'The mother of all good news'
Dina Ezzat reads through the reactions that the capture of Saddam Hussein prompted in the Arab press
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from the top:This, according to Hamid in Al-Ittihad of the United Arab Emirates, is what probably crossed the minds of at least some dictators as they watched the humiliating end of Saddam; in Asharq Al-Awsat, Rasmi says that while the US has been congratulating the Iraqis for the capture of Saddam, it is at the same time holding the same people hostage
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The story of the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein all but hijacked the Arab press during the last days of the week. The papers turned their collective attention to the story of the capture after they had focussed mainly on the Syria Accountability Act, which was signed by President Bush, plus the debate over Washington's decision to bar Western war opponents from a sizable chunk of the Iraqi reconstruction scheme. With the exception of the odd line about how the capture of Saddam would boost the fortunes of an increasingly unpopular US president, there was hardly any serious news or views being offered to the Arab reader about what the short and long-term impact the capture would have.
On Monday morning the Arab papers were packed with the Saddam story. From headlines to cartoons, it was exclusively Saddam. For the Arab reader there was a huge array of stories of his capture, anecdotes of his last days in hiding and final hours in office, reactions by officials and the public, photos of what he looked like upon his capture and of earlier days in power, images of victims of his tyrannical rule and cartoons that attempted to predict the implications of this dramatic event.
Reactions to the capture were mixed. Most commentators and individuals interviewed in the press were shocked by the seeming ease by which Saddam was captured and the news that there were no apparent signs of resistance on the part of the Iraqi president who was expected to use the gun he never parted with to kill himself rather than be captured by US soldiers who reportedly told him "President Bush sends his regards" as they took him away.
"Saddam, the bullet and the story", was the headline of a front-page commentary that the London-based Al-Hayat published on Monday alongside photos of a bewildered and disheveled Saddam, and another headline that read, "Did not resist [arrest] or regret [mistakes]".
In the opinion piece, prominent commentator Ghassan Charbale asked, "Where is that pistol that Saddam used to have? Where is the pistol that was described as Saddam's oldest and best friend? Where is the bullet that was said Saddam would use to deny his enemies the pleasure of capturing and humiliating him as a prisoner... The man was made out to be a myth that he was not up to."
According to Charbale, Saddam would have never been forgiven for the crimes he committed against his people and others even if he had committed suicide to defy his capture. It would have only prompted some to say, "He paid a high price for his life." But as Charbale concluded, Saddam, "the master of bullets", who found nothing easier than shooting anyone he deemed an enemy, traitor or threat, would not turn the gun on himself.
Charbale was not an odd voice in criticising Saddam who, according to the feature stories which ran about the horrors he committed against Iraqis, Iranians and others, could well be responsible for the killing of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children.
Some compared this humiliating end to that of his two sons Qussay and Uday who, together with Saddam's teenage grandson Mustafa, fought US forces to the death This sense of disgust at Saddam's sterile downfall was not mitigated by the argument of Raghid, Saddam's daughter, currently in Jordan where she fled during the war, that her father would have resisted arrest under normal conditions. "They must have given him some sort of drug before they arrested him, else he would have resisted," she said in statements published in some of Tuesday's papers.
But the humiliating nature of the capture was not the only source of sorrow that was reflected in some of the articles. Some Palestinians interviewed by the Arab press spoke of the large financial support that Saddam offered families of the victims of Israeli atrocities. "You have to go to Ramallah to see the thousands of families that were supported by Saddam when the heads and sons of these families were killed at the hands of the Israelis... Then you will know exactly what Saddam did to serve Arab interests," Alaa Mahmoud, a Palestinian, was quoted in Al- Quds Al-Arabi, another London-based daily, as saying.
Mahmoud's remarks were part of a feature published on Monday to gauge reactions of the capture of Saddam. The feature caught images of women in villages of Upper Egypt crying. The women, like many men from various walks of life, were incensed by the capture of a man who stood up to the West. And for them, the images of joy found in the Arab press and aired on Arab TV satellite and other channels were simply a fabrication. They argued that similar "phony" images were shown upon the fall of Baghdad in April and were proven untrue, they argued, because of the strong nature of the resistance to which the US occupation force has been subjected since. And according to Magdi Wanis, an Egyptian artist quoted in the same story, these images of rejoicing, if anything, reflected "the sad state of affairs of Arab regimes" that are turning a blind eye to the occupation and humiliation of Iraq so that they can please the US and keep their positions of power.
Still, exaltation and sense of vindication over the capture of Saddam Hussein in the Arab press far overshadowed sorrow and disappointment. Needless to say, nobody was happier than the Kuwaitis and their press. Headlines in Monday morning papers were of pure elation over the capture of the Iraqi president who invaded Kuwait in 1990, alleging that the tiny Gulf state was an inseparable part of Iraq. Readers of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassah read, "Mother of all good news: Saddam captured". This was, of course, in reference to "The mother of all battles", the term Saddam famously coined in the run-up to the war with allied forces that eventually ousted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.
Just like every other Kuwaiti paper, Al-Siyassah dedicated several pages to the capture, the reactions of Kuwaiti men and women harbouring bitter memories of the Iraqi invasion and photos of Kuwaitis celebrating. Unlike the issues following the occupation of Baghdad, the Kuwaiti papers did not give prominence to pictures of Kuwaitis waving American and British flags on the streets.
But it would be misleading to suggest that the Kuwaiti press stood alone in the feast. Others were there too -- albeit not as ecstatic.
On the front page of Al-Hayat on Monday, Hazem Saghiya was one of the first to express joy over the capture of Saddam. Saghiya's congratulations did not go to the Kuwaitis or the US forces -- whose morale was reportedly lifted -- but to the Iraqis. "Congratulations to the Iraqi people. Genuine congratulations. Saddam has been captured. The symbol of humiliation, bullying and mass graves has come to an end... Saddam ended exactly as he started -- an outlaw."
Abdullah Al-Rashid of the daily Al-Ittihad of the United Arab Emirates, was also a member of the happy camp. For him, Saddam got what he deserved, a degrading end that was worthy of a man "whose tyranny was not matched by even the horrors of the devil".
In the Lebanese daily As-Safir, commentator Wessam Sa'ada was willing to write about how good he felt. "I will not hide my feelings of joy over the arrest. And I am not going to deny some sense of gratitude owed the occupation forces that managed to remove this tyrant who had for decades bullied the Iraqi people." Sa'ada, however added, "I wished, though, it had been a national popular revolution, even with foreign support, that toppled Saddam Hussein... Saddam's regime subjected its people to more horrors than any other Arab government."
Beyond the mixed feelings of relief and sorrow there were some significant and complex questions being floated in the Arab papers. The predominant question was the impact the capture would have on the scope and pace of resistance to the US occupation. Some expected a limited decrease; others forecast an increase. However, for the majority of commentators and individuals interviewed, the capture of Saddam was unlikely to have any significant impact on the level of resistance demonstrated by the Iraqi people.
For Alaa Al-Lami of As-Safir, the capture of Saddam meant that "from now on, the Americans will face an Iraqi people who will want them to leave after having achieved their declared objective" of toppling and arresting Saddam Hussein. Al- Lami added that the Iraqi people now have every reason to stress their demands for a true and fair general election and an end to the occupation.
Questions were also asked about the nature and venue of the trial that Saddam Hussein was expected to stand before, with many expecting an Iraqi tribunal and capital punishment.
Renowned Lebanese commentator Ghassan Twini proposed the most interesting question. In An-Nahar, Twini asked what would be the impact of this dramatic capture in the Arab region. He warned of the consequences of being overly obsessed by the capture at a time when countries like Syria, and even Egypt, were encountering very serious challenges from within and abroad.
