Jeff Koopersmith

Ruthless, Sadistic and Dead
Uday and Qusay Hussein: They have reached the end of their long road to hell
By Jeff Koopersmith

I was prepared to write a piece on Jessica Lynch's homecoming this afternoon when the wires began reporting that US forces thought they had uncovered, engaged in battle, and finally killed Saddam Hussein's two sons, Uday and Qusay, in or near the Iraqi city of Mosul.

So much for Jessica, at least for today. She and her loving home town neighbors are learning the disappointment of being upstaged by unpredictable news.

The deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein were confirmed by the Pentagon a little later this afternoon, and since that time cable news outlets have engaged in veritable feeding frenzy over this news.

And rightfully so.

Like many issue of tyrants, Uday and Qusay did not disappoint their despotic father. Uday, who was considered nearly insane by those closest to him, was fond of fast, expensive cars and raping women at gunpoint -- including his own stepmother before she married his father. Qusay, quieter but reportedly more evil, was in charge of torturing and murdering all that stood in Saddam's way. He did an excellent job, feeding the unfortunate enemies of the state into crushing machines feet first so he could hear their screams as he ground them up.

For some reasons the White House is bringing both bodies back to the United States for DNA identification -- a particularly gruesome and seemingly unnecessary action. However, I suppose that in light of recent credibility problems at 1600 Pennsylvania, this does seem like a good idea.

The world, especially Iraq, is breathing at least a small sigh relief at their demise.

It appears that the $15 million bounty on the two men's heads paid off. Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, in charge of the action, remarked that it will most likely be paid. But pity the poor fellow who turned them in to our intelligence services. Hopefully he will never be identified and made a target of the father, Saddam.

Unfortunately, perhaps, it appears that the teenaged son of Qusay was also killed in the ensuing gun battle. However, there is no confirmation of this as of this writing. Was this young man already one of the fold, or simply there by the accident of birth?

One wonders also why both brothers would ever place themselves in the same location -- and why Saddam himself was not in the house, purportedly owned by a cousin, at the time.

In fact, thus far it seems that Uday and Qusay were guarded only by a single body guard, also killed this afternoon. Did the father feed his sons to the lions -- much as he did other members of his family, including his stepsons?

Frankly, I was surprised that that the terrible Hussein brothers would secret themselves inside Iraq's borders. This is
telling, and may lead to the quick capture or death of Saddam himself.

One thing seems apparent: other nations do not seem prepared to give Saddam protection or a place to hide.

If this is so, it is only a matter of time before we'll pay another $25 million to someone for his head.

JEFF KOOPERSMITH is a political consultant, opinion research authority, policy analyst, and self-described "renegade lobbyist."