Does anyone see the irony that Bush & Mothers of all F**k Ups Inc. now, only now decides there is a price tag on Saddam's head? Never mind the cliche that it smacks of plastering the world with some god old Texas cowboy's "Wanted Dead or Alive" poster. Never mind the huge and smoldering dung heap of lies, and deception associated with the puported reason we invaded Iraq. No, the irony is far worse. If capturing Saddam is so important, if he's such the source of all evil in Iraq, why heck isn't the price on his head some significant fraction of the fifty billion or so the government spent on invading his country? Surely putting the price on his head at $25 million just goes to show that really the don't seriously think Saddam is much of a threat at all. Ditto for Bin Laden.
If the US government had decided to put a $30 billion dollar bounty on his head the people of Iraq might just have collectively decided to turn him in and share the spoils, and carry on without him. After all that would have been $1000 each and about the same as one years of revenue from their oil fields once the evil-hordes (US corporations) came over and started sucking their oil fields dry. Yes, that would be just like vote buying on mass scale. But hey, why is over-throwing a country's leader by force with guns, explosives and civilian casualties any more acceptable?
Just how is buying the head of a country's leader with a big pile-o-cash any different from the kind of bribing and coercion of governments that happens every day? The world bank has done it over and over in South America, and the USA does it all the time all over the world. Remember the huge cash pile the US government was offering to buy the hearts and minds of Turkey? Was it $20 billion they offered to launch an invasion from the north? And didn't Turkey hold out for more just like Oliver Twist? Perhaps, they figured, that $20 billion is peanuts compared to what the bank of Uncle Sam can afford. After all if we can easily afford $10 trillion in tax cuts for the rich its not suprising they wanted to put a high price on making GWB's shock and awe invasion easier.
So its quite clear to me that GWB has no intention of ever paying out $25 million to someone for Saddam, dead or alive. Its just another cheap marketing trick from Bush Inc. that someone thought would make him look like he was really concerned about catching Saddam. After all, if Saddam was turned in tomorrow what would our government do with him? Turn him over to the World Court? Well that's not going to happen since Bush doesn't support the World Court or any other organization that might actually prosecute America for war crimes. Maybe they would have a little show trial down in Guantanamo Bay and then execute him? The alternative would be to lock him up like Rudolf Hess in his own custom prison for the rest of his life. The we would sit back and watch his imprisonment fester in our countries credibility for the rest of his life.
Personally I'm just waiting for Saddam or Osama Bin Laden to wise up and call GWBs bluff. Then they can turn around and put an even higher bounty on GWBs head. It would be funny to watch the international "who's the most valued evil-doer" bidding war that would ensue! Probably the only laughs we'd ever get out of the whole sorry-assed and sordid affair.