Why * must attempt to hold back the trial til after the election

[G_j]

**mods** if this is one too many Saddam articles go ahead and lock it. It's one of the best things I've read so far today.
The article puts into words what I've been thinking all day but I could never state it this well. I tried a number of times today to convey how I thought this would bring attention to the issue of International law which has got to be bad for Bush. My belief is that any amount of sunlight shining into BFEE dealings weakens them. This is why I view today's events to be a possible gift to us all.

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/121403Mavaak/121403mavaak.html"

Will Saddam's capture prove to be a trap for Bush?

By Mathew Maavak
Online Journal Contributing Writer

December 14, 2003

It was pretty much of a shock to learn of Saddam Hussein's capture so soon. Then again, come to think of it, no! George W. Bush's popularity is dipping badly and those niggling questions about Sept 11 are now gaining feverish momentum.

This capture comes timely for the incumbent, and the immediate propaganda value will be enormous. But has Bush walked into a trap? Pretty likely, and the next few weeks or months are going to be crucial. Saddam's fate must now either be decided quickly (through an Iraqi bullet to his head?) or be prolonged long enough after the 2004 elections, through a series of legal wrangling. If the second scenario works out, there is there every likelihood of an uncustomary "adherence to international law" with teams of amici curiae given a free hand to wrangle over his legal rights. It will buy lots of time, provided the man shuts up.

This capture runs against the grain of obvious logic. Saddam is no Manual Noriega and he will command far more attention than Slobodan Milosevic. The video clip of him being examined by a doctor was typical of both US bravado and myopia. With him in "expert" medical hands, there will be some very hard explaining to do if anything untoward happened a death or an unusually cooperative ex-dictator known for his wily tricks. Maybe a Soviet-style psychiatric institutionalization might jog his memory, one that will suit his hospitable hosts.

According to the BBC, Saddam was found holed up in a tiny cellar, not the secret command bunker we were implicitly led to believe, on and off. An argument can be made that this 'spider hole' contributed to his elusiveness. He just needed a food chain, from very few sources. Still, it is not a good one. For one, it will smash the Saddam in-the-secret bunker image that his Fedayeen found to be way over-hyped. There is something wrong here. Saddam may have indeed chosen a six by eight feet hole for safety as he knew only too well about the pandemic Arab treachery and the US$25 million bounty, especially after his sons died under a hail of US bullets, and his sons-in-law earlier, with his own blessings.
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