Iraqi Tribal Leaders Say Release Saddam

I caught this article in The Seattle Times from today, although it is from the Washington Post. They don't waste any time getting to the scary stuff.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A coalition of 300 Iraqi tribal leaders on Saturday demanded the release of Saddam Hussein so he could reclaim the presidency and also called for armed resistance against U.S.-led coalition forces.

The clan chieftains, who were mostly Sunni Arabs and included the head of the 1.5 million-member al-Obeidi tribe, said they planned to hold rallies in Sunni cities throughout the country to insist that Saddam be freed and that the charges against him and his co-defendants be dropped.

I have wondered if this would ever come to pass, that a push would be made by the Iraqi people to have Saddam return. It reminds me of a story a friend of mine told me about his travels in Chile, when he was speaking to an older woman about the reign of Pinochet. When he asked her how she liked the regime, she responded that he was a monster but at least the trains ran on time. I think we are seeing the same thing here; as horrible as Saddam was, at least the Iraqi people had some type of consistency.

Another detail in the article is that is worth noting is that the cheiftans are "mostly" Sunni. I would expect a lot of support from Sunni leaders, but the fact that there is are non-Sunnis calling for Saddam's return does not bode well.