Clintonistas: Saddam's Capture Won't Help

The capture of Saddam Hussein is actually bad news for U.S. troops serving in Iraq.

That's the bizarre assessment from former Clinton administration counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, who said Sunday morning that the Iraqi dictator's arrest may only exacerbate opposition to U.S. occupation forces.

"I don't think it's going to have a near-term positive effect on security," Clarke told ABC's "This Week."

Ignoring reports that Saddam was bankrolling insurgents in Iraq, Clinton's terrorism czar insisted, "I think it's very likely that these cells [attacking U.S. troops] are fully autonomous, they're spread around the country and they haven't been getting commands from Saddam."

Clarke said that "over time" Saddam's capture may be helpful, but he predicted, "In the short term, we may have actually a worse problem" because the news may prompt enemy forces to try to demonstrate they can still attack.

Former Clinton administration United Nations ambassador Richard Holbrooke also warned that Saddam's capture may not change much. "Remember, these Baathists who have been supporting him are not going to stop because he's been captured," he told NBC's Tom Brokaw.

Though Holbrooke admitted that the Iraqi dictator's arrest was "a big blow" to the insurgents, he said they weren't fighting for Saddam, but instead "for their political movement and for their very lives."

"Whether or not this ends the war – I don't think it will – is the critical question," Holbrooke said.

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