March 24, 2003

No matter how dubious and

No matter how dubious and fake-looking Saddam's TV appearances may seem to us, they're working in Iraq, sending the message that it's not yet safe to oppose Saddam from within. According John Simpson on the BBC warblog, anyway:

Ordinary Iraqis watching Saddam Hussein's latest television appearance will have drawn one essential message from it - Saddam is still in control and it's much too soon for anyone to turn against him.

As long as he can continue to make these highly effective appearances on television, the coalition forces are going to have a serious problem.

And unless they can drive him off the screen and out of Baghdad they are likely to have real problems taking the city.

Half an hour's air time on television has done more for his cause than the relatively small numbers of loyal soldiers who have been holding up the coalition's advance.


This seems entirely plausible, and I'm sure it's something the coalition commanders have considered. Al Jazeera is playing up Iraqi battlefield "successes," Saddam is (apparently) still raving-- Geoff Hoon can say with dry precision that the tape was "not live" all he wants, but it's unlikely to have much effect where it counts. They can't do anything about Al Jazeera, but surely it's within the allies' powers to take out Iraqi broadcast capability? They must have a reason for not having done so, but I can't imagine what it might be. Unless perhaps it's part of the effort to spin this campaign as a "kinder gentler" war, which wouldn't dream of depriving the Iraqi regime of water, electricity, propaganda outlets?

Posted by Dr. Frank at March 24, 2003 07:39 AM | TrackBack