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[Previous entry: "The lexicon of blogging"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Al-Zubayr morgue"] 05 April 2003: "Saddam/Nielsen?"
There's this still from Saddam's supposed televised walkabout, and there's just something uncharacteristic about that facial expression. It's... I dunno, more like Leslie Nielsen dressed to look like Saddam than anything. Take a look:   Okay, it'll take coloured contacts and a lot of hair dye and make-up, but still... Having said that, if it is a phony, they made him up correctly, right down to the moles on the left cheek (about an inch forward of the ear) and left eyebrow. Then again, I'd imagine they wouldn't be so unprofessional as to miss that; it's the kind of detail an assassin (and there have been a few) would look for. BBC article: The BBC's Rageh Omaar in Baghdad, whose activities are restricted by authorities, [...] says the footage also shows senior aides who would not be seen with an impostor while the signs of the defensive burning of oil-filled trenches indicated the president's city walk was recent.Yeah, well, they've never had to convince anyone Saddam wasn't dead before. The Beeb added this commentary regarding the walkabout. Thought-provoking stuff, though I do need to remark on this passsage: Hours earlier, Iraqi TV also showed Saddam Hussein reading a speech in which he referred to a US Apache helicopter shot down on 24 March - the only clear guide to when the address may have been recorded."RJM" over on The Illiterate has an excellent observation on this score, noting that the "plucky peasant, armed only with cultural weapon and devotion to Beloved Leader (be it Stalin, Emperor Hirohito, Mao, Ho, or Saddam) defeats high tech 'paper tiger' weapon system" has been a standard in wartime propaganda since the invention of mechanised warfare (arguably since armies started using trains); given that Apaches are guaranteed to play a part anytime the US Army goes into battle, this story—Saddam's videotaped reference and all—was very likely cooked up beforehand, ready to be released as soon as an Apache was forced down (for whatever reason) in Iraqi-held territory. |
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