Saddam Hussein 'lied about WMDs to protect Iraq from Iran'

Merlin · 07-03-2009, 09:18 AM

This is from the released transcript of an 2004 interview of Saddam with the FBI.

Saddam Hussein 'lied about WMDs to protect Iraq from Iran'

Quote:

3 July [Teleraph] Saddam Hussein told the FBI that he misled the world into believing Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction because he feared revealing his weakness to Iran, according to declassified interview transcripts.

The late Iraqi dictator also told his interrogators that he regarded Osama in Laden as a "zealot" and had no contact with the al-Qaeda leader or his organisation.

Despite defeat in the Gulf War at the hands of the American-led coalition, Saddam still regarded Iran, with which Iraq fought a bloody war from 1980-88, as a greater threat than the US, the documents show.

"Hussein believed that Iraq could not appear weak to its enemies, especially Iran," FBI special agent George Piro wrote on notes of a conversation with Saddam in June 2004.

Mr Piro wrote: "Hussein stated Iraq could have absorbed another United States strike, for he viewed this as less of a threat than exposing themselves to Iran."

The transcripts, released under a freedom of information request, both undermined the Bush case for war, which was based on the threat of WMD and alleged Iraqi links to al-Qaeda, and underlined the absurd length of Saddam's desire to convince the world that he held WMD.

In the wake of the March 2003 invasion, no such weapons have ever found and before leaving office in January Mr Bush himself acknowledged that "most of the intelligence turned out to be wrong".

Saddam, identified as "High Value Detainee Number One," shared Mr Bush's hostility towards the "fanatic" Iranian mullahs, according to the records, which were requested by the National Security Archive, a non-governmental research institute.

He also stated that the United States used the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack as a justification to attack Iraq and said the US had "lost sight of the cause of 9/11".

He asserted that he had never met nor supported Osama bin Laden, though he said "yes" when Mr Piro mentioned two visits to Baghdad by an al-Qaeda ideologue, Abu Hafs al Mauritani, which included requests for "tens of millions of dollars". It was not clear if that was regarded as confirmation of the visit or acknowledgement of the Americans' belief they took place. ....

**TopHatter** · 07-03-2009, 10:49 AM

As interesting as it is to hear from the horse's (ass) mouth...

Saddam's revelations about WMD's has been known for quite some time.

He did everything he possibly could to make the entire world think he had WMD's in order to prevent Iran from coming down on him like a wolf upon the fold.

Then, right before the invasion of Iraq, when it was -finally- clear to him that this was going to be less like another Operation Desert Fox and more like an Operation Downfall, he had teams hurriedly dispatched to former WMD sites to "scrub" them of any evidence.

This flurry of activity was quickly noticed by American intelligence, though it's true purpose was not known, but still giving credence that yes, Iraq has WMD's and they're probably preparing them for use.

For me, the big revelation was his claim that if he'd had WMD's, he'd most certainly have used them against allied forces...which would have horrifying, given the probable US response.

Merlin · 07-03-2009, 11:21 AM

The significant difference here is that these FBI transcripts are now made public.

Here is another public commentry about this. This one has information and insights that are not in the earlier SKY quote.

In these important interviews/conversations, it was felt FBI could do a better job than CIA, and the former selected someone with good experience gathering court statements.

Why Saddam Hussein lied about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction

Quote:

2 July [CSMonitor] Saddam Hussein encouraged the perception that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) because he was afraid of appearing weak in Iran’s eyes, according to nearly two dozen declassified transcripts of an FBI agent’s conversations with the former Iraqi dictator released Wednesday. ...

Among the findings, ... :

* Hussein criticized Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a “zealot,” denied meeting him in Sudan in 1994, and said his country and the international terrorist franchise “did not have the same belief or vision.”

* Iraq would have been more likely to cooperate with China or North Korea, with which Hussein claimed to have a relationship. But his first choice would have been to seek a security agreement with the US to protect Iraq against regional threats.

* Iraq had complied with all UN resolutions regarding nuclear weapons by 1998. The main reason Hussein would not let UN inspectors return after kicking them out was that he was afraid Iran would learn from them where to strike Iraq.

* Hussein reluctantly reversed that decision after the British government prepared a report with inaccurate intelligence. “It was this inaccurate intelligence on which the United States was making their decisions,” says the transcript.

Mr. Piro, one of about 50 Arabic speakers among the FBI’s 10,000 agents, coaxed this information out of Hussein over the course of nearly a year – during which, he says, the dictator came increasingly to rely on him emotionally.

According to CBS, Piro listened to Hussein read poetry he’d written – a daily exercise for the former dictator, who had always carefully carved out time to read fiction when he was running Iraq. He gave Hussein the baby wipes the “clean freak” ruler loved to use to clean his cell and wipe off fresh fruit. The FBI agent celebrated Hussein’s birthday with cookies from his mother. He gave Hussein flower seeds, which he cultivated in a tiny garden with his bare hands. Slowly, the relationship began to yield fruit.

When Piro gave a lengthy interview to CBS’s 60 minutes in January 2008, his boss – FBI Assistant Director Joe Persichini – called the interviews with Hussein “one of the top accomplishments of our agency in the last 100 years.”

The FBI was asked, it said in statement, to brief Hussein because of the agency’s “longstanding work in gathering statements for court.” ...

**Shek** · 07-03-2009, 12:02 PM

This is nothing new. The Iraqi Perspectives Report has been part of the public domain for 4-5 years now with the exact same info.

**Parihaka** · 07-03-2009, 18:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shek

This is nothing new. The Iraqi Perspectives Report has been part of the public domain for 4-5 years now with the exact same info.

Shhh, don't disrupt the narrative......

gunnut · 07-03-2009, 18:59 PM

The moral lesson of this story is "don't lie."

texasjohn · 07-03-2009, 23:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunnut

The moral lesson of this story is "don't lie."

Agreed absolutely!

Because once you do you are now an "unknown unknown", and open yourself to others' lies also.

I believe all the actors knew the baseline truth, but the spin was handy!

The Black Ghost · 07-05-2009, 00:39 AM

Honestly, a person like Saddam had it coming. He pushed against Iran, got hit in the nose. He pushed against Kuwait, got shot in the leg. He pushed the West in the 90s...he got his hair fried. He pushed again...and---off with his head!

**JAD_333** · 07-05-2009, 02:10 AM

The Telegraph article said "The transcripts, released under a freedom of information request, both undermined the Bush case for war, which was based on the threat of WMD and alleged Iraqi links to al-Qaeda..."

Does anyone believe the transcripts "undermined" Bush's case for war?

Bush argued for war before Saddam's deception became clear.

**TopHatter** · 07-05-2009, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAD_333

Does anyone believe the transcripts "undermined" Bush's case for war?

Bush argued for war before Saddam's deception became clear.

Agreed. Iraq, under the orders of Hussein, was doing everything it possibly could to make it look like it had a prodigious supply of WMD's, not the opposite.

Even Saddam's own generals were taken in by it.

Oscar · 07-05-2009, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunnut

The moral lesson of this story is "don't lie."

Yeah don't lie, be honest.

For Saddam being honest with his capabilities would have made him look weak. The US was just out to get him, I'm not sure he would have saved his own ass no matter what he would have done.

texasjohn · 07-06-2009, 13:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscar

Yeah don't lie, be honest.

For Saddam being honest with his capabilities would have made him look weak. The US was just out to get him, I'm not sure he would have saved his own ass no matter what he would have done.

Old saying that goes somewhat like this:

" a snake should pretend to be poisonous even if he is not"

**astralis** · 07-06-2009, 15:10 PM

oscar,

Quote:

US was just out to get him, I'm not sure he would have saved his own ass no matter what he would have done.

that was true only after roughly september 2002.

Oscar · 07-06-2009, 15:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astralis

oscar,

that was true only after roughly september 2002.

Yes, but had we let Saddam a chance after 1991 maybe we could have done something out of this country. A secular, prosperous dictatorship checking the Iranians...Maybe not, but who knows? Double containment was such a failed US strategy.

Shey Tapani · 07-10-2009, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscar

Yes, but had we let Saddam a chance after 1991 maybe we could have done something out of this country. A checking the Iranians...Maybe not, but who knows? Double containment was such a failed US strategy.

secular, prosperous dictatorship

A what?

prosperuos dictatorship?

07-03-2009, 12:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
Shek *Military Professional* Staff Emeritus Join Date: 02-23-05 Location: Krblachistan Posts: 10,416 Country:	This is nothing new. The Iraqi Perspectives Report has been part of the public domain for 4-5 years now with the exact same info. __________________ "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

07-03-2009, 18:59 PM	#6 (permalink)
gunnut *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 01-27-06 Location: DPRK, Democratik People's Republik of Kalifornia Posts: 16,048 Country:	The moral lesson of this story is "don't lie." __________________ "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

07-05-2009, 00:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
The Black Ghost Regular Join Date: 04-23-07 Location: Everywhere and nowhere Posts: 123 Country:	Honestly, a person like Saddam had it coming. He pushed against Iran, got hit in the nose. He pushed against Kuwait, got shot in the leg. He pushed the West in the 90s...he got his hair fried. He pushed again...and---off with his head! __________________ 'Much madness is divinest sense'

07-05-2009, 02:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
JAD_333 *Defense Professional* Global Moderator Join Date: 04-15-07 Location: Virginia Posts: 4,561 Country:	The Telegraph article said "The transcripts, released under a freedom of information request, both undermined the Bush case for war, which was based on the threat of WMD and alleged Iraqi links to al-Qaeda..." Does anyone believe the transcripts "undermined" Bush's case for war? Bush argued for war before Saddam's deception became clear. __________________ To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

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07-03-2009, 10:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
TopHatter Administrator Comrade Commissar Join Date: 09-03-03 Posts: 12,397 Country:	As interesting as it is to hear from the horse's (ass) mouth... Saddam's revelations about WMD's has been known for quite some time. He did everything he possibly could to make the entire world think he had WMD's in order to prevent Iran from coming down on him like a wolf upon the fold. Then, right before the invasion of Iraq, when it was -finally- clear to him that this was going to be less like another Operation Desert Fox and more like an Operation Downfall, he had teams hurriedly dispatched to former WMD sites to "scrub" them of any evidence. This flurry of activity was quickly noticed by American intelligence, though it's true purpose was not known, but still giving credence that yes, Iraq has WMD's and they're probably preparing them for use. For me, the big revelation was his claim that if he'd had WMD's, he'd most certainly have used them against allied forces...which would have horrifying, given the probable US response.

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