The Late Saddam Hussein

IraqPundit notes that, according to London's Mirror, Saddam Hussein has suffered a stroke. A lawyer in Amman claims that, "Our information is that he's in very poor health. We understand from the International Committee of the Red Cross that our client has had a brain scan to discover how badly he has been affected by the stroke. We believe he could die because of his health problems." The lawyer says he fears murder may be in the offing.

Inevitably, there are rumors and Internet reports that Saddam is already dead. According to IraqPundit, the London-based Alquds Alarabi ran a story recently in which Iraqi officials deny these reports. Not that it will make much difference to the Mideast rumor mill.

"The conspiratorial people among us will love this story," predicts IraqPundit. "There will be stories about how the Americans poisoned him because they don't want him to reveal the extent of the Iraqi-U.S. relationship over the years. But Iraqis will only say that Saddam Hussein is not yet dead because, as we say in Arabic, 'death is afraid of him.'"