Visiting Iraqis React

The Rocky Mountain News reports on the reactions of the visiting Baghdad City Council members to Saddam's apprehension:

Council member Dr. Riyadh Nassir Al Adhadh turned on the television and saw Iraqis dancing in the streets. "I was dancing for them," he said, beaming.

But Amir A. Abbas, an Iraqi engineer now helping to train the new council members in democracy, said he had found the dictator so terrifying that he first reacted with fear at the sight of Saddam's face on television early Sunday. It took a moment for him to remember "he's gone."

These guys are the real McCoy. They're not longstanding exiles. They're not Americans. They're not interlopers, and they're not former Ba'athists. They can't be accused of not knowing the situation on the ground. They manage to get through the whole article without using the word "but," and they take a thoroughly optimistic view of the situtation. Then again, they can't afford not to. If you can cut and run whenever you like, or if you think your country's security doesn't depend on success, you can be as negative as you like.