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Iraq-Jordan
Public version of Saddam capture "fiction"
2005-03-09
Well, in the alternate universe that is the middle east anyway...
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 9 (UPI) -- A former U.S. Marine who participated in capturing ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said the public version of his capture was fabricated. Ex-Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh, of Lebanese descent, was quoted in the Saudi daily al-Medina Wednesday as saying Saddam was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, and not the day after, as announced by the U.S. Army.
"Former" Marine, "ex-Sgt" of Lebanese descent, yeah, that's a reliable source.
"I was among the 20-man unit, including eight of Arab descent, who searched for Saddam for three days in the area of Dour near Tikrit, and we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced," Abou Rabeh said. "We captured him after fierce resistance during which a Marine of Sudanese origin was killed," he said. He said Saddam himself fired at them with a gun from the window of a room on the second floor. Then they shouted at him in Arabic: "You have to surrender. ... There is no point in resisting." Later on, a military production team fabricated the film of Saddam's capture in a hole, which was in fact a deserted well," Abou Rabeh said. Abou Rabeh was interviewed in Lebanon.
Wonder if he was at the pro-Syria rally yesterday?
Posted by:Steve

#17  Fact checking.
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-03-09 7:48:55 PM  

#16  Jules, if this was a hoax (like many other conspiracy theories) it was a well kept secret. Do I think that our goverment is capable of deception? Hell yes, but what was gained by the way he was captured and where is the all-Arab Marine detachment? Maybe I am 'racists' but I would believe it more if some SpecOps guy from Tennessee came forward and said it was a hoax. no offense but I don't think the Arabs have a good track record on telling the truth (see Jihad unspun, Al Arabia, Al Jezeria, etc.).
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2005-03-09 5:41:55 PM  

#15  Samir's version.
Posted by: twobyfour   2005-03-09 4:37:31 PM  

#14  [5]>rjschwarz
GANGA-Khan on his moody/bad hair days (uknow,meth-fuled-rape-pillage and wasting tour days) but otherwise his intimantes (inner circle) called him Jenny-Khan. He was a pussy cat.
Posted by: Groluck Ulutle8634   2005-03-09 4:25:02 PM  

#13  Sorry, I wanted to go back and correct the spelling of would (be worth the effort) and conspiracy. Wrong button.
Posted by: Bobby   2005-03-09 3:02:12 PM  

#12  Jules - I'd be flabbergasted, first. I, for one, didn't care whether he fought "courageously", like his stupid sons, or hid out in a well, like a "coward". He's caught, period. I could see where some might want to add a bit of humiliation, but how owuld it be worth the effort? And HOW would you keep all the people that actually were there quiet? I'm not a big fan of conspiricies, because so few people can keep their mouths shut!
Posted by: Bobby   2005-03-09 3:00:47 PM  

#11  First pathetic attempt to rehabilitate Sammy's rep?

Lotsa luck.
Posted by: mojo   2005-03-09 2:52:50 PM  

#10  If this turned out to be true, would no one else be bothered that we were "fed" a different story?
Posted by: Jules 187   2005-03-09 2:15:31 PM  

#9  i think it was a marine general who said that JFM.

actually what must have happened is that the USMC, First Arab Detachment captured Saddam. Then dug the hole and buried him, cause well, theyre Marines, and they didnt know what else to do with him. Then the Army found him and figured that sending him to Baghdad made sense.
No?

Of course we shouldnt forget that it was the Army Air Force that won the battle of Midway:)
Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-03-09 2:10:05 PM  

#8  Shipman says:

The Army's superior public relations machine WTF? :) The greenies are light years ahead in PR machinery, ask Harry Truman, who swore the Marines Divisions had mobile press release batallions.

Try this: think in a single image about American Armed Forces. What will you think about? Not an image about Omaha Beach, Bastogne or Korea. Ten to one you will think about that photo. The one at Iwo Jima.

An American politician (Truman?) who was a proponent of dissolving the USMC into the Army said bitterly: that photo ensures there will still be a Marine Corps two centuries from now.
Posted by: JFM   2005-03-09 11:39:27 AM  

#7  Heh.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-03-09 10:44:44 AM  

#6  The Army's superior public relations machine

WTF? :) The greenies are light years ahead in PR machinery, ask Harry Truman, who swore the Marines Divisions had mobile press release batallions.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-03-09 10:33:46 AM  

#5  Groluck Ulutle8634, since you interviewed him perhaps you know the answer. Is the name pronounced Gang-is Khan, or Jen-gis Khan?
Posted by: rjschwarz   2005-03-09 10:25:20 AM  

#4  It was an Army guy on Day 2, but it was a Marine on Day 1. The Army's superior public relations machine rode over the Marine Corps effort to garner the glory.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-03-09 9:49:36 AM  

#3  I thought it was Army Special Forces who caught Sammy. Help me out here, is that right?
Posted by: Spot   2005-03-09 9:37:56 AM  

#2  This "story" begs so many questions that...BTW did I ever tell you that I interviewed Genghis Khan a while back?
Posted by: Groluck Ulutle8634   2005-03-09 9:29:42 AM  

#1  And the name of the KIA "Sudanese" Marine?

That would be a quick first-pass test of this story.
Posted by: .com   2005-03-09 9:21:57 AM  

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