The
Capture of Saddam Hussein - Another US Intelligence Farce
By
Joe Quinn
At
the time, much was made of the capture of Saddam Hussein. Touted by the
US government-controlled American mainstream press as a fatal blow to
the insurgency that would lead to rejoicing in the streets of Baghdad,
the reality, as we have seen, has turned out to rather different. Iraqis,
it seems, are less concerned about Saddam's capture than about the fact
that a brutal US military force of occupation has essentially taken possession
of their country and its resources.
After
his initial capture in December 2003, Saddam was paraded in front of the
press at his first court appearance in July 2004. In court, Saddam was
weak
and pale and could be hardly heard. Strangely, the
US military instituted a severe clampdown on media coverage of the proceedings
which were not broadcast live. Frustrated members of the press had to
wait until after the event to receive just FOUR
minutes of audio and just a few seconds of video of the occasion.
Furthermore, Saddam's lawyers claimed that they had been denied access
to their client and that they had received death threats from members
of the Iraqi government.
While no mainstream media outlet at the time offered an explanation of
these strange occurrences, logic would suggest that there is something
about the man that appeared in court that the US military does not want
the Iraqi people and the rest of the world, to see.
It
is one thing to present a few seconds of specifically chosen footage of
a drugged, mind programmed Saddam lookalike on television and thereby
half-convince Iraqis that knew the Saddam that the person in court is
the real deal. It is a much more difficult task however to make an impostor's
voice sound like the real Saddam's. There is also the danger that the
impostor might suddenly and unexpectedly reveal his true identity. I suggest
that this is the reason that the US military had to limit and edit the
audio coverage and then "clear" it for broadcast.
Saddam's
third "public" appearance came in May 2005 in the form of sensationalist
pictures of the former dictator in US custody in his underpants.
In
US custody, half-naked Saddam
TIMES NEWS
NETWORK FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2005
RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL
LONDON:
A British tabloid has run a humiliating, half-naked photo feature on
Saddam Hussein, the prisoner firmly in US military custody, sparking
fears of an Arab backlash and an investigation into possible human rights
abuses.
The US
authorities have promised to investigate how and when the intimate photographs
of the former Iraqi dictator wound up in The Sun , Britain's best-selling
newspaper. The tabloid, frontpaged on Friday a photograph of a bare-chested
Saddam standing in white underpants and folding a pair of trousers.
The photograph
is headlined 'Tyrant's in his pants' and sets the tone for still more
humble ones inside the tabloid. The inside photographs show the man
who once had a palace in every part of Iraq meekly washing his clothes
by hand. Yet another photograph shows Saddam asleep on his bed. The
Sun , which refused on Friday, to reveal where, when and how it came
by the sensational photographs of the Butcher of Baghdad, would only
quote American military sources to say they handed
over the photos in the hope of dealing a body blow to the resistance
in Iraq.
"Saddam
is not superman or God, he is now just an ageing and humble old man.
It's important that the people of Iraq see him like that to destroy
the myth," the American source is quoted to say. The source added,
"Maybe, that will kill a bit of the passion in the fanatics who
still follow him. It's over, guys. The evil days of Saddam's Baath Party
are never coming back - and here's the proof." But a furore has
erupted over the release of the photographs, with presumed American
logistical support, from Saddam's American-run prison, at a compound
near Baghdad since his December 2003 capture.
British
military experts pointed out that the photographs, which may or may
not be up to one year old, could still be deemed to have contravened
Saddam's rights as a prisoner and could have violated the Geneva Convention.
West Asian
observers said the photographs of the toppled dictator wearing nothing
but white underpants risked re-igniting the Arab sense of burning rage
over the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib. Under the Geneva
Convention, Iraq's invaders, the US-UK-led military alliance, are not
allowed release photographs and details about prisoners of war such
as Saddam.
Saddam's
status as a high-profile prisoner of the West makes the photographs
particularly sensitive because Arabs might feel the West is poking fun
at it.
Western
diplomats said the photographs could spark a new wave of violence against
the West.
Flashback:
Iraqi
Commander Swears he saw USAF fly Saddam out of Baghdad
Bill Dash
Alamo Christian Ministries Online
10/16/2003
Film
will soon be made public of an Iraqi Army officer describing how he
saw a US Air Force transport fly Saddam Hussein out of Baghdad. The
explosive eyewitness testimony was shot by independent filmmaker Patrick
Dillon, who recently returned from a risky one-man odyssey in Iraq.
In the film, the officer, who told Dillon that he commanded a special
combat unit during the battle for Baghdad airport and whose identity
is temporarily being withheld, explains in detail how he
watched as the Iraqi dictator and members of his inner circle were evacuated
from Iraq's capital by what he emphatically insists were United States
Air Force cargo planes. [...]
Dillon
says his film lends major support to what many have believed for years:
that Saddam was little more than an american tool, a stage-managed "evildoer",
just one in a long line of useful villains bought and paid for by the
United States in order to better manipulate international politics and
commerce. [...]
Flashback!
Hussein
Given Safe Haven in Belarus?
The
World Tribune – 25 April 2003
Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein has obtained safe haven in Belarus, several
intelligence agencies believe.
Western
intelligence sources said several intelligence agencies in the Middle
East and Europe base this assessment on new information about a March
29 flight from Baghdad to Minsk. They said the flight of a chartered
cargo plane could have transported Saddam, his sons and much of his
family to Belarus.
"There's
no proof that Saddam was on the plane but we have proof that a plane
left on that day from Baghdad airport and arrived in Minsk," a
senior intelligence source said. "If you can think of anybody
else who could obtain permission to fly out of Baghdad in the middle
of a war, then please tell me."
U.S.
officials and Iraqi opposition sources said Saddam and his sons appear
to have escaped two assassination attempts during the war. But they
did not confirm the registration of a cargo flight from Baghdad to Minsk
on March 29, Middle East Newsline reported.
The
sources said the cargo aircraft took off from an unspecified Baghdad-area
airport and entered Iranian air space on the flight toward Minsk. They
said Iran did not attempt to interfere with the Iraqi flight.
About
two weeks later, a registration of the cargo flight was found by the
U.S. military in wake of the capture of the airport and the rest of
the Baghdad area. Baghdad International Airport was captured on April
4.
U.S.
officials said Saddam had been exploring the prospect of fleeing to
Belarus over the last year. They
said the Iraqi ruler was in close contact with Belarus President Alexander
Lukashenko and that Minsk became a major military supplier to Baghdad.
Within
hours after the departure of the cargo flight to Minsk on March 29,
the Saddam regime was awash with rumors that the president had escaped.
Intelligence sources said the rumors spread rapidly throughout the military
command and among field officers.
"There
was a significant decline in Iraqi combat strength starting from around
March 31," an intelligence source said. "In interviews with
coalition interrogators, Iraqi commanders have attributed the decline
in combat to the feeling that Saddam had fled."
Saddam
may find refuge in Belarus Says Rumsfeld
Ottawa
Citizen
31.12.2002
Tony ALLEN-MILLS in Washington and Hilary MACKENZIE in Baghdad
The former Soviet republic of Belarus has emerged as a possible refuge
for Saddam Hussein after American officials hinted that the Iraqi leader
might be allowed to flee into exile to avert a U.S. assault on Baghdad.
A
visit to Iraq by a presidential delegation from Belarus last week coincided
with a suggestion by U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that Mr.
Saddam and his family could "leave the country."
Mr.
Rumsfeld said in a television interview: "If he doesn"t
care to give up his weapons of mass destruction, then he"s got
the choice of leaving."
As
military preparations intensified with the mobilization of two more
aircraft carrier battle groups and a 1,000-bed hospital ship, U.S. officials
emphasized that no deal had been struck to allow Mr. Saddam to escape.
Mr.
Rumsfeld's remark may have been no more than a psychological gambit
intended to stir confusion in Baghdad.
Yet
the Belarus visit heightened American suspicion that Mr. Saddam might
be making contingency plans for a last-minute dash.
While
it remains far from certain that the Iraqi dictator would flee, Mr.
Rumsfeld recently singled out Belarus as one of the few countries that
might offer him sanctuary.
"If
Saddam Hussein is in a corner, it is because he has put himself there,"
he told a congressional committee.
"One
choice he has is to take his family and key leaders and seek asylum
elsewhere. Surely one of the 180-plus countries would take his regime
— possibly Belarus."
The
former Soviet republic has become a pariah state under the dictatorial
rule of President Alexander Lukashenko and is suspected of violating
United Nations sanctions against Iraq.
Saddam
in Belarus?
debka.com
However,
according to our information, the deposed ruler and his sons were carried
to safety in Minsk in late March aboard two chartered airliners.
This week, the Polish news agency PAP sent a team of reporters to the
Belarus capital to check on this account. They quote Natalia Pietkiewicz,
spokesperson at President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s bureau, as evading
a direct reply when asked if the former Iraqi ruler was in the country.
She said: “We have no information that Saddam Hussein is in Belarus.”
This is a long way from a flat denial.
The
big question is how did the trio and its following of several hundred
manage to elude coalition air forces, by then in full command of Iraqi
skies, a question which leads to another: How
did the men at the pinnacle of enemy power come to survive the two wars
the Bush administration fought in less than two years?
|
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Saddam
Pre 2003 |
"Saddam"
on trial 2004 |
Consider
also the testimony of Former Russian Prime Minister Primakov that Saddam
had made a "pre-war deal" with the US...
Flashback:
'Saddam,
US had pre-war deal'
24/06/2004
- (SA)
News24.com
Moscow
- Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein cut a deal with the United States
before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, former Russian prime minister
Yevgeny Primakov said in an interview published on Thursday.
"There
was an understanding with the Americans, as paradoxical as it may seem,"
Primakov told the Russian daily Gazeta in a lengthy interview.
"Why
weren't the bridges of the Tigris blown up when the American tanks approached
Baghdad? Why weren't Iraqi aviation and tanks used, and where are they
now?" asked Primakov, a former head of the Russian secret service
and a specialist in Arab affairs who was formerly on good terms with
Saddam.
"Why
was there an immediate ceasefire? Why was there practically no resistance
a year ago?" he added.
Primakov,
who now heads Russia's chamber of trade and industry, also cast doubt
on the authenticity of footage of Saddam's reported capture that circled
the world on December 14.
"They
showed two soldiers with guns with palm trees in the background near
the hole (where Saddam was reportedly hiding). At that time of year,
date palms are never in bloom," he said.
"Finally,
any man can tell you that such a long beard (as Saddam had when he was
reportedly caught) could not grow in seven months," he said.
"All
evidence suggests that Saddam surrendered earlier and the story of the
hole was invented later," he said.
Primakov,
who was also Russian foreign minister, made two secret trips to Iraq
at the request of President Vladimir Putin, shortly before the invasion
by US and British troops.
Iran then backed up the Russian Prime Minister's story...
Flashback:
Iran
Media Leaks Secret US Deal with Saddam
Gulf News Apr 15, 2003
AN
Iranian news agency close to top conservative military figures attributed
the fall of Baghdad to a secret tripartite agreement between Saddam
Hussein, Russia and the US.
According
to the Baztab agency, 13 days after the start of the war, Saddam and
Russian intelligence allegedly pledged to hand over Baghdad with minimal
resistance to allied forces provided they spared the lives of Saddam
and a hundred of his close relatives. The US, for its part,
promised to safely send Saddam and his entourage to a third country.
Baztab
added that Mohammed Saeed Al Sahaf, Iraqi Information Minister, was
instructed to stay in Baghdad until the very last moments to lend the
impression that everything in Saddam's camp was under control. The agency
also claimed that Russia gained $5 billion to orchestrate this agreement.
[...]
Flashback:
Saddam's
wife could not recognize her husband
04/13/2004
Pravda.ru
Last
week, American authorities arranged a meeting of the former Iraqi dictator
with his wife.
She was the first of Hussein's relatives to meet with the ex-leader
of Iraq at a new place, at the American military base in Qatar. Accompanied
by Sheikh Hamad Al-Tani, Sajida Heiralla Tuffah has arrived from Syria
on his private jet in the end of March.
The outcome of their meeting turned out to be quite scandalous. Sajina
claims that the person she encountered was not her husband, but his
double.
If someone were to say for sure that it was not insinuation, it would
have been easy to believe the wife with a 25-year experience. It is
also possible to assume that Saddam has simply changed since the day
of his sons' deaths, June 24 2003. This however is highly unlikely.
In case we believe Hussein's wife, all DNA testing of the ex-Iraqi leader
should be considered a mere fake. Overall, today there remain more questions
then there are answers.
Flashback:
McDermott
in Hot Water for Saddam Quip
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press Writer
December 15, 2003
WASHINGTON
-- Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., who earned headlines across the globe
last year for criticizing President Bush while in Baghdad, is enmeshed
in a new controversy over remarks he made about the capture of Saddam
Hussein.
In
an interview Monday with a Seattle radio station, McDermott said the
U.S. military could have found the former Iraqi dictator "a long
time ago if they wanted."
Asked
if he thought the weekend capture was timed to help Bush, McDermott
chuckled and said, "Yeah. Oh, yeah."
McDermott
went on to say, "There's too much by happenstance for it
to be just a coincidental thing."
When
interviewer Dave Ross asked again if he meant to imply the Bush administration
timed the capture for political reasons, McDermott said: "I don't
know that it was definitely planned on this weekend, but I know they've
been in contact with people all along who knew basically where he was.
It was just a matter of time till they'd find him.
"It's
funny," McDermott added, "when they're having all this trouble,
suddenly they have to roll out something."
State
Republicans immediately condemned McDermott's remarks, saying the Seattle
Democrat again was engaging in "crazy talk"
about the Iraq war. [...]
Flashback:
LaHood:
Hussein's capture imminent
Pantagraph
Staff
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
BLOOMINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood held his thumb and forefinger slightly
apart and said, "We're this close" to catching Saddam Hussein."
[...]
A
member of The Pantagraph editorial board -- not really expecting an
answer -- asked LaHood for more details, saying, "Do you know something
we don't?"
"Yes
I do," replied LaHood. [...]
Saddam
Back In Court
Rory Carroll
in Baghdad and Gary Younge in New York
Tuesday June 14, 2005
The Guardian
Appearing
by turns pensive and quizzical, Saddam Hussein returned to public view
yesterday when Iraq's special tribunal released video images of the
former president being interrogated.
The
first official pictures since his court appearance last July were mute
but a tribunal statement said he was being questioned about a 1982 massacre
at a Shia village north of Baghdad, one of the cases expected to arise
at his trial.
Saddam's
chief lawyer, Khalil al-Duleimi, said he would have to view the video
before commenting. The tribunal said Mr Duleimi
was present during the filming.
However,
a London-based member of the defence team, Giovanni
di Stefano, said the former president was
without legal assistance during the video and that it would be
inadmissible in the trial.
The defence
team has accused the tribunal of denying it proper access to the ousted
dictator, withholding documents and leaking information to the press.
Salem Chalabi
established the Iraq International Law Group (IILG), which describes
itself as "your professional gateway to the new Iraq." Assisting
Salem in setting up the IILG was a partner Marc Zell (the IILG's website
has been registered in Zell's name). Zell is an Israeli settler of the
Gush Emunim (Bloc of the Faithful) stripe. Here the plot thickens.
Zell had
for many years been Feith's partner in their Washington-Tel Aviv law
firm, Feith and Zell (FANDZ). FANDZ had been set up when Feith left
government to pursue the work of a "foreign agent" representing
Turkey and some Israeli interests.
Following
the Baghdad opening of the IILG, Zell soon opened, in the U.S., an office
for Zell, Goldberg & Co., which promises to assist "American
companies in their relations with the U.S. government in connection
with Iraq's reconstruction projects." It is interesting to note
that Zell, Goldberg still uses the website FANDZ, the site of the old
Feith and Zell firm. So when Zell boasts his connections to government,
businesses know exactly what is meant.
In the
relatively short period of time since the fall of the Ba`ath Party regime,
IILG and Zell, Goldberg have facilitated contracts in the tens, possibly
hundreds of millions of dollars.
Salem Chalabi
incidentally has also been appointed by the Coalition Provisional Authority
to head the Iraqi tribunal that will investigate and prosecute the crimes
Saddam and his cohorts committed against the Iraqi people. His uncle
is meanwhile railing against the former regime's corruption and demanding
the right to investigate profiteering and kick-backs he alleges occurred
in the UN's food for oil program.
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