Notes From Saddam in Custody (Time Mag - interrogation of Hussein)

[VolcanoJen]

Very interesting article that includes new details of Saddam's interrogation while in US custody; the bolded section below made me laugh. :-)

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,561472,00.html

Excerpt:

Saddam Hussein was captured on Sunday without a fight. But since then, according to a U.S. intelligence official in Iraq, the fallen dictator has been defiant. “He’s not been very cooperative,” said the official, who read the transcript of the initial interrogation report taken during the first questioning session.

After his capture, Saddam was taken to a holding cell at the Baghdad Airport. He didn’t answer any of the initial questions directly, the official said, and at times seemed less than fully coherent. The transcript was full of “Saddam rhetoric type stuff,” said the official who paraphrased Saddam’s answers to some of the questions. When asked “How are you?” said the official, Saddam responded, “I am sad because my people are in bondage.” When offered a glass of water by his interrogators, Saddam replied, “If I drink water I will have to go to the bathroom and how can I use the bathroom when my people are in bondage?”

[jenk]

1. don't you see what he's trying to do?

This stuff can't get out, the last thing we need is a "free our leader" movement in iraq!

[Adamocrat]

11. I'm sad for my people, too...

We have a cowardly idiot cokehead running our country.

[theshadow]

2. Is this when he's supposed to start singing...

"Let my people go..."

[DFLforever]

3. Interesting

Guess Saddam is up to date on sanitation difficulties in Iraq.

[Gin]

4. How did they get a story already? Didnt they just get him? Something

is fishy already....I think they had him long a go...and he surrendered.

[PaDUer]

7. I thought that also..

all of a sudden, the info on Cheney/Halliburton...time to let Saddam come out..Always a diversion when things get hot. What else has surfaced..

[alittlelark]

41. Clark will be testifying at the Hague tommorrow

What better wat to get it suppressed? The * admin has already declared all that Clark says to be classified (unprecidented at the Hague, except for victims). He (HS) was caught a few months ago (according to soldiers and the press until the Pentagon said it was INCORRECT), and brain fried by whatever branch is doing that now, and will be borderline incoherant for the rest of his days.

If he was not he just might start discussing the WMD's we gave him 15+/- years ago and Halliburton's recent dealings with him.

ALL HEIL THE BFEE

edit - really bad spelling in 2 places

[Tinoire]

8. They got him yesterday

According to CNN, Rumsefeld called Bush about this at 3PM EDT Saturday not that this story isn't a little bizarre...

On edit: Though this is bizarre... the article says Sunday...

Gulfstream? Boeing 747?

[Code_Name_D]

17. Aparintly, other roomers abounded all week about Sadams capture

We caught him again, in ahother lie. Saddam was held by the US for months.

[loudnclear]

18. Can someone explain to me why anyone would be allowed to report on

what someone like Saddam is saying during his first interrogation? How many rules of warfare and common sense does that break?

You know this has to be phony. Remember the "don't report anything that Saddam or Osama says because they could be sending coded messages?
What happened to that fear?

[Tinoire]

21. We'll go back to fear tomorrow. Today is an "enchanted day". n/t

[KoKo]

28. Agree, to do an interrogation that fast and release it to Time & Newsweek?

Why report that he said there were no WMD? All is very odd..

[Military Brat]

5. Tsk, tsk. Saddam is sad ... damn.

:nopity:

[slinkerwink]

33. rotflmao!

[Cooley Hurd]

6. Time article claims Saddam had a list of all the insurgency leaders...

<snip>
U.S. intelligence official confirmed that operatives found a briefcase with Saddam that contained a letter from a Baghdad resistance leader. Contained in the message, the official said, were the minutes from a meeting of a number of resistance leaders who came together in the capital. The official said the names found on this piece of paper will be valuable and could lead to the capture of insurgency leaders around the Sunni Triangle.
<snip>

"Cynical me" for wondering why such a document (with information that could potentially destroy the whole insurgency movement) would exist and be in the hands of the most hunted man in Iraq. Naw, it just couldn't be a plant. We wouldn't do that...
:eyes:

[VolcanoJen]

13. The letter in the briefcase is likely made of...

... the indestructable Atta Passport material.

This is indeed fishy...

[Tinoire]

45. Lol. They love that material! n/t

[Tinoire]

9. Incoherent?

They're saying he sounds incoherent?

“I am sad because my people are in bondage.”

<snip>

Saddam was also asked whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. “No, of course not,” he replied, according to the official, “the U.S. dreamed them up itself to have a reason to go to war with us.”


I dunno, seems pretty coherent to me. A little disoriented I'm sure.

Question... If he was calling his wife every week (which I think is how they got him to 'agree' to this charade since they got to his favorite wife and son), how come not ONE article mentions a phone? Shouldn't be that hard to miss in an 8 x 6 cave.

Guns, money, smoking lists... Still waiting for the phone and the WMDs.

[LiberalFighter]

52. A reporter needs to interview the wife about those calls

That will confirm whether he had been calling her. And if the reporter is any good they would be able to obtain the phone records for that land or cell phone. Should be easier to obtain those records in those countries especially if they are not likely to be sympathetic to bush.

[dbt]

10. Bullshit Detector MELTDOWN!

Warning! WARNING! Danger, Will Robinson!

Lemme see if I grok this. Saddam ain't been in custody for 24 hours at a (presumably) secure, undisclosed location and

Time gets an interview?!?!?!

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight!

:argh:
dbt

[stevedeshazer]

12. That's not what the article says

It quotes an unnamed intelligence official.

I agree that it smells bad....

[BeHereNow]

19. I am SOOO with you on this-

This is a frantic attempt to divert the sheeple
from the crashing economy and God knows
what else is coming through the shit fan
blowing over us...
BHN

[goforit]

32. Good question!...What else is up their sleve?

If only we would could be one step infront of them.

[0007]

23. Are we getting our chokes pulled again?

So perhaps the the next big BS story, will be that the gipper is moving on!

[Tinoire]

14. Devka: Indications Saddam Was Not in Hiding But a Captive

Disclaimer: My take on Devka is that they are 70% Mossad disinformation & 30% truth. Problem is it's hard to tell which is which. This report however makes a lot of sense!

==============

A number of questions are raised by the incredibly bedraggled, tired and crushed condition of this once savage, dapper and pampered ruler who was discovered in a hole in the ground on Saturday, December 13:

1. The length and state of his hair indicated he had not seen a barber or even had a shampoo for several weeks.
   
   
2. The wild state of his beard indicated he had not shaved for the same period
   
   
3. The hole dug in the floor of a cellar in a farm compound near Tikrit was primitive indeed – 6ft across and 8ft across with minimal sanitary arrangements - a far cry from his opulent palaces.
   
   
4. Saddam looked beaten and hungry.
   
   
5. Detained with him were two unidentified men, two AK-47 assault guns and a pistol, none of which were used.
   
   
6. The hole had only one opening. It was not only camouflaged with mud and bricks – it was blocked. He could not have climbed out without someone on the outside removing the covering
   
   
7. And most important, $750,000 in 100-dollar notes were found with him – but no communications equipment of any kind, whether cell phone or even a carrier pigeon for contacting the outside world.
   

According to DEBKAfile analysts, these seven anomalies point to one conclusion: Saddam Hussein was not in hiding; he was a prisoner.

After his last audiotaped message was delivered and aired over al Arabiya TV on Sunday November 16, on the occasion of Ramadan, Saddam was seized, possibly with the connivance of his own men, and held in that hole in Adwar for three weeks or more, which would have accounted for his appearance and condition. Meanwhile, his captors bargained for the $25 m prize the Americans promised for information leading to his capture alive or dead. The negotiations were mediated by Jalal Talabani’s Kurdish PUK militia.

These circumstances would explain the ex-ruler’s docility – described by Lt.Gen. Ricardo Sanchez as “resignation” – in the face of his capture by US forces. He must have regarded them as his rescuers and would have greeted them with relief.

From Gen. Sanchez’s evasive answers to questions on the $25m bounty, it may be inferred that the Americans and Kurds took advantage of the negotiations with Saddam’s abductors to move in close and capture him on their own account, for three reasons:

1. His capture had become a matter of national pride for the Americans. No kudos would have been attached to his handover by a local gang of bounty-seekers or criminals. The country would have been swept anew with rumors that the big hero Saddam was again betrayed by the people he trusted, just as in the war.
   
   
2. It was vital to catch his kidnappers unawares so as to make sure Saddam was taken alive. They might well have killed him and demanded the prize for his body. But they made sure he had no means of taking his own life and may have kept him sedated.
   
   
3. During the weeks he is presumed to have been in captivity, guerrilla activity declined markedly – especially in the Sunni Triangle towns of Falluja, Ramadi and Balad - while surging outside this flashpoint region – in Mosul in the north and Najef, Nasseriya and Hilla in the south. It was important for the coalition to lay hands on him before the epicenter of the violence turned back towards Baghdad and the center of the Sunni Triangle.
   

<snip>

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=743

[NashVegas]

15. Does This Look More Like a Hiding Space or a Burial Chamber?

[Tinoire]

16. Torture Chamber / Sensory Deprivation

For a man who came out of that, I beg to differ with the US officials who said he sounded incoherent. He sounds EXTREMELY coherent to me if that's what he came straight out of!

[govegan]

20. Another farce served up by the purtrescent poltroon

and the prevaricating propagandists on pennsylvania avenue.

[KoKo]

27. Does anyone find it odd that they could get this drawing out on the web

this a.m.? Can you get specifications and do it up on the web that fast? A bunch of soldiers drag him out of a whole yesterday and just manage to get it all together. I don't know...there are so many odd conincidences.

And, Saddam was very fastidious,plus what about those cigars he loved. Didn't see anything about boxes of his prized Cubans sitting in the tin roofed shack. He looked like someone who had been in captivity in harsh circumstances. Not disguised, but disheveled and too compliant.

[NashVegas]

31. Bricked In

I just read the text of the Time article, and it the entrance to the hole was bricked in. How does a ruthless dictator become so desperate he's willing to recreate Poe?

[LiberalFighter]

53. They showed otherwise on CNN this evening

Their version consisted of a styrofoam block that they stated was made to look like stone. And it was covered up with what appeared to be a hall type carpet.

[Silversocal]

29. Doesn't make sense

It doesn't make any sense. Why would he be held captive if he had a gun on him?

[Tinoire]

46. Gun? Were there any bullets in that gun?

Had there been any bullets, I would think he would have fired off a few off or shot himself when he saw US troops rather than subjecting himself to the parade he knew would take place. Planting guns is one of the oldest tricks in the book... Same thing with the insurgents list. Why would a man in the bottom of a cave be holding on to an insurgents' list- you'd think he would have had that all memorized. I find Devka's analysis more plausible than the story brought to us by the fake turkey group ;) Not saying it's correct but defintely more plausible. It explains an awful lot such as the rumors that have been flying around for the last few weeks that Sadaam had been captured, Chalabi's very recent & hasty set-up of the Iraqi Tribunal. Just why did Bush go there for Thanksgiving? He didn't just cheer the troops, he met with the Iraqi Council & Chalabi who was quite present at the Thanksgiving meal.

Devka's analyses, when it's not Mossad disinformation, are very good. Time will tell... Well, we hope!

[ze_dscherman]

42. Some flaws in the argument

Debka deduces the time of his capture/imprisonement to be several weeks, probably the mid of November by the length of his beard/hair?

A beard or hair that long will take several months to grow.

[Tinoire]

47. I'm not an expert on this

but I do know my ex-husband could grow a beard in no time flat. Some DUers in GD were discussing this yesterday and some said they could too.

It's not really a stumbling block for me because I see no reason why he couldn't have had a beard before he was turned in since he could have been trying to alter his appearance and mostly, was on the run. Their analysis on the hair I'll buy.

Do you see any other flaws?

The whole story about him phoning his wife weekly is something else I found really odd. If that were the case, why didn't they find a phone? Plus, the Times article mentioned that he was bricked in. Bricked in? If that's the case, I'd venture to say someone bricked him in.

[Jack Rabbit]

22. 'I am sad because my people are in bondage'

If an Iraqi cab driver had said that, it would invoke pathos.

From Saddam, it invokes disgust.

[TacticalPeek]

30. At his press conferences he seemed quite happy with his people in bondage.

:shrug:

[Jack Rabbit]

38. I rest my case

!!

[peacetalksforall]

24. Cooperative? Uncooperative?

The picture I saw of a doctor looking for lice and examining his mouth gave me the impression that SD was extremely cooperative and accepting of the enemy touching him. He appeared to be quite compliant and gave me a feeling of an attitude that would be exuded if handled by someone trustworthy. How could he be utterly beligerent for 13 or so years and then not resent the hated enemy touching his head and mouth in front of a camera. That man had a lot of ego. He just plain looks compliant and comfortable. You would expect some resentment and beligerance to flow out. It's very strange in my way of looking at human beings.

I can't understand why they would need to shave him so quickly - when were the two photos released. Why shave him? Why not let the world see more pictures of him with the beard - even allow it to continue to look straggly?

They didn't have to shave him to prove that it was him if they had DNA results.

And can someone please say definitively how fast you can get DNA results - they claimed early this AM that the DNA results were positive. I thought it took days to do a test.

[karlschneider]

25. DNA tests take only about 2 minutes, when you know the result beforehand

:eyes:

[KoKo]

26. CNN scrolled at around 3 p.m. est today that DNA evidence was not

conclusive. I was shocked seeing that because I'd read this morning the CBS and Yahoo Reuter's versions saying the DNA evidence was Postive. I turned off the TV after that and haven't watched since, but what was that all about?

[Tinoire]

44. They had plenty of time for the DNA tests, beard growing,

and everything else it took to stage a demeaning, humiliating "capture". I wonder how many of the details were discussed during Bush's visit to Baghdad and which ones he personally suggested.

What dolts these Bushistas are. So clumsy...

[peacetalksforall]

34. The beard is weird...

All the Iraqis we see on TV don't have beards. If his protectors were trying to disguise him and he for himself, it doesn't make sense that they would give him a beard unless they were passing him off as a very old man when they did make moves. I just can't believe he was in a hole all this time. I don't believe that he had a list of operatives names and $750000 in a briefcase with him in the hole. That is something you would do if you were alone and it was an all or nothing situation. If he had that many loyal supporters killing for him, then he would have loyal supporters who would take care of money, names, and guns. Or was the gun for rats?

I can't believe that he came out of a hole.

I think players in our administration get too carried away. If it comes out that the setting or the man was concocted, they will only say that they did it for security reasons. Ya'll know the routine. Predictable is as predictable is.

[Dirk39]

36. To me, it just occurs as real as the turkey Bush was presenting...

this story stinks to heaven.
It seems as if this Saddam looks perfectly Hollywood-designed to damage his image among arab people.
750.000 Dollars and no razor? And if the beard would have been about making him unrecognizable - bad job!
I have no doubts that this is the real Saddam, but the rest might be nonsense.
Hi from Germany,
Dirk

[Tinoire]

48. Hey Dirk! That's my take too- the real Saddaam but the rest is bull

"Hollywood-designed to damage his image among arab people" complete with mice, rats and head-lice. I mentioned in another thread that I'm surprised they didn't use dogs to sniff him out- then the picture would have been complete for the Muslims!

Also, you would think that someone who sealed his fate with Bush by dumping the dollar in favor of the Euro would have had at least a few Euros on him. Gold, Dinars, diamonds even- but 100% of it in dollars?

Hello from Sunny California!

:hi:

[Rainbows]

35. If ... Saddam has indeed been captured ...

he has been carted off for drug therapy CIA style, to find out where vast sums of money are stashed, his former inner circle are located, resistance planning etc. etc. etc. This is most likely a double charade to show the American people and the world he was caught. Does anyone really believe the real Saddam would be allowed to speak freely to anyone other than very highly trained interrogators, and that anything would be released. Hell we can't even know about the workings of our own government here at home without an FOIA and a court battle. My take is they probably caught him a while ago and have already drugged and debriefed him, dna taken and analyzed, secretly confiscated any looted money stashed in foreign safe havens. The second part of the sharade is the propaganda of al Qaeda links, Mohammed Atta, Nigerian yellow cake and the sixteen words, and the timely value of bouncing the stock market and dollar while it is in crisis. A great confidence building diversion. This doesn't even mention the domestic agenda of reshoring Bush's flagging poll numbers and lend credibility and reinvigorate the neocon push and the domestic social agenda of looting the rest of the economy, like social security. Its all a sham for popularity, power, and confidence. Think Jessica Lynch and attach that kind of reality to it and anything said so far is BS the stock and trade of this administration.

[maggrwaggr]

37. You pretty much said it all there, Rainbows

I'm shocked that anyone on DU would believe anything that our government says about his capture.

I believe we got him, the video is obviously him, but beyond that anything they tell us is, well, whatever they WANT to tell us and nothing more.

It's not even worth arguing about. Why argue about lies?

[tlcandie]

39. Wonder if he will just vanish or they say he's in Gitmo but set him up

somewhere in a remote location like the did the SS in South America? Or do you think he will really stand trial. OTOH, putting him on trial in Iraq will ensure that he doesn't talk to anyone because he will die really quickly.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

40. I doubt we will see him again alive. Do you think CIA wants

him talking about all their dealings in open court?

[ConcernedCanuk]

43. from Dirk39 - "this Saddam looks perfectly Hollywood-designed "

. . now THAT seems like a possible scenario ?

. . Consider the following theorum

Da BFEE catches one of Saddam's doubles months ago

Brainwashes him through deprivation, threats, bribery, torture whatever

Stages the "capture"

Never mind all the DNA hoopla, who is gonna prove that the DNA they are "comparing" it to is even Saddams ? Oh right - he gave it to one of the Inspectors, or was even THAT the real Saddam.

Now, after all this "training" and "staging" - sumwhere in the near future he "admits" there are WMD, gives a location (supplied by the BFEE) and they "discover" WMD (planted by the BFEE) just around election time ?

Yay yay ! -

Da USA gets GeeDubya for another 4 years !

Scary, and MAYBE far out

But possible ?

:shrug:

right -

Scary indeed

[Dommael]

50. Get yer tinfoil hats out...

That's just what I was thinking. Halliburton has been busy planting WMD cache's in Iraq. (ummm, it's possible!) Now that Saddam has been captured (HAD to have been alive - wouldn't have worked any other way) we will soon find out where those infamous "we know there are known unknown" WMDs have been hidden. It's perfect. America swallows that the end justifies the means and Bu$h gets a free ride.

Hey it makes about as much sense as any of this!

::smoke::

[KansDem]

49. The real drama may lie ahead...

While "Saddam" is being transferred to his POW camp to await his trial, will "Jack Ruby" suddenly appear and finish him off?

"I just wanted to spare (Americans) the agony of (watching) (Saddam's) trial!!" exclaims the gunman, while stunned American officials stand by. :crazy:

[Dommael]

51. No trial

There's just no way Saddam can live! * is not going to let a microphone in front of Saddam's mouth in a courtroom setting with the whole world listening!

Saddam's days are SO numbered! My guess is that he'll "reveal" the location of the WMDs and then he'll be removed. Jack Ruby indeed...