WAR OF WORDS. Whatever their other relative merits and demerits, you have to admit that Saddam is a better rhetorician than GWB. But his style has slipped some since '91. During Gulf War I, my friend Chet made these telling comparisons between the rhetoric of Bush I and Saddam:

Bush: We have drawn a line in the sand.
Saddam: The mother of all battles has begun.

Bush: This will not stand.
Saddam: We will make the enemy drown in his own blood.

That's fustian, by Allah! Now we have a recent statement, alleged from Big S, saying that the Coalition forces "are not even 100 miles (away from Baghdad). They are not anywhere. They are like a snake moving in the desert." A nice analogy -- but nonetheless, he exhorts his troops to fight these allegedly faraway troops "with your hands." (I assume armament is running low.)

Not bad, but certainly not up to his old standards. Could Saddam have mellowed with age?

In the event that Saddam is really dead or nearly so, it may be time for the other crack wordsmiths in the bunker to take over. Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, for example, has penned this tribute to the U.S.: "They are a superpower of villains... They are a superpower of Al Capone." He also referred to Bush as the "leader of the international criminal gang of bastards."

There's some of the old fire! And al-Sahaf will have plenty of time to hone his delivery in Den Hague.