THe capture of Saddam Hussein draws a line under Operation Free Iraq. It is now possible to concentrate on the task of building the country’s future, and discovering whether democracy will take hold in the Arab Middle East, and if so, how and in what form.
More than a distraction, as long as Saddam was at liberty he represented the alternative of absolute power, as well as a symbol of defiance. Here was a figurehead around whom those Muslims who hate the United States and its allies could rally. Islamists, Iraqi nationalists, and their supporters on the international left ardently believed that while he was in hiding he was also directing a glorious resistance movement. Swirling around him was the glamour of the outlaw.
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