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Iraq-Jordan
U.S. Officials Say Saddam's Not Talking
2004-03-30
"I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!"
He doesn't have a lawyer in the room, but Saddam Hussein apparently is practicing what most attorneys would advise: Don't talk. Diplomatic and military officials say the former Iraqi leader has provided little useful information in interrogations so far - and may even be having fun.
"Youse guys, wotta buncha cards. Okay, one more time: so the Sunni says to the Shi'a, 'that's not a pig!'" [laughter]
The questioning of Saddam - initially handled by the CIA - is now a joint CIA-FBI operation, a sign that the aim is changing from finding intelligence to gathering evidence for any eventual trials. The people who are asking the questions at the moment are from the FBI, said a U.S. intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
"I can say no more -- on the record."
In a recent interview, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said he occasionally sees the interrogation briefing reports. "He's a pretty wily guy, and he's not giving much information that I've seen. But he seems to be enjoying the debate," Armitage told WPHT-AM radio in Philadelphia. House Intelligence Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., now calls the questioning a "patience project." "He is very good at denial and deception. I am not sure he even knows what the truth is anymore," Goss said. "I think he's been surrounded by yes-men and syncophants."
I think Sammy's been living in his own world for years. Reality's what he says it is...
In an interview last week, FBI Director Robert Mueller said the FBI is assisting with "certain interrogations" in Iraq, as well as helping with investigations into killings there. He said the bureau is also working with documents obtained in Iraq. Those most likely include Saddam's papers. Vince Cannistraro, a former counterterrorism director for the CIA, said papers found with Saddam when he was captured have proved much more useful than anything the former leader has said. "Every thing that they have found and taken action on has come from documentation found on him," Cannistraro said. A team of 50 Justice Department prosecutors, investigators and support staff has traveled to Iraq to help assemble a war-crimes case against Saddam and others in his former government.
I have the feeling Sammy's trial's going to be much more elaborate and complicated than it should be. I have visions of clowns, elephants, midgets and ladies in tights turning somersaults on a high wire. Not to mention ambulatory papier mache heads and guys on stilts...
But Justice officials take pains to say that the United States is there only to assist the Iraqis with advice on what their options for a trial might be. The officials say they are helping the Iraqis to organize evidence and lay out possible charges, and aiding them in finding cooperating witnesses and key documents. The U.S. team is joined by legal experts from Britain, Spain and Poland. While it's possible Saddam could be put on trial before any others, Justice officials say another approach would be to start lower and work up the ladder of seniority. The hope would be that some Iraqi officials might be persuaded to testify against Saddam to avoid harsh sentences.
They'd have to be pretty brave; Saddam can still scare them to death.
Posted by:Steve White

#13  It is intriguing to me that pretty much the only quote from Saddam post-him, is his saying that he wanted to negotiate. I have no idea if he really said that - but it is significant that that was pretty much all that he's credited for saying.
Posted by: Rawsnacks   2004-03-30 10:00:56 PM  

#12  The "small world" ride would be more accurate if you had everyone shooting eachother and tossing hand-grenades.
Posted by: Charles   2004-03-30 8:42:29 PM  

#11  eexxceelllllennnt earworm - thanksalot Bruce!
Posted by: Frank G   2004-03-30 7:48:11 PM  

#10  #8 bruce wrote: In related news Walt Disney World annouced that the "It's A Small World" ride is to be closed for "repairs". Nothing can make you talk, ehh? 24/7 ought to do the trick.

I have to agree with P.J. O'Rourke - it would be a pretty good ride if they handed you a bucket of baseballs as you climbed into the boat.
Posted by: A Jackson   2004-03-30 7:18:18 PM  

#9  Thank you Bruce. I now have a major earworm. I likely will need halucinogens to hep me thru this trial you've laid upon me YOU BASTARD. LOL.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-03-30 6:50:07 PM  

#8  In related news Walt Disney World annouced that the "It's A Small World" ride is to be closed for "repairs". Nothing can make you talk, ehh? 24/7 ought to do the trick.
Posted by: bruce   2004-03-30 5:42:07 PM  

#7  Ben, Ben, Ben...
Remember that old saying, "Be careful what you ask for, you might get it"? OBL does, I'm sure.

Before 9/11, OBL had all of Afghanistan to train terrorists in, the help of the local government, and money pouring in from all sides. Today, he's hiding in caves, he and his people are constantly being chased from place to place, and he doesn't dare stay in the same place more than three days. Before, he could use just about any means of communication he chose - now, anything but the most trusted courier - and tons of luck - are deadly.

Before, money flowed from Saudi Arabia, from "charities" all over the world, and from Saddam Hussein's "oil-for-palaces-and-terror" program. Most of that has been stifled, frozen, impounded, or just plain taken, and what does trickle through is carefully spent, because any major expenditure might attract attention.

Before 9/11, OBL and his minions could travel fairly freely through all the Middle East, perhaps freely through all the Muslim-dominated world. Today they have trouble moving back and forth between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the least-defined border in the world. ALL Muslims face greater scrutiny everywhere, because they happen to be the ones that have been active in the bombings, and the US has demanded (and gotten at least token response from even the most servile governments) that such people be watched.

Today, the United States and its allies have more than 13,000 military personnel in Afghanistan, and almost 200,000 in Iraq. We're training an indiginous Iraqi army, developing a democratic government, and training a local police force, none of which are directly under the finger of the Mullahs. We're doing much the same in Afghanistan. We have access to 20 LARGE military bases in the very heart of the Middle East - in a nation that has a land border with Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran on one side, and with Iran, Pakistan, and several of the former Russian republics on the other. Oil production from Iraq is already above pre-war levels, and we're just getting started. The local economy is booming, and expected to grow at a 20%+ rate. Things are better than they've EVER been for 75% of the population.

The United States says Saddam isn't talking. Who cares? The PEOPLE are talking. Our actions are talking. What we DID in Iraq and Afghanistan is talking. People are looking around them, and liking what they see. OBL got his wish. If he's not already splattered all over the inside of a cave at Tora Bora, I'm sure he's beating his head against one somewhere, cursing himself for the fool he is.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2004-03-30 3:41:38 PM  

#6  Whoa whoa WHOA !! Back up. John Kerry was in Vietnam ??? You mean visiting recently, right ?
Posted by: John C. Lately   2004-03-30 2:58:03 PM  

#5  I'm sure John Kerry--he was in Viet Nam, you know--is disappointed that we had forgotten all the techniques he claims were used in his day.
Posted by: eLarson   2004-03-30 1:41:09 PM  

#4  Sheesh, use the battery on his nads...and put the needle in his arm and pump him full of stuff that will make him wish he were Al Franken.
Posted by: AKScott   2004-03-30 1:07:58 PM  

#3  What I don't get is why nobody made the case that invading Iraq was the only way to give Usama what he wanted.

In 1996, UBL demanded the US get out of Saudi Arabia. But the US was in SA to protect both it and Kuwait from Saddam, who had already displayed his fondness for military adventurism twice during the 80's. So, to get us out of Saudi Arabia, we had to remove the reason we were there in the first place. Which meant removing Saddam.

So here is a prime example of the US giving UBL exactly what he wanted, (if not the way he wanted it) and the lefties are still not happy. There is just no pleasing some people
Posted by: Ben   2004-03-30 4:36:29 AM  

#2  i just don't understand why they don't put an electric cattle prod up his ass until he tells where the wmd are hidden--that would take the smile off his face--the use of ky would give torture deniability--in fact we could claim its a pleasure
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI   2004-03-30 2:34:31 AM  

#1  Just a thought about the claim that the Iraq invasion was all about the (so-far) missing WMD -- why was the mission named "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and not "Operation Find Saddam's Missing WMD?"
Posted by: Tibor   2004-03-30 12:50:25 AM  

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