The US is planning to show off the bodies of Uday and Qusay, the sons of Saddam Hussein who were killed yesterday in a fierce gun-battle in the town of Mosul, northern Iraq. Saddam's 14 year old grandson was also killed.
The timeline of the attack (with images - from CNN.com)
The US wants to show off the bodies to prove that they are really dead - it is hoped that this will break the sporadic resistance being put up by guerilla fighters left in Iraq. While i can understand that this is an important strategic goal, i question the humanity of it all. In all probability, Saddam's sons deserve the death they received - both were instrumental in the deaths of thousands of Iraqis over the years - but showing off the bodies? Where's the point in that?
Saddam and his sons, Uday and Qusay
If they are indeed dead, news of their death will trickle down to the rank and file of the guerilla resistance soon enough. And even if it doesn't, and they are indeed responsible for organizing the guerillas, their deaths will almost certainly create a command and control vacuum - guerilla attacks will no longer be coordinated and almost certainly, therefore, be less potent. Showing off the bodies will not necessarily accelerate this process - it might even spark off a round of revenge attacks.
Showing off the bodies smacks of triumphalism and arrogance. There is no need. They are already dead.
UPDATE: I found this very interesting. What does this tell us about the Iraqi mind? A lot, i reckon (thanks to Shafina for the pointer).
bq. "In Falluja, we don't care about this," said Abdul Majid Noori, 27, of the deaths of Saddam's sons. "We care about our religion."
bq. Sitting in a sign shop festooned with banners in English that read, "Our aim is not to kill you, but our independence is more precious than your blood," Noori continued: "In our religion, the infidel has no right to relieve the oppression of believers. If we want to change the regime, we'll do it ourselves."
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