CNN people speculated in the early morning hours, without any evidence whatsoever, that the Saddam Hussein who gave a speech on television after the U.S. attack was a double. OK, we don't take CNN seriously. But the New York Times writes:<p>
The results of the strike on Baghdad were unclear. However, Iraqi television broadcast a speech by Mr. Hussein, who is believed to have a number of doubles, after the attack. He denounced "Junior Bush" and promised the Iraqi people a victory.<p>That's the extent of the suggestion and, like CNN, the Times gives no reason for making it. <p>The Washington Post reported:<p>
In their first urgent review, U.S. analysts were said to be uncertain whether the man on the screen was in fact Hussein, or was speaking live. One official said the case against the broadcast's authenticity included that Hussein has several body doubles and his glasses looked nothing like the ones he normally wears. Though Hussein mentioned yesterday's date in the broadcast, that corresponded to Bush's ultimatum for war and could have been recorded. He said nothing specific about the bomb and missile strike. On the other hand, an official said, "the rhetoric is not unlike rhetoric he has used in other speeches."<p>So at least we know that an "official" planted the doubt. CNN and the Times might have mentioned that. (To CNN's "credit," a reporter in the Middle East did remark something to the effect that anyone who knows Hussein's voice could tell that the guy on TV was him.)<p>Let's question this stuff more closely. If it's the government that suspects it was a double, let's say so. Or, if there is no evidence to support the theory, let's leave it out. <p>It's a short stroll from a fake Saddam Hussein to another colossal blunder like the Iraqi soldiers ripping babies out of incubators in Kuwait in 1990.
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