Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein plans to sue a British tabloid over its publication of photographs of him wearing nothing but his underpants. The U.S. military says the photos breach Geneva Convention guidelines on the humane treatment of prisoners of war, which say countries have a duty to protect POWs from “public curiosity”. It has vowed to “aggressively” investigate the source of the photos and has launched an investigation into how the snaps were leaked. Saddam’s lawyer said: “We will sue the newspaper and everyone who helped in showing these pictures.” The Sun newspaper responded by saying it would fight any legal action brought against it.

The Sun’s sister newspaper, the New York Post, also splashed the half-naked Saddam across its pages, declaring: “the pictures capture a Saddam Hussein far removed from the man who once owned 100 palaces.” The Sun claims it received the photographs from U.S. military sources who wanted to “deal a body blow to the resistance in Iraq” and demoralize insurgents. Managing editor Graham Dudman condoned the pictures: “This is a sort of modern-day Adolf Hitler. These pictures are an extraordinary iconic news image that will still be being looked at at the end of this century.” However, there are fears of an anti-American backlash in Iraq. Many Arabs will see the photos as yet another affront to their culture.

WARM-UPS

1. SPECULATE: In pairs / groups, look at the newspaper headline. Speculate over what the story is about. Develop the story, complete with characters, and relate it to another partner / group. Decide whose story is most probable.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics are most interesting and which are most boring.

Saddam Hussein / tabloid newspapers / Geneva Convention / underpants / palaces / Iraqi resistance / iconic news images / anti-American backlash / Arab culture

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

3. SADDAM HUSSEIN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Saddam Hussein. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

4. TWO–MINUTE PHOTO DEBATES: Face another student and engage in these fun 2-minute debates. Your teacher will time you and tell you to change partners.

1. The photos should be published. vs. No. It’s wrong.
2. Publication breaches the Geneva Convention. vs. No problem.
3. No one wants to see Saddam in his underwear. vs. I do.
4. Tabloid newspapers are worthless trash. vs. They print what the public wants.
5. These photos will lead to more deaths in Iraq. vs. That won’t happen.
6. Saddam should receive compensation. vs. He’s going to receive the death penalty.
7. The photo is an affront to Arab culture. vs. The photo is quite innocent.
8. The photo will become an iconic image. vs. The photo is too boring to be iconic.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Saddam Hussein is angry about his face being printed on underwear.	T / F
b.	Saddam is angry about newspaper photos of him and his underwear.	T / F
c.	The U.S. military is angry over the publication of the photos.	T / F
d.	A newspaper will fight Saddam’s legal action.	T / F
e.	Saddam has been moved to one of his 100 palaces.	T / F
f.	The newspaper’s sports photographers took the photos.	T / F
g.	Adolf Hitler was also photographed in his underpants.	T / F
h.	Many Arabs will see the photos as an affront to their culture.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	dictator	dignified
b.	breach	repercussions
c.	humane	affiliate
d.	vowed	slap in the face
e.	responded	setback
f.	sister	tyrant
g.	capture	retorted
h.	body blow	pledged
i.	backlash	catch
j.	affront	violation

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	the photos breach	curiosity
b.	the humane	an investigation
c.	public	insurgents
d.	launched	treatment of prisoners
e.	legal action	backlash
f.	sister	to their culture
g.	deal a body	Geneva Convention guidelines
h.	demoralize	blow to the resistance in Iraq
i.	anti-American	brought against it
j.	an affront	newspaper

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the spaces in the text.

Saddam to sue over underwear photos

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein plans to ________ a British tabloid over its publication of photographs of him wearing nothing but his underpants. The U.S. military says the photos ________ Geneva Convention guidelines on the ________ treatment of prisoners of war, which say countries have a duty to protect POWs from “public ________”. It has vowed to “aggressively” investigate the source of the photos and has ________ an investigation into how the ________ were ________. Saddam’s lawyer said: “We will sue the newspaper and everyone who helped in showing these pictures.” The Sun newspaper ________ by saying it would fight any legal action brought against it.		humane launched breach leaked sue retaliated snaps curiosity
The Sun’s ________ newspaper, the New York Post, also ________ the half-naked Saddam across its pages, declaring: “the pictures capture a Saddam Hussein far ________ from the man who once owned 100 palaces.” The Sun claims it received the photographs from U.S. military sources who wanted to “________ a body blow to the resistance in Iraq” and demoralize ________. Managing editor Graham Dudman condoned the pictures: “This is a sort of modern-day Adolf Hitler. These pictures are an extraordinary ________ news image that will still be being looked at at the end of this century.” However, there are fears of an anti-American ________ in Iraq. Many Arabs will see the photos as an ________ to their culture.		insurgents splashed backlash deal affront sister iconic removed

AFTER READING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘public’ and ‘curiosity’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare and talk about your answers to this exercise. After you agree, check your answers against the text. Research some of the words that are new to you.

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT SADDAM SURVEY: In pairs / groups write down questions about Saddam Hussein.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make a mini-presentation to another group / the class on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

former military vowed snaps lawyer legal action

sister palaces blow insurgents Adolf Hitler affront

 DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What images did you have when you read this headline?
2. Are you interested in seeing Saddam in his underpants?
3. Are you interested in seeing anyone else in their underpants?
4. Are photos of Saddam Hussein in his underwear so shocking?
5. Does news of Saddam Hussein always catch your eye?
6. Have Saddam Hussein’s human rights been violated?
7. Should Saddam receive compensation for the violation of his human rights?
8. How much money should Saddam receive in compensation?
9. Do you think photos of Saddam Hussein in his underpants will deal a “body blow” to the resistance movement in Iraq?
10. How would you feel about photos of you in your underwear being splashed across tabloid front pages?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading the article?
2. Do you always follow the news of Saddam Hussein?
3. What do you think of these photos being published?
4. Is the newspaper wrong to publish the photos?
5. Will these photos create an anti-American backlash in Iraq?
6. What do you think should happen to the person who took the photos?
7. Are photos of Saddam in prison in the public interest?
8. The newspaper is aware of Arab feelings about such photos. Did it act irresponsibly in publishing the photographs?
9. Are these pictures really iconic news images?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

ROLE PLAY: Role play the following “court trial” about the publication of the photographs of Saddam Hussein in his underpants. Team up with classmates who have been assigned the same role to develop your roles and discuss ideas and “strategies” before the role play begins.

Introduce yourself to the other role players before the role play begins.

Role A – Saddam Hussein You are devastated at the invasion of your privacy. It is a breach of your human rights under the Geneva Convention – POWs must be protected from “public curiosity”. The photographs are also a huge insult to your culture. This is your chance to become famous again.

Role B – The newspaper publisher You believe the photos are important iconic images. You feel they will help remind people of the terror Saddam created in Iraq. You do not accept the photos are insulting to Arab culture. The photos were sent to you anonymously.

Role C – The army photographer The newspaper asked you to take the photos. They paid you lots of money. The publisher assured you that you were not doing anything wrong. You may be found guilty of breaching the Geneva Convention and may spend 10 years in prison. The publisher is at fault in this case.

Role D – U.S. Military lawyer You are furious another photo scandal has given the U.S. military a bad image. You want three things: (1) Saddam must never win this court case. (2) The newspaper must pay damages to the U.S. military. (3) The photographer must serve 10 years in prison.

Change roles and repeat the role play. Comment in groups about the differences between the two role plays.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Saddam to sue over underwear photos

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein plans to
___ __ _______ _______ over its publication of photographs of him wearing nothing but his underpants. The U.S. military ___ ___ _______ Geneva Convention guidelines on the humane treatment of prisoners of war, which say countries have a duty to _______ ______ _______ “public curiosity”. It has vowed to “aggressively” investigate the source of the photos and has launched an investigation into how ___ ____ _____ ________. Saddam’s lawyer said: “We will sue the newspaper and everyone who helped in showing these pictures.” The Sun newspaper retaliated by saying it would fight any legal action brought against it.

The Sun’s sister newspaper, the New York Post, also ________ ___ _____________ _________ across its pages, declaring: “the pictures capture a Saddam Hussein far removed from the man who once owned 100 palaces.” The Sun claims it received the photographs from U.S. military sources who wanted to
“_____ __ _____ ______ to the resistance in Iraq” and _________ ___________. Managing editor Graham Dudman condoned the pictures: “This is a sort of modern-day Adolf Hitler. These pictures are an extraordinary iconic news image that will still be being ________ ___ ___ ____ _____ ___ this century.” However, there are fears of an anti-American backlash in Iraq. Many Arabs will see the photos as __ ________ ___ _______ culture.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find information on Saddam Hussein. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. THOUGHTS: Write a short essay stating your opinion on the responsibility newspapers have in publishing Iraq-related photographs. Read your essay to your classmates in the next lesson.

4. LETTER: You are completely outraged by the publication of the photographs of Saddam Hussein in his underpants. Write a letter to the Sun or New York Post newspapers telling them your views and the future actions you suggest they take. Show your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Compare the things you wrote about.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. T

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	dictator	tyrant
b.	breach	violation
c.	humane	dignified
d.	vowed	pledged
e.	responded	retorted
f.	sister	affiliate
g.	capture	catch
h.	body blow	setback
i.	backlash	repercussions
j.	affront	slap in the face

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	the photos breach	Geneva Convention guidelines
b.	the humane	treatment of prisoners
c.	public	curiosity
d.	launched	an investigation
e.	legal action	brought against it
f.	sister	newspaper
g.	deal a body	blow to the resistance in Iraq
h.	demoralize	insurgents
i.	anti-American	backlash
j.	an affront	to their culture

GAP FILL:

Saddam to sue over underwear photos

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein plans to sue a British tabloid over its publication of photographs of him wearing nothing but his underpants. The U.S. military says the photos breach Geneva Convention guidelines on the humane treatment of prisoners of war, which say countries have a duty to protect POWs from “public curiosity”. It has vowed to “aggressively” investigate the source of the photos and has launched an investigation into how the snaps were leaked. Saddam’s lawyer said: “We will sue the newspaper and everyone who helped in showing these pictures.” The Sun newspaper retaliated by saying it would fight any legal action brought against it.

The Sun’s sister newspaper, the New York Post, also splashed the half-naked Saddam across its pages, declaring: “the pictures capture a Saddam Hussein far removed from the man who once owned 100 palaces.” The Sun claims it received the photographs from U.S. military sources who wanted to “deal a body blow to the resistance in Iraq” and demoralize insurgents. Managing editor Graham Dudman condoned the pictures: “This is a sort of modern-day Adolf Hitler. These pictures are an extraordinary iconic news image that will still be being looked at at the end of this century.” However, there are fears of an anti-American backlash in Iraq. Many Arabs will see the photos as an affront to their culture.

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