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| Iraq |
| Gemayel tried to talk Sammy out of office |
| 2003-03-16 |
| From Debka, so the usual grain of salt... Saddam... set the scene for the Azores summit by putting his country on a war footing, taking command of the Iraqi air force and dividing the country into four military districts with orders to âdestroy any foreign aggressionâ. His younger son Qusay was put in command of the key Baghdad district. FoxNews was reporting this yesterday. Taha Yassin Ramadan's in charge of the northern district, and Chemical Ali's in charge of the southern, which could be significant — experience counts, y'know. That move was the Iraqi rulerâs reply to a secret US mediatorâs final effort to persuade him to remove himself in order to stave off war. DEBKA-Net-Weeklyâs intelligence sources reveal this last mediator as former Lebanese president Amin Gemayel. Denials apart, he was in Baghdad Saturday, March 15, for the third visit of his mission, which was to sell Washingtonâs final offer to the Iraqi rule to quit Iraq with his family — including his sons Uday and Qusay — and the countryâs top political and military leadership, and go into exile in an Arab country. The offer included safe conduct guarantees for Saddam and his entourage along with a US pledge not to freeze his secret bank accounts. I'd imagine this was put together to sooth the Soddies. Sammy as an exile opens up an entirely different can of worms... The Iraqi rulerâs response to Gemayel — as to all of a long line of would-be mediators — was a refusal to consider any exile or refuge that divested him of ruling authority. Gemayelâs personal relationship with Saddam dates to back to the 1970s and early 1980s, when he was chief of the Lebanese Christian Phalange militia in Beirut. In those days, he was often in Baghdad to collect Saddamâs largesse to the tune of millions of dollars for his Christian fighters. They have remained friends. That was back before Sammy became a Defender of Islam®... On his penultimate trip to Baghdad on March 7-10, our intelligence sources discovered Gemayel took with him a special guest — an American colonel. This officer, another old Baghdad hand, was received by Saddam for an afternoon tete a tete on March 8. In the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the colonel paid a number of secret visits to Baghdad and was there again just before the first Gulf War in 1991. And he's still a colonel? Or did Sammy talk to him when he was a mere lieutenant or maybe a captain? DEBKA-Net-Weeklyâs intelligence sources report that the American crossed into Iraq — either from Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. Gemayel and senior Iraqi intelligence officials stood by to fly with him by plane and then helicopter to a secret meeting place near Baghdad. A senior intelligence source, who was briefed on the conversation between Saddam and the US officer, reports that the Lebanese ex-president and an interpreter were also present. After Saddam warmly shook his hand, the American said: âItâs been a long time since I last saw you, but you seem to be in great shape. You are a great soldier and I looking forward to facing you on the battlefield.â Sammy's never been a soldier. He just likes wearing soldier suits. You sure this guy's not with the State Department? âWhen do you intend to attack and try to kill me?â Saddam asked. âBasically, after the March 19 deadline passes,â came the reply. March 19th is Wednesday... âYou managed to get me to destroy my missiles,â the Iraqi leader said, pausing for effect. âIs the 19th the date of the attack or just the day when you want me to leave Iraq? After all, thatâs what you came for.â "G'wan. Tell me when the big surprise attack is scheduled..." The US colonel answered: âAccording to our orders, thatâs the date when we are supposed to head out and get you. And weâve already been told, âDonât come back with him left in place.ââ "But don't tell anybody, Sammy. It's a secret. You ain't s'pposed to know..." Saddam was not pleased. âYou are the sons of Satan. Go to hell. Iâm not afraid of you.â âWe may not even wait until the 19th now,â the colonel shot back. "Wanna see my muscle?" âWell then,â Saddam said. âWhatâs the offer and where do you want me to go?â âEgypt, Sudan, Syria â thereâs a long list of offers. Even Iran made an offer.â "Just pick some rat hole and scurry away..." A defiant Saddam answered in English: âI will die before I surrender.â Okay by me... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #3 Boy, too bad the "colonel" didn't want to go out in a boom of glory and become a homicide bomber. Wouldn't that make the ME sit up and take notice. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-16 17:30:01 |
| #2 Saddam should be easy to find. This time he won't be driving around in Baghdad. He will be surrounded by his republican guards, probably in one of his palaces. If he does abandon ship, he can't do it by air, so that leaves him the ground route thru Syria or Jordan. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-03-16 14:40:48 |
| #1 That will be arranged, my friend! |
| Posted by: Brian 2003-03-16 14:14:55 |