Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Arrest in Saddam video inquiry

A security guard has been detained and two more arrests are expected in the inquiry launched by Iraqi PM al-Maliki about the all-singing, all-dancing video of Saddam's execution. The arrested guard is being questioned to determine "what his motives were" in making the video. What his motives were? Well, that's kind of obvious, isn't it? YouTube of the Year?

The "arrests" are clearly a bone being thrown to Sunni Saddam loyalists in hopes of stemming the tide of outrage being generated by the video. It's a little like closing the barn door after the horse has charged out, but I guess it can't hurt. I wonder if the guilty parties will be in court over this? If so, I guess they all know which lawyer not to retain.

Speaking of hanging, al-Maliki is hanging it up at the end of his term this year. He's not stepping down immediately, although he would if he could. And who could blame him? What a job, being Prime Minister of Hell. He always seemed like too much of a nice guy for that job, always getting pushed around by Georgie and threatened with death by the rest of the Iraqi government. Look at that picture: does that look like a happy guy? As Maliki steps down, he clears the way for someone new to step in... someone who's a little stronger, a little more sociopathic, a little more defiant of the americans... a little more like Saddam.