed the death penalty as one of their first acts because they wanted to prevent another leader like Saddam Hussein from arising and executing 100s of thousands of people.

The Israelis did something similar with respect to the death penalty, but they made an exception for Adolf Eichmann. The Iraqis should do the same. Haul him off to Firdos Square and hoist him back up on his pedastal by the neck with a construction crane!

[claudiustg]

The death penalty is not optional here. Try him and hang him
His capture could not have happened in a way that would be much more demoralizing and humiliating to the jihadi crowd.

[nvcdl]

I would have to assume Sadam will be given truth serum and induced to talk without a deal.

[Happy2BMe]

"Now really though. Don't the Turks feel kinda stoopid? They dragged their feet during the war, and now, oh horrors, Hussein may have been captured due to the intelligence of the Kurds! How embarrassing!"

[ladyinred]

He should tell where the WMD are for sure, but no deals! Did he offer deals to the millions of his people and ours he murdered in cold blood?

[Eastbound]

I think it would be a mistake to make a deal. We'd never get the full story. Instead, wait a few months and let it be known that he is going to talk for a deal. That will allow those down the chain of command to come forward on a plea. They would no doubt be more thorough and detailed and would be more willing to spill their guts, thinking that Saddam is going to tell all anyway, including naming those involved in the storage, development, location, movement and plans for the use of WMD.

[Enterprise]

That is the advantage of having him in custody. The other side can't know for sure what he is, or is not, telling us. The other side has to judge for themselves whether or not we are bluffing. This is one powerful game of Texas Hold 'Em being played out. And right now, it's President Bush's turn to make the bet.

[avenir]

"The death penalty is not optional here."

I totally...TOTALLY agree with you. A man like this must not be allowed to escape the ultimate penalty. If we can't put him to death, who CAN we?

[reed_inthe_wind]

Saddam can now be used to sweat out any conspirators. The Syrians could be getting very nervous if they have the missing WMDs.

[CatOwner]

"If it takes a deal to get Saddam to sing about both the whereabouts of his WMD and his ties to Al Qaeda (and 9/11), then I say cut the deal. Getting that info is infinitely more important than seeing Saddam hang."

That may work for the US, but what about the people of Iraq? The nightmares for them may not end until Saddam is dead.

[Azzurri]

That is the advantage of having him in custody. The other side can't know for sure what he is, or is not, telling us.

The best bit of news on this capture has been the little told story of the "memo" from an insurgents meeting they found in his briefcase. Supposedly, it names all the major players still funding and participating in the insurgency. My guess is the rats (the Iraqi ones, not the Democrats) are scattering furiously trying to leave the country after they heard this bit of info. My guess is the insurgency becomes largely null and void after this capture.

[Billthedrill]

The Syrians could be getting very nervous...

Which was, of course, the intention behind the announcement. The shredders are running red-hot in Damascus tonight.

[mrobison]

Saddam will die. I guarantee it.

[mrobison]

The WMDs don't matter anymore.

[Tall_Texan]

Possible deals: "regular vs. extra-cripsy" "feet first vs. head first"

I want the combo deal with a free side of Osama and a nuke.

[gov_bean_ counter]

I'm betting that the Saddamites already in custody are the ones who will be cutting the deals. With Saddam on custody, the intel faucet will be turned wide open.