I have never said this before, but now I believe that the regime of Saddam Hussein is about to collapse. In a matter of months, and possibly even in a matter of weeks or days, Saddam Hussein will be gone.

Mob Breaking a Hole into the Wall of a Jail

Women whose men did not come home

The turning point will be the events of yesterday, when Saddam Hussein opened his prison doors. The notorious Abu Gharib jail on Baghdad's outskirts, one square mile in area, that was believed to hold between 100,000 and 150,000 prisoners, was virtually empty today.

Saddam Hussein has remained in power by heading the most repressive government in the world, a government that does not hesitate to imprison and execute its citizens. Some of the prisoners released yesterday have been inside for 20 or 30 years. After their massive release, the people will no longer fear their government and you can be sure that Saddam Hussein will be overthrown soon.

What is most surprising is that the massive release of more than 100,000 prisoners has just appeared as a blip in the news. It is not even listed as among the top news stories of the day.

Sam Sloan

Here are news articles about the opening of the jails:

• Reuters: Iraqi Jails Virtually Empties by Saddam Pardon
• The New York Times: Abrupt Amnesty at Iraq Prisons
• The New York Times: Hussein and Mobs virtually empty Iraq's Prisons
• Christian Science Monitor: Jailbirds fly free in Iraq
• In Opening Gates of its Gulag, Iraq unleashes Pain and Protest
• MSNBC: Prisoners welcome Iraqi Amnesty
• The Many Faces of Saddam Hussein
• MSNBC: Saddam’s Sons
• CIA Fact Book on Iraq

Here are links:

• Why was President George Bush so kind and nice to Saddam Hussein?
• ZDF Public Television
• ZDF Today
• MSNBC reports that Saddam has doubles
• Saddam Hussein is a Happy Man Because of the Help from his Friend Ken Starr
• NYTimes.com Article: Will the Real Saddam Hussein Please Step Down
• Time to Bomb Saddam!!
• Bush retracts statement that he plans assassination of Saddam Hussein
• A Contrary View: Clinton's "Wag the Dog" Maneuver
• Iraq: Unsanctioned Voices
• A Brief History of the War In Afghanistan
• How I escaped from jail in Afghanistan
• Najibullah, President of Afghanistan, hangs in Kabul
• The Central Jail in Kabul
• Has Anybody Seen This Girl?
• History of the War in Afghanistan
• Syed Durali Shah
• The Slave Children of Thomas Jefferson