The Great Lake

‘RULING the world isn’t just a question of sticking a pin in the atlas and bombing the shit out of the place you’ve chosen. No, sometimes you have to be, like, cunning and clever too.

A weapon of mass destraction

Just ask the US military. As the Guardian points out, the Americans have attacked Saddam Hussein with weapons, offered rewards for his capture, and even released images of what he might look like with no hair.

Yet still the moustachioed (or possibly clean-shaven) tyrant is at liberty.

Cue plan B: A computer-generated picture of Saddam as Veronica Lake, complete with cascading blonde locks and plunging neck-line.

These pictures will be put up in public places around Tikrit as part of an extraordinarily cunning ruse. No matter that nobody in Iraq (or anywhere else) is likely to recognise the Veronica Lake reference – that’s not the point.

The point, to quote an old Hollywood catch-phrase, is to make ’em laugh. ”We’re going to do something devious with these,” explains Lt-Col Steve Russell, referring to the Lake picture and another showing Saddam as Billy Idol.

”Most of the locals will love ’em and they’ll be laughing. But the bad guys are going to be upset, which will just make it easier for us to know who they are.”

Brilliant. But how come no-one thought of that sooner?

‘

Posted: 18th, August 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink