Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein being
questioned by investigating magistrates.
Photograph: Iraqi Special Tribunal/AP
Two contrasting images of Saddam Hussein emerge from either side of the Atlantic. In the UK, the Sun mocks the former Iraqi dictator for "having the cheek" to threaten to sue the tabloid on the grounds of violating his human rights by publishing a picture of him in his underpants.
The Sun takes the opportunity to again publish the picture of Saddam in his white briefs and issues a threat of its own.
"We believe that if Saddam accuses us of violating his human rights, the monster will be libelling us," the paper says, adding for good measure in an editorial: "We've got a message for Saddam. Knickers. See you in court."
While the Sun heaps ridicule on the Butcher of Baghdad, the New York Times carries an article on Saddam's unlikely new career - bestselling author.
Earlier this week, Raghad Saddam Hussein, Saddam's exiled daughter in Jordan, announced plans to publish his 186-page novel, Get Out, You Damned One.
Described by the Times as a "forgettable piece of pulp", it features a scheming traitor, an invading army of Zionist-Christian infidels and an Arab liberator.
Jordan's press and publications department banned the book, but bootleg copies have been selling out. The paper quotes Suleiman al-Horani, owner of a kiosk in Amman who sold 50 copies, as saying: "His popularity is increasing because of the success the resistance is now having in Iraq."
The book's novelty value has probably helped turn it into a mini-bestseller. But even if there is just a scintilla of truth in the kiosk owner's quote, it must be galling for the Bush administration. The US expended much blood and treasure to get Saddam out of his palaces, yet for some in the Arab world this brutal leader has become - even in his underwear - a symbol of resistance to America. Talk about unintended consequences.
