'Zsa Zsa Saddam' May Taunt Iraqi Loyalists

ABC (Aus.) ^ | 8-18-03 | ABC (Aus.)

[Ex-Dem]

The US army is hoping to stick up posters of Saddam Hussein's face superimposed on Hollywood heroines and other stars in an attempt to enrage his followers and draw them out.

In one called 'Zsa Zsa Saddam', he has his head tossed back, his blonde locks flowing and a filter-tipped cigarette dangling coquettishly between his delicate fingers.

'Zsa Zsa Saddam' is the US army's latest ploy in the four-month hunt for the fugitive dictator.

In a campaign starting this week, US forces plan to put up the posters around Saddam's home town of Tikrit.

As well as Saddam dolled up as a slinky Zsa Zsa Gabor, there is a busty Rita Hayworth Saddam, a grooving Elvis Saddam and even Saddam in the guise of British-born rocker Billy Idol.

"We're going to do something devious with these," said a chuckling Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Russell last week, as he checked out a range of spoof Saddam pictures taken from the Internet (www.worth1000.com).

"Most of the locals will love 'em and they'll be laughing. But the bad guys are going to be upset, which will just make it easier for us to know who they are."

Lieutenant-Colonel Russell, whose 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment is spearheading the 4th Infantry Division's search for the deposed leader, hopes to have the posters slapped up on walls around Tikrit from Monday.

No official decision has yet been taken.

The gambit is part of a game of cat-and-mouse Lieutenant-Colonel Russell and his unit are playing with Saddam loyalists in the Tikrit area.

Apparently intimidated by the US Army's heavy presence around town, more and more guerrillas are stashing their weapons and keeping a low profile, US commanders say.

US forces are trying to flush them out and hunt them while they can.

RPG alley

One tactic Lieutenant-Colonel Russell and his team uses is to make themselves the bait.

On most nights, Humvees packed with soldiers will drive up and down what has been dubbed "RPG Alley" to try to attract fire from locals armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

While that has had some success in recent weeks, now Lieutenant-Colonel Russell is turning to the poster campaign to see if he can taunt Saddam loyalists into showing their faces.

Officers from the 4th Infantry's psychological operations unit say it is not necessarily a bad idea, although they tend to favour more subtle leaflet drops.

"It's mostly good for troop morale but if we can put these posters up in Tikrit and the enemy can't take them down, then at least it shows who owns the streets," said Sergeant David Cade, a psychological operations specialist.

Yet while the posters may help divide locals into the amused and the infuriated, they also run a serious risk of stoking fury among ordinary Iraqis who may not be pro-Saddam but still will not accept the idea of the Americans poking fun.

One of the posters shows Saddam's head on Elvis's dancing body, a gold crucifix hanging around his hairy chest.

Given fears in the Arab world that the invasion of Iraq was akin to a Christian crusade, some Iraqis say US forces would do well to think twice about leaving the cross hanging around Saddam Elvis's neck.

"Maybe it is funny for the soldiers but I think most locals will find it very insulting," said Uday, a 22-year-old working as a translator at the US army base in Tikrit.

[Ex-Dem]

"Maybe it is funny for the soldiers but I think most locals will find it very insulting," said Uday, a 22-year-old working as a translator at the US army base in Tikrit.

With a name like Uday, it's no wonder why this boy doesn't take kindly to people insulting Saddam...

[Slings and Arrows]

You've-found-your-true-calling ping!

[xm177e2]

"Most of the locals will love 'em and they'll be laughing. But the bad guys are going to be upset, which will just make it easier for us to know who they are."

Because the stupid pathetic backwards paleolithic Arab culture mandates that Arab men wear their emotions on their sleeves and shouldn't try to control their tempers. This sort of thing didn't work against Americans: in WWII, the Japanese dropped porno leaflets on our soldiers that said things like "this is what your wife/girlfriend is doing at home while you're out here". They were very popular with our troops, because they were the only moderately dirty porno they could get their hands on. All we had to do was drive through Baghdad with louspeakers insulting them and the idiot fedayeen ran out into our forces. We should exploit the pathetic, crapulent nature of Arab culture to the maximum extent--because that's the only way to bring about change in it.

[mhking]

a grooving Elvis Saddam

Elvis has left the palace...

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[Migraine]

This is an outstanding idea. Smoke 'em out if ya got 'em. Next -- we need a similar campaign for Hill-A-Reek Linton. Smoke her out, too.

[Victoria Delsoul]

"We're going to do something devious with these,"

No kidding, LOL! But no matter what body Saddam gets superimposed, he is a turnoff.

[hotpotato]

For all those who were in a snit when President Bush challenged the Iraqi trouble-makers with "bring it on!", this story tells me he's right in sync with the military :-)

[11B3]

They should show some posters of Saddam doing the wild thing with a goat or camel, as well as him involved in some gay sex.

[martin_fierro]

Show him with no eyebrows. I've heard that's a SUPREME dis in the Arab world.

[Timesink]

There was a story not long after the original fall of Baghdad from a reporter who was embedded with some US troops (don't recall which unit). They were flushing out leftover snipers, and all the troops were doing was driving along the streets slowly while one of our guys kept yelling third-grade-level insults in Arabic through a jerry-rigged PA system on top of one of the vehicles. It was incredibly lame stuff, like "Iraqi men are impotent pussies!" but it worked every single time. Iraqi men, "snipers" and "fighters" included, are for the most part literally incapable of staying put and hiding when any Arab's masculinity is insulted; they would just jump out of the shadows and start charging towards the Marines with their single gun, shrieking unintelligible insults back at the troops ... for about a second and a half, until one of our guys blew their heads off like it was Level 1 of a cheap video game.

I have zero doubt these posters, which would just make us scratch our heads and laugh, will indeed enrage the loyalists so much that their knees will jerk, they'll adopt an instant "damn the risk" attitude and martyr themselves with great haste.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! I sure hope we don't hurt anyones feelings < /sarcasm>

Is this a great Country or what?

[martin_fierro]

Next -- we need a similar campaign for Hill-A-Reek Linton. Smoke her out, too.

I love country music.

[Timesink]

I love Worth1000's users. Too bad their management are massive jerks about letting anyone even deep link their images, much less actually use them in any capacity. (It's amazing anyone's ever heard of the site at all, they're so anal retentive about such things. If you think the Fox News/Al Franken suit is a joke, try putting a Worth1000 pic on your blog and see what happens.) I won't be surprised it they end up attempting to sue the Pentagon if the Army actually does start putting up the posters.

[Victoria Delsoul]

They should show some posters of Saddam doing the wild thing with a goat or camel, as well as him involved in some gay sex.

OMG! Like this?

[Slings and Arrows]

This should be right up your alley.

[Victoria Delsoul]

LOL! I sure hope we don't hurt anyones feelings < /sarcasm>

Bwahahaha, I know what you mean. LOL, I'm laughing so hard.

[Paleo Conservative]

They should show some posters of Saddam doing the wild thing with a goat or camel, as well as him involved in some gay sex.

Supposedly there is a video being sold since the collapse of the Baathist government showing Saddam in a gay porno video filmed in the late 1960s.

[hotpotato]

[Timesink]

Don't waste your time trying to post the photoshop jobs. Worth1000 images can't be linked off their site, because their admins appear to have been born with the same gene as certain LAT/WP lawyers. Unless someone's just visited Worth1000 before coming to FR, your post is showing up to them as a big red X.

[Paleo Conservative]

Show him with no eyebrows. I've heard that's a SUPREME dis in the Arab world.

Like this?