US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU2509

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