LaHood (R-Ill.): Hussein's capture imminent

[Newsjock]

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/120203/new_20031202014.shtml

LaHood: Hussein's capture imminent

Pantagraph Staff

BLOOMINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood held his thumb and forefinger slightly apart and said, "We're this close" to catching Saddam Hussein.

Once that's accomplished, Iraqi resistance will fall apart, said the five-term Republican congressman from Peoria who serves on the House Intelligence Committee.

A member of The Pantagraph editorial board -- not really expecting an answer -- asked LaHood for more details, saying, "Do you know something we don't?"

"Yes I do," replied LaHood.

more

[grytpype]

1. They've been saying "We're this close" for months.

I can't wait till Saddam is dead, that's one fewer excuse they'll have.

[joeunderdog]

25. So...what do we arrest him for?

Attacking an unarmed country?
Nah, we did that.

Providing a country on our terrorist list with chemical and conventional weapons?
Nope. Cheney and Rumsfeld would be on trial if that were the case.

Killing 50,000 innocent men, women and children in Iraq?
Nah, we did that, too.

How bout refusing to let UN weapons inspectors in to search for WMD's?
Damn! They got us on that one too!

Torturing prisoners who haven't been tried or convicted of anything? But...but...but...

[midnight armadillo]

32. This is why he'll be killed

There's no way in heck that BushCo will allow Saddam to be captured alive, there's too much collusion between the US government in the past and Hussein.

If Saddam was truly clever, he'd give himself up to the World Court in the Hague and demand a trial in which he could truly annihilate the reputations of the US, Rummy, Cheney, etc. through his testimony. This strategy would also wind up with Saddam in jail for life since the rat bastard is guilty as hell, so don't hold your breath.

[tom_paine]

55. Yes, he MUST be killed by his former partners, the Busheviks

MUST.

Saddam is a dead man walking. They dare not leave him alive.

[nannygoat]

59. joe, your post would make a great letter to the editor n/t

[mac56]

2. Showboating for the local small-town scribes.

"Here's what I learned in the big, big city!"

a/k/a = talking out of his ass.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

28. I got the same feeling as I read the piece. n/t

[kysrsoze]

44. Bloomington and Peoria are sewers!

My apologies to anyone here who lives there, but the prevalence of completely closed minds and backward thought in Central Illinois is astounding. There are tons of white trash and reich-wing Republican State Farm employees in Bloomington. I spent the 7 years there during college (the best 7 years, right? - actually got my Masters Degree), and don't even like stopping there for gas on the way to St. Louis.

If it gives you any idea, they all HATE Chicago and root for St. Louis or Indiana sports teams.

[el_gato]

3. they will probably unveil his body onstage during the RNC

seriously this will be used for political purposes, in case anybody has any confusion about this

[Cocoa]

15. they'll take the body on tour

Step right up! Spit on Saddam and register to vote at the same time!

[Frodo]

33. That's my thought too. Seriously.

Well, maybe not AT the convention, but a couple months before the election. They could either have him on ice, or tucked away in a remote cell waiting to "capture" him when it will have the biggest impact.

This is why I've been shouting from the rooftops that we need to spin off of the "economy" and "Iraq" issues as being the end-all-be-all of beating Bush. One seems to be improving and the other is not under our control. Saddam and/or OBL could be produced (or faked).

[blm]

4. No doubt about it. This is what Dems are failing to acknowledge.

They must be prepared to go after a George Bush who "appears" to have a successful presidency and who "appears" to be a successful commander-in-chief. Most of the press is still loyal to BushInc. and will present him as a success. We need our strongest Democrat whose strengths are notable and who has a near encyclopedic knowledge of every issue.

[Dudley_DUright]

5. BS

We heard this same rhetoric a few months ago and then zilch. This is a binary question. Either you have him or you don't. Besides, if they were now just closing in on his location, the stupidest thing in the world would be to broadcast that fact to the whole world. What an idiot.

[DancingBear]

6. This just in!

"LaHood receives .$50 from Tooth Fairy - plans to keep half, give rest to Easter Bunny."

Idiot.

[DemonFighterLives]

7. What does he know?

Is Saddam already on ice to be rolled out for the next coup. I doubt it. The villian needs to survive for future battles. Exit stage left.

[Divernan]

13. Possible he's "on ice" somewhere.

From an administration which practices STAGECRAFT, not statecraft, such a stunt would be possible. When's the last time we saw any film or heard any recordings which were supposed to be from Saddam? But I agree, the Resistance in Iraq is not about one man.

[Neutrino]

38. You might be onto something--it occurred to me when

the remains of Uday and Qusay were produced--that something was not
quite right about the whole thing. Uday and Qusay hated each
other and would not have been in the same place at the same time. And
certainly not at the place where they were supposedly found.
Mustafa, the 14 yr old Grandson was shot in cold blood. There is
always a political motive for everything, so producing Saddam the
same way would be predictable. It will not change anything if
that occurs, only make matters worse, but---. The whole thing is
sickening.

[leftchick]

8. Does he mean like when the US shot up and displayed

Saddam's sons? Wasn't that supposed to make a huge difference in the resolve of the resistance fighters also? These people are fucking delusional... :eyes:

[drfemoe]

30. I never understood

why they supposedly removed that metal bar from Qusay's leg ...
not to mention painting them up like wax statues.
At the time I thought it was them. The more I think about it, the more doubts I have.

[Merlin]

9. Catching him will prove they are lying about the resistance.

It will prove it's not Hussein driven. It's indigenous, spontaneous and typical of people anywhere who are conquered by outside invaders.

[zbdent]

10. I can picture it now - Faux News - Feb sweeps

Saddam Hussein drug in by the armed forces.

In the basement of some undisclosed "presidential palace".

Some GI, "channeling" the spirit of Jack Ruby, does something which makes him the hero of the Reich, er, Right Wing. He silences Saddam Hussein forever, never to detail to the world stage the crimes against humanity that Bush 1 and 2 orchestrated.

GI will suddenly (and absolutely) eclipse the failed wunderkind of the right, Jessica Lynch. Her 15 minutes are already up, and I don't believe the dagger is by her book on the NYT best sellers list.

[Hawkeye-X]

11. Lie #2493580493285048

NEXT!

Hawkeye-X

[ZenLefty]

12. It's too soon

This will happen closer to next year's vote. I was thinking June, myself.

[SoCalDem]

14. This could actually backfire ...BIGTIME..

The Iraqi people went from HATING Saddam, and being thankful for having him gone, even if lots of innocents died.. They were none too happy about being occupied, but the alternative...having Saddam back... was unacceptable to them...


BUT....


After the massive foul-ups due the the lack of planning, and the street fighting that has killed many more innocents, they are beginning to give Saddam mythical status.. When and if he is killed or captured, they will rally behind him even stronger..

I do not believe that the US Govt will allow him to be taken alive.. he knows where the bodies are buried..LITERALLY..

What I could never understand is how he could have brought bush to his knees, by merely releasing the paperwork he had to have that implictaed Poppy and the Reagan clan with all the bad stuff he did.. He could have gone on tv and laid it all out..and blown the whistle as they were trying to start the war.. Maybe he did really believe that he could defeat our military...:shrug:..

Killing him will backfire.. HE is our tarbaby.. Hands off..he hurts us..hands on he hurts us more..

[TheLastMohican]

23. That's what usually happens to the evil creature of one's making

Can't live with him, can't live without him.
He is probably enjoying his time in Damascus before reclaiming Iraqi throne somewhere before Bush is going for election.

[KoKo]

43. SoCal! Glad you mentioned that! Saddam knows it ALL/BFEE why didn't he

release it all. He could have done it. I've always wondered about that . Especially given all the time he had to do it! It's always been one more suspicious thing about the "Iraq Invasion."

Why didn't Saddam spill the beans...do anything to stop Bush from invading. Either he thought he had a deal with Bush, and Bush reneged, or he was given some kind of asylum. It makes no sense. The same with Osama. I wonder if both are sitting somewhere enjoying this all, or are already dead in some covert CIA action that took place before we invaded Afghanistan or Iraq.

Oh...the evil conspiracies which come to mind when living under the BFEE regime....

[lumpy]

16. This US Rep.LaHood, who represents all of us

ultimately, is clearly working to support Bush's reelection nothing more.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. LaHood's Philosophy

I'm from IL, as is this piece of work. He was once quoted as saying that he considered it unimportant to worry about whether legislation he was promoting was constitutional or not. That's what the courts are for.

So, he flat out admitted that he is an idealogue without regard to the intentions of the framers as to the type of gov't we're supposed to have. Basically, he said, to hell with the Constitution.

Nice.
The Professor

[markses]

18. Aaaaaachoobullshit

PUH-leeez.

[Sagan]

19. Did Ho Chi Minh's death break Vietnamese resistance?

I don't think so. Ho died in 1969.

Saddam's death or capture will not affect the resistance on whit. Count on it.

[AntiSmirk]

20. This idiot is my Congressman

I'm so proud. I'm sure old Ray Baby is personally hot on Saddam's trail.

[never cry wolf]

34. Hey A-S

Where ya from?? My best friend is in Streator and my mom grew up in Bloomington.

[asjr]

21. hussein

Hussein could have been killed long ago. This WH could have someone make tapes pretending Hussein is talking. This keeps up the idea that we need to stay in Iraq--to stay the course. We have to be there until we get Hussein. We have been lied to so much we don't know what to believe, but I would put nothing past this regime. They say we killed some 50 "guerillas" in Samara but no one can find the bodies. Then there is the bs about a pilot on BA who saw Air Force One. That is a load of crap. Sometimes I wonder if this regime is rehearsing for a play and we are the spectators. And the people who still support GW are so ill-informed and swayed by this absolutely evil man to the point they will try to re-select him. God help us all.

[northzax]

22. yup, aaaaany minute now

just hang on a little bit, it's coming, I tell you, any day now.

[Tempest]

24. LaHood - Isn't that the bad guy in Eastwood's "The Pale Rider"?

It would be fitting, I guess.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

26. Naw, they're waiting til October, 2004. Bush will be back in Baghdad

disguised as a "Rocket Donkey" and will shoot Saddam personally in front of several video cameras from Faux news.

He'll then be interviewed by Brit Hume as he cradles a smoking 357 magnum lovingly in the crook of his arm.

No one will question why Saddam was duct taped to a hand dolly and had icecicles hanging from his nose and ears and shattered like he did in Hot Shots Part Deux.

[ewagner]

27. Think about this:

A dead or captured Saddam is really bad news to the Bushites.

If Saddam is dead or captured, they have no excuse for the continued resistance. From their perspective, a dead Saddam kept secret is the best way to go. They will always have a scapegoat.

[AntiCoup2K4]

54. Ah, but you're forgetting the #1 scapegoat, Osama....

See, they can drag Saddam out of the freezer right around June or July of next year, and that will give Junior great BS for the KKKonvention in September. And if the 9-11 pukefest there won't sustain him through November, that's when they pull the plug on Osama's dialysis machine and bring him in.

[Roon]

29. U.S. troops capture "big" fish

KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) - U.S. troops have captured or killed a "big fish" in a large military operation in Kirkuk, a member of Iraq's Governing Council said Tuesday. Other officials said Saddam Hussein's top former deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was the target.

http://www.9news.com/storyfull.aspx?storyid=21554

Maybe this "big fish" is really Saddam?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

31. Most news sources have dropped this story as the miliary is denying

it now that everyone in the world picked up the "big fish" story.

[neverforget]

35. Iraqi resistance will fall apart once Saddam is dead?

Sure it will....just like landing on that aircraft carrier ended the war. What a dumbass.

[T Bone]

37. One scenario I can see for trotting out a captured Saddam

would be right as Bush wants it to appear that we are leaving Iraq, that our work is done. So between April-July I say if they decide to trot him out as captured. Gives a sense of closure to Iraq just before the election, where everyone can Hail Bush with their vote. Then assuming dimson is elected in November they can always immediately begin rolling troops back into Iraq on the basis of a 'new and disturbing' threat to the region or us.

God I hate doing Rove's thinking for him.

[truthisfreedom]

36. good. if this is true, and if we succeed, it should make things safer

for our troops and get them home sooner. that's what we want.

[xxqqqzme]

39. whoops -

don't think we're gonna B 'this close' until next October - Surprize!

[Neutrino]

40. The U.S. version of

mahabis.

[damnraddem]

41. Remember when Osama bin Laden's capture was imminent?

Remember Osama bin Laden?

And if Saddam is captured, the Iraqi resistance will collapse? Sure! And just to make sure, better capture Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, too.

[maxanne]

42. Saddam

may well be "captured" - dead of course, or thawed out - but it's too soon. A few months from now would be good.

In fact, there could be a whole cycle - Saddam, followed by Osama, who will also conveniently be dead, the discovery of the WMD's - and for dessert - the plug is pulled on Ronnie in October 2004.

[pinto]

45. I thought Mr Hussein was tagged "irrelevant", or was that yesterday? n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

46. So did this idiot leaker

just blow it for our CIA guys? What if they really were close to catching Saddam and then this a-hole blabs it all over national TV? Wouldn;t that be a crime, expecially if it tipped off Saddam and he gets away again?

Oh it's a repug leaker, that's different, no crime committed, move along.

[demdave]

48. On the flip side of that question, when someone is in hiding and you say

you are about to capture them, sometimes they move and show themselves. When huntinng you very rarely see the prey that lies still in the grass, it is movement that catches the eye. Of course all of this is just :shrug:

[skip fox]

51. My thoughts exactly.

n/t

[jokerman93]

47. I've heard this somewhere before..

>A member ... asked LaHood for more details, saying, "Do you know >something we don't?"
>
>"Yes I do," replied LaHood.

This stinks, doesn't it. Wasn't it just this morning they reported on national news that we'd captured or killed another one of Saddam's masterminds? Then half hour later, they're reporting that they "definitely didn't capture" him. So what is it folks? Captured? No? Killed? Where's the body? Not captured? Not Killed? What the f'k are you wasting my time for?

Fact is, it doesn't matter what the truth is. All an unenlightened consumatron has to hear is the words "captured or killed" and the Bushmeter gains automatic points.

Damn I feel like I have to dry clean my brain after each mind-screwing this propaganda machine delivers.

Anyway, everyone knows that Saddam is on ice with the alien crash bodies. They'll pull a "Weekend at Bernie's" closer to the election, right?

[donotpassgo]

49. NOT IMMINIENT CAPTURE, but a GATHERING ONE.

n/t

[screembloodymurder]

50. No trial.

Bush intends to put Saddam in a cage and tour the country wearing a Siegfried and Roy outfit.

[Skittles]

52. GAWD: can they really BE this f***ing stupid????

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

[NickB79]

53. Capturing him could well give Iraqis the incentive for open revolt

Saddam's old image is still being used by the US forces as a boogeyman to scare the Iraqi's into supporting us. "Don't make trouble or we'll leave, and Saddam will come back and get you." Indeed, if Saddam returned to power he would likely carry out massive purges of anyone who cooperated with the US forces during the occupation. But if we kill/capture Saddam, what boogeyman do we have left to scare the Iraqi people with? When the resistance attacks continue, no one will be able to blame Saddam for them, and all the blame will fall upon the US forces responsible for stopping the attacks. At that point we can kiss our troop's asses goodbye.

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[The Animator]

57. Yeah, Killing Hussien will stop the resistance in it's tracks.

Kinda like killing William Wallace broke the spirit of the Scotish

and Like killing Martin Luther King ended the Civil Rights Movement

And when the Romans killed that jewish guy, it sealed the fate of that religious movement as well... what was it called again.. chizmanitie... chimpunanati... christ I can't remember.

<sarcasm off>

I forsee to possibilities, either

A: there plan works, they capture or kill Hussien, and it ends the war.

or

B: They Kill or capture Hussien, and in the eyes of the resistance he becomes a martyr, fueling the fire of battle for years upon unending years.

I hope for A, but am with great sorrow expecting B.

[Zhade]

58. You wish.

Even if Traitors Inc. does introduce Hussein from wherever they're keeping him and bin Laden, the resistance will not die.

Iraqis want the US out of the country. Period.