Return of the King? -

Return of the King? - Abu Dhabi TV (via CNN) is currently showing footage supposedly showing Saddam Hussein standing amid a crowd of Iraqis, allegedly taken on April 9 - the same day the Marines were pulling down the statues.

The Abu Dhabi TV spokesman is claiming the footage was shot in a highly Sunni (and upscale) neighborhood, "Al Habamiyah" (spelling), where "he'd feel very safe". His son Qusay, his secretary Omar Hassan, and a number of other identifiable Ba'ath party officials are also shown in the footage, according to the spokesman.

UPDATE: It's interesting, listening to the CNN anchors questioning the Abu Dhabian. They're rolling some authentic tape taken on April 5, showing Hussein in front of a small crowd. There were oil clouds in the background. On the alleged April 9 footage, the sky is clear.

UPDATE AGAIN: I'm going to suspend my disbelief for a moment. The Abu Dhabi guy made a few good points: this is supposedly taken in a Sunni district, the sort of place that he'd spent a lot of money and time garnering support. Also, he noted that the Coalition controlled only a fairly small part of Baghdad proper at the time the video was supposedly shot.

UPDATE 3: CNN is now interviewing Ken Pollack of the Brookings Institute. "It reinforces the sense that Saddam stayed in Baghdad", Pollack says, citing the extensive tunnel network under Baghdad.

As to why the Iraqis waited nine days to release this tape to Al Jazeera: "He recogizes he's in very serious shape. It may be he realizes his best bet is to go underground and try to build some resistance".

He also acknowledges that "there are a lot of Iraqis that want to see Saddam not only dead, but eviscerated", that his paranoia has to be in high gear.

UPDATE 4: If I hear the phrase "hiding in plain sight" again, I'm going to chunder.