Saddam's Capture

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That the Americans captured Saddam alive spares Bush the problem he faced after Saddam's sons were killed last summer: even after camera crews were allowed to film the dead bodies of Uday and Qusay, many Iraqis remained unconvinced it was them. Given the depraved legacies of the sons, it was like trying to convince the Iraqis that the devil had been killed. This time, the devil is in custody, walking, talking, clearly himself. "I imagine he was almost relieved," a Pentagon official said. "I mean, he lost his power, his country, his sons--and he lost his freedom in a lot of ways before we got him."

It's equally significant that the devil, at least so far, isn't spitting fire. Had Saddam been taken in a pressed shirt, well-groomed, standing tall, spouting defiance, the Americans would have a new problem on their hands. A dignified Saddam being manhandled by imperialist troops could well have become a rallying figure not just for former Baathists, but for Arab nationalists in Iraq and outside it. Whatever posture Saddam takes in whatever tribunal he appears in, he will likely never live down that image of him scruffy, defeated, opening his mouth for the doctor like a good boy. "It's like he's a goat," one Iraqi delighted, watching the images of Saddam being searched on TV.

With Saddam at last captured one mystery is solved, but others now simmer. What happened to his weapons, his money, his remaining allies? What were his plans? Will all the Iraqis who have never learned what happened to their brother, their uncle, their neighbor now get the maps to the rest of the mass graves? Will they find a way toward reconciliation, Sunni and Shi'a, Arab and Kurd, as every hopeful official set as a necessary step on a path towards true peace? The world waits for a new chapter and history prepares, once again, to turn on a dime. --With reporting by Brian Bennett/Baghdad, Michael Ware/al-Dawr, Phil Zabriskie/Tikrit and John F. Dickerson and Mark Thompson and Douglas Waller/Washington