GETTING THE WORD OUT

On Tuesday, troops began passing out handbills in Arabic and English that show a photo of Saddam after his capture Saturday night in Tikrit by troops of the 4th Infantry Division.

“They show Saddam’s face on them as a detainee,” Tucker said, “because people want to see proof. It gives them a photographic image — Saddam after his capture.”

The accompanying text reads: “Saddam Hussein CAPTURED The capture of Saddam Hussein is the defining moment for the new Iraq. The future starts here.”

“We’ve printed 200,000,” Tucker said. “So we’ll push these out; if the demand is still there, we’ll do another printing of them.”

Troops on Friday will begin distributing a newspaper that will carry the Saddam capture story on its front page, along with a photo of him in captivity. An article on an inside page will spell out details of his capture and explain its importance.

The division publishes the paper, called Baghdad Now, in Arabic and English, for distribution to the Baghdad public. It appears the first and 15th of every month, with 500,000 copies printed each time.

And, since Sunday night, the division has broadcast hourly public service spots on radio station IQ4, 104 FM, a civilian outlet in Baghdad, giving details of Saddam’s capture.

And I'm glad they are...although it may be redundant. I mean even this guy knows and he's been living in a hole in the ground for 21 years...(Thanks Sarah)

But then, I continue to be amazed by the capacity of certain Arabs to deceive themselves:

"It is someone wearing a Saddam mask," volunteered Waleed Ibrahim, a 25-year-old tire repairman in Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad. "It is a trick to help President Bush get re-elected."