'N.Y. Post' Statement on Saddam Pix: OK, Because He's a 'Genocidal Maniac'

By: E&P Staff What does the New York Post have to say about the controversy over its printing a photo of Saddam Hussein in his underwear? Here's a statement just released by the combative tabloid's spokesmen at Howard J. Rubenstein Associates:

"Saddam Hussein is a genocidal maniac who tortured, gassed and killed tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis. The photographs published today by the New York Post show the U.S. military is treating him with a regard he never showed his own people."

Meanwhile, President Bush said earlier today that he did not think photos of imprisoned Saddam Hussein clad only in his underwear would incite further anti-American violence in Iraq. "I don't think a photo inspires murderers," Bush said.

The photos, published in British and American newspapers, prompted an angry U.S. military to launch an investigation; the Red Cross said the pictures may violate the Geneva Conventions.

"These people are motivated by a vision of the world that is backward and barbaric," Bush told reporters.