Rumsfeld strategy may hit US opinion

The television pictures broadcast at the weekend of US captives being abused and humiliated evoked recollections of Mogadishu a decade ago. That is probably just what they were intended to do.

With no chance to overcome American military might, Saddam Hussein or what is left of his regime have just one chance: to persuade the American public and world opinion the US is getting bogged down in another Vietnam.