Timing of Saddam's "capture"...

[Myra]

Weekend, Sunday morning for maximum news exposure and public attention.

(I wonder how long they've had him, just waiting to trot him
out at the best time. Someone else started a thread pointing
out the the fact that they needed to get the Halliburton gouging
"news" off the front pages.)

Sorry if this is a dupe observation.

[LynneSin]

1. Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing - so much for Halliburton

and all those overcharging they were doing.

Go figure!!!!

I'm thinking they knew Halliburton overcharging could have exploded but now that we have Hussein no one is going to even bother about how much Halliburton is spending.

But that's just my thoughts!!!

[LynneSin]

2. eep - I posted the same thing twice

please remove

[smirkymonkey]

3. It was my first thought...

does anyone else think they have had him in custody for a while only to trot him out for maximum impact at the "right" time?

I expect an Osama capture in September 2004. Anyone want to bet me?

[Warpy]

10. The timing is beyond merely fortuitous

This is to get the twin debacles of the massive Halliburton profiteering off the news, as well as the spectacle of the Administration imitating the Keystone Kops by poking our allies who didn't support the war in the eye while sending Baker out to try to beg them to forgive Iraqi debt!

Yes, I think either they knew where he was and were paying his relatives to keep him on ice, or the capture took place some time ago.

As for September/October 2004, it will either be the capture of bin Forgotten or the death of Reagan, both of which may already have occurred.

And yes, I'm cynical.

[smirkymonkey]

12. I am beginning to think that no matter

what happens over the next year, Rove will have something in his bag of tricks to counter the publicity. I really have to say I am losing hope here. The evil seems unstoppable.

As for being cynical, it seems hardly sane to feel otherwise.

[Junkdrawer]

4. Timing? They just set up tribunals to try former Ba'athists....

Prague, 11 December 2003 (RFE/RL) -- The U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council this week set up a special tribunal to try former members of the Iraqi Ba'athist regime for crimes against humanity.

The creation of the tribunal, which will be staffed and led by Iraqi nationals, resulted from months of work. It will take many more months before the first trials actually start in Baghdad.

Iraqi Governing Council president Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, in announcing the tribunal yesterday, said it was a historic achievement.

"This court will try cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from 17 July 1968 till 1 May 2003," al-Hakim said.

More...

http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/12/11122003181030.asp

How's that for timing...

[KFC]

5. Yes, I'm sure it was coordinated with Michael Jackson

You see, every event that happens in the world is controlled by Rove.

[Junkdrawer]

8. Not Rove, but I'll bet "someone" waited until the Iraqi tribunals...

were announced before Saddam was "captured".

[Eddie Current]

6. and

all the attention Dean et al have been getting. I would think pulling this out closer to the election would have been more advantagous. But they can milk this a long time and they can probably still pull WMD out of their asses when they need a boost prior to the election.

[terryg11]

7. possible

but I still think if they actually had him they would have waited longer, say til September to "bring him out". This won't keep Haliburton off the pages for too long.

If we continue to see resistance and troops dying then this will wind up costing Bush more than it gives him

[Bolo Boffin]

9. Not a timing thing here...

What's it trying to get out of the headlines, Gore endorsing Dean?

They've been after him, they caught him. It's about time. Iraq may calm down some, if Bush is smart and starts using former Ba'athists in positions they've been trained for now. Odds are Bush won't be smart.

[John_H]

11. December polics hands down.

BC (BEFORE CAPTURE)

Congress out of session
Bush in Texas raising money quietly
The only thing on the TV would be bad news out of iraq and chimp-bashing dems
Approval hits forty five by Jan. 1--resulting in stories that bush is in trouble going into election year.

AD (AFTER DIVERSION)

A month long infomercial for our heroic warrior king
approval go3es up generating stories that bush is unbeatable going into election year.

Troop pullout/victory declared july-august
Sept 11 GOP convention
Osama gets thawed out in early october.

[PurityOfEssence]

13. Gotta hand it to 'em: they'll do ANYTHING for a good 4th quarter

I think they've been very seriously trying to get the guy from day 1, but is certainly is mighty handy to get him right on the eve of the biggest consumer spending fortnight in the country's economic cycle.

No tinfoil here, but it's a handy little bit of timing. Everything the administration is doing is to carefully time "recovery" and "stabilization" so they can hold the old jalopy together and get close enough to steal the next election. They know that if they can win '04, they can bring down the curtain on democracy in this country and continue on their path to economic monarchy and world subjugation.

There will be a spike in confidence and Junior's approval, but it's a long way to November. What they REALLY need to do is find Osama, and if that's an October surprise, even though it'll absolutely reek to high heaven, it'll probably work still.