Make no mistake about it: Bush is emulating Saddam's rule in Iraq. Not in the US press (from AlHayat today): the US colonial administration has issued a royal decree in which it is stated that demonstrations in Iraq are banned unless they are authorized in advance by the colonial powers. Those who wish to demonstrate have to notify the US colonial power 24 hours in advance; demonstrators are to be prohibited from carrying sticks (of different kinds), and the demonstration cannot last for more than 15 minutes, I am not kidding. The pro-Saudi, pro-American paper added that this decree reminded Iraqis of Saddam's rule. In another lovely development, the coordinator of the Iraqi Democratic Human Rights organization, Hasan Sha`ban, announced that some 15,000 Iraqis have hitherto been arrested accused of resisting the US (and Micronesian) occupation. This number is only for the Abu Gharib Prison in Baghdad, and the number may double if you add prisoners in Basrah and elsewhere. What we used to chant when Saddam was in power still applies today: FREE IRAQ.