: Saddam Captured: Now, Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Quagmire

If the instability of the Arab and Muslim world was really based on the demise of one man, then today’s news of the capture of Saddam Hussein would be worth the hype that you’re hearing on TV and radio talk shows across America. But the lack of communication equipment or documents most likely means that Saddam had little to do with the Iraqi resistance and that, freed of possible associations with a widely-hated dictator, attacks on Western targets in Iraq may increase. “Given the location and circumstances of his capture, it makes it clear that Saddam was not managing the insurgency,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). “That is significant and disturbing because it means the insurgents are not fighting for Saddam, they’re fighting against the United States.” Meanwhile, while American Muslims, Arab media, and Muslim governments were universally happy at the news, reaction in the Muslim world was a mix of jubilation, confusion, and disbelief, with the most visible displays of grief coming from people who didn’t have the pleasure of living under his rule. “Maybe they captured someone who looks like him,” said Laila Abusharigh, 55, in the Gaza Strip. “Saddam is a real man and all of us are with him.” The next step remains uncertain: will Saddam end up in Guantanamo Bay (possible), be tried by the International Criminal Court in the Hague (alas, the US doesn’t recognize it, so that’s unlikely), or be turned over to the not-yet-functional Iraqi government for justice, local style (probable, but also most out of US control)? For now, US officials took advantage of an opportunity to make additional discoveries and immediately began searching his mouth for elusive weapons of mass destruction.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.