MEDIA REACTION: SADDAM'S CAPTURE

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 002509

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/R, R/MR, I/RW, I/REC; PA,
SA/PPD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR NP
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SADDAM'S CAPTURE

"Saddam s capture and after"

Editorial in the centrist "Kathmandu Post"
(E/D, 12/24) by senior journalist M.R.
Josse: " The saga of Saddam
Hussein s capture has all the ingredients of
a parable handed down from one generation to
the next. Indeed, the tale of a once-mighty
ruler who evades a conquering army for
months by hiding in a hole has an
unmistakable Biblical ring to it "

A LAMB, NOT LION

" 'The butcher of Baghdad' who exhorted his
followers to become martyrs in a jihad
against the American infidel went to them
as meekly as a lamb! Although he possessed
a pistol and two AK-47s, he opted to save
his skin "
WHAT KIND OF TRIAL

" International human rights groups, aware
of the limitations in the experience of the
Iraqi judiciary, call for international
judges to have a role in the trial. Yet,
anything other than an Iraqi trial will
greatly erode its credibility and
effectiveness, attributes absolutely vital
for real progress towards meaningful self-
rule for Iraqis "

BUSH: BOON OR BANE?

" Bush s re-election prospects have been
enhanced considerably by Saddam being
nabbed [It] needs also to be factored into
calculation is the unexpected, success which
Bush (and his faithful ally Tony Blair) has
demonstrated in getting Libya s strongman
Moamer Kadhafi to renounce all weapons of
mass destruction, following nine months of
secret negotiations between Tripoli,

SIPDIS
Washington and London. Clearly, Bush is not
altogether the duffer he is often made out
to be."

MALINOWSKI