All posts by Rand Simberg

War Commentary

Shelly Had His Number

Just to finish off this glorious day:

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Uncategorized

Why Should We Die?

Caroline Glick explains why what happened to today is so momentous, and such a crucial psychological blow to the enemies of freedom (registration required).

Saddam’s ability to remain at large bolstered his henchmen and empowered jihadists throughout the Arab and Muslim world to the cause of defeating the US and its allies.

The psychological impact on Saddam’s loyalists and on terrorists around the world of the picture of the tyrant’s dirty, mired face and meek complicity during his medical examination by a US army doctor is immeasurable. Today they are forced to ask the question, “Why should we die when Saddam surrendered so abjectly?”

It has been argued that it was wrong for the Americans to show such pictures of Saddam. Doing so, it was said, will enrage jihadists who will fight all the more desperately to regain the honor lost by Saddam’s humiliation.

The problem with this argument is that it fails to take common sense into account. Saddam’s surrender is a signal to his allies as much as to his victims.

War Commentary

The Continuing Quagmire

Now that he’s in custody and supposedly cooperating, I wonder if Saddam will have anything to say about this.

I should add, head over to Instapundit, The Corner and The Command Post for a steady roundup of the news and reaction to it. The press’ reaction is the most interesting.

[Update just before the President’s statement]

OMG! As if things weren’t bad enough for the idiotarians, on the same day as Saddam’s capture, after years of prodding, cajoling and threats, the inimitable Iowahawk has finally started a blog. Behold it, and despair.

[Update just before noon]

He’s continuing to build the site in real time. I just checked a few minutes ago, and he now has finished (or at least better populated) his “About” page, and he’s steadily adding to the blogroll. No Paypal button yet, though, despite his admonition.

Uncategorized

A Smoking Gun?

One of the many strawman arguments that war opponents trot out is that there’s no link between Saddam and September 11 (irrelevant, of course, since the administration never claimed one, and none was necessary to justify removing Saddam). But the Telegraph says that the new Iraqi government has uncovered evidence that Mohammed Atta was trained in Baghdad by Abu Nidal two months before the towers came down, something that wouldn’t have happened without the knowledge and encouragement of Saddam’s regime.

Don’t hold your breath waiting to read about this in the New York Times.