November 5, 2006- Timing Is Everything

   As everyone knows by now, we are less than 50 hours away from what many consider the most important midterm election in American history. many are predicting that things are going to change significantly, with Democrats taking control of Congress, and this is suposed to severly fuck up the agendas of the Bush Administration for the rest of their time in office. The Republicans have been trying to right this as of late, doing everything that they possibly can to make that happen. They jumped on John Kerry's "botched joke" about doing  service in Iraq and tried to make that a huge issue that would tip the scales in their favor, but that just does not seem to have enough impact to make a real difference, as it is already pretty well played out. However, the Administration and the Republicans do not really need John Kerry's poor attempts at humor anyway, because they have something much larger than that, something that is occurring as I write this column. Today is the day that Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants get their verdicts and sentences in his first trial for crimes against humanity. The verdicts and sentences have just been handed down minutes ago, and they ranged from some 90-something dude getting released to three other dudes getting fifteen years in prison, to one of the  co-defendants getting life in prison and another getting sentenced to death by hanging, to Saddam himself, who was also found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death by hanging. All that he had to say about it was "Allahu Akbar" and some political shit, however his lawyer was kicked out of the courtroom as was hi shalf brother, who freaked out very badly in court and had to be removed. Now, history has been made, as Saddam becomes thge first man in history to be convicted of crimes against humanity in the country where these acts took place, and the Republicans are ready to hit the ground running with this one. In just a few hours, all the Sunday morning talk shows will be on TV in America, and they shopuld be filled with people  weighing in on these verdicts and what it all means. Most of these guests will be Republicans, who will trumpet the events of today as proof that the American policy in Iraq is working, telling one and all that this means that come Tuesday, they need to vote Republican. The Democrats won't have much time to figure out anything to say to counter all of this, and that is exactly why it went down today. The fucking trial ended back in July, and Saddam's second trial has been underway for about two months now, so it is no secret why this verdict was announced today. One of the reasons that Ramsey Clark, Saddam's main lawyer, was kicked out of court was because he started saying shit like that, but it is very hard to believe that this timing is not wholly  political. That is something that the Republicans will probably have to answer later this morning on the talk shows, they'll surely say that it is not, and be able to offer zero proof to that effect, but it is just too late now to make  any real counter against this, so as a political move, it rates way up on the brilliant scale. When Americans start getting up in a few hours, they'll be hearing all about this all day long, but is it really such a feather in the Republican's cap?

   One reason that the Republicans are waiting a bit before breaking out the champagne is because they want to see just what reaction that all of this generates in Iraq. In a few minutes from now, the actal video of Saddam being sentenced will be airing, as they have it on tape delay for "security reasons." Once it airs, the real reactions are supposed to start, and no one knows quite what they'll be. they could range from a massive party in the streets to the start of a Civil War, the range is that great. Obviously, the reaction to this over there is the only thing that could possibly negate the political capital that the Republicans are going to get today, if Iraq goes insane and descends into utter chaos over this, it will negate everything before the TV talk shows even get aired today. The Administration is well aware of that, and they have been instituting severe security procedures all across Iraq for the last few days. Baghdad and another neighboring province are under a struct curfew, a curfew that Washington says is supposed to last "until further notice", which should be at lweast until Wednesday afternoon American time, after the elections are over and all the votes have been counted. Thus far, all that they are seeing is celebratory gunfire in the streets of Baghdad, but these days, they see that over a soccer (football) game. Shooting in the streets of Baghdad these days is normal, and Washington hopes that it goes no further than that. The fear is that the militias and insurgents wil use today's events as reasson to go fucking apeshit and start killing people wholesale, more than usual. Lesser things than this have set off the death squads over there, and Washington is taking no chances with htis, and that is why curfews are the order of the day in Iraq. If that kind of shit can be stopped, Republicans stand to gain hugely at this late date, and the insurgents are well aware that there's an election in America day after tomorrow, and they would love nothing more than to embarass the Administration by turning Iraq into a bloodbath today, tomorrow, and the rest of the week at least. Thjere is no question that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of dudes willing to do just that today, but since the Americans have clamped down so hard, the chances of them getting to act on that in any significant way are very slim. However, the day is only half over in Iraq, and there's a lot of time left for shit to start up, but since the Americans are so ready and prepared for anything, any insurgent worth his salt knoiws that today is about the worst day that they could possibly try anything aginst America, because the reality is that while they might get a few quick gains by blowing up a market or something, they woiuld surely be annihilated by American troops very shortly thereafter. The Republicnas know that there is another wat to keep the political capital that they've gained today, and that would be to mercilessly crush any uprisings that come out of today's events, so the insurgents know that the chances of giving the Administration more political gain far outweigh the chances of politically embarrassing them, so they'll probably lay low today and wait for anoither day, besides that, they don't like Saddam anyway, so they are really glad to see him  go.

   They also know that today's verdicts do not really mean shit, that they are mainly for show as much as anyting else. The fact is that Saddam gets to appeal his death sentence, just like American prisoners do, and everyone knows how long, complicated, and slow that process is in America. Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker that terrorized California 20 yeas ago), was sentenced to death many moons ago, but he still lives in San Quentin Prison, and seems destined to live there for much longer as well. People spent years, even decades, on Death Row in America before their sentences are carried out, if they ever are at all, as many of them die beforehand, and Saddam looks like he is going to have a similar fate, he is supposed to be back in court in like three days to strart up his second trial again. Not only Tuesday's elections will be long over if the sentence is ever carried out, but the Presidential Elections of 2008 should be long over by that time as well. That means that George W. Bush and many of his people will be long into retirement and they won't really give a fuck about what happens with Saddam by then. He has served his purpose and what happens with him is of no real concern to the Administration, despite what their mouthpieces will say on the talk shows in a few hours. That's why they keep giving Saddam these platforms to act up and make all these political statements, like the ones he made today when he was sentenced, because they know that they'll all be long gone before he is, so he can say what he wants. The reality is that they probably won't ever execute the guy because there are supposed to be like seven more trials for the same sort of crimes that all carry the death penalty, and Washington might want to keep putting the dude in the docket again and again and seeing him sentenced to death again and again because they might be able to use all of that as valuable propaganda tools in Iraq to indoctrinate the Iraqi youth with, and if they execute the dude he'll become a martyr in the eyes of many and have more influence that way. If he's just a broken man sitting in court again and again being convicted of all this shit, he does not look so good or tough anymore, as these trials will all lay bare the way that Saddam did business and demean and disgrace him and hi sregime all the more. Saddam has been good for poitics, and the politicians of today might not want to do away with him so quickly because he may have lots more political capital left in him and they want to exploit all of that. That's why he is going to beback in court later this week for the secondtrial, even though he has already been sentenced to death, in America, that would not happen, because the Pigs would not want to waste money trying someone that had already been sentenced to death on any otgher charges, they'd just let the sentence take its course. However, regular American criminals do not have the political might of Saddam, so he gets special treatment. he knows that too, and look for him to up the antics from now on at his trials, making them platforms for his political views and such.

   So anyone that goes to the polls on Tuesday and decides that they are going to vote Republican because of today's events is making a big mistake basing their vote on this, but the Republicans know that not too many Americans are going to fogure that one out before Wednesday, so they look like they are going to gain big time from today's events. They know that all they have to do today and for the next two days is to shout from the highest mountain about how the Iraq policies are indeed working and today was the proof, and many Americans wil go right for it. There just is not time for the issue to be properly debated and discussed, and that suits the Administration just fine, as that is one of their trademarks, pushing things through very quickly and not allowing enough time for proper debate. They play on the emotions of the people, like when they rammed the Patriot Act through in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001, and today's verdict will stir up lots of emotions amongst the American people, because Saddam has been a big time bad guy gfor a long time now, and today will be seen as the ending of a long story that started back on August 2, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Ever since then, he has been made into Public Enemy Number One, someone that is made out to be a threat to all of America. many Americans wil be thrilled to hear that he is supposed to hang for what he has done, there should be little sympathy for him in America today. That mood of joy and celebration is sure to last into Tuesday, and in the minds of many Americans, the Administration is the one responsible for this celebration, and they need to be rewarded by getting their votes. Since most  Americans are neither Republican or Democrat, it is easy to sway them for a short time, and the shortest of times is all that is needed here. Someone that really feels safer because Saddam is sentenced to hang is sure to vote Republican, and there are no shortages of Americans that think that way, because Saddam was vilified for over 15 years and scared the shit out of many an American over that timeframe. That was why he was sentenced today, to let all these years of pent up American emotions over him come out all at once and translate into Republican votes.  That was why they were not that concerned over the Mark Foley scandal  or what the polls said, becasue they had the secret weapon at hand, and that was Saddam. They knew that in the very short term that he had far more clout in deciding votes than Foley or Kerry or even Bush ever had. Now they wait and see just how much they pick up Tuesday and beyond over this, and that is going to decide Saddam's fate more than anything else. He has become a mere American political football, and that was what he was supposed to be all along, the problem was that on August 2, 1990, he stopped being that and went into business for himself, and since Washington were the ones that created him, as they are with almost every tyrant in the world, they saw themselves as the ones that had to put him back in his place as an American political football, and that was part of what the invasion of Iraq was supposed to accomplish, and the events of today were the final chapter of that, and they were timed to get maximum effect and that they have thus far, but the real test will be in 40 some odd hours from now when Americans go to the polls and Saddam's worth and fate will be truly decided, as today's evets were just a maginficently planned and staged show for the world to see.

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