December 15, 2003

Indications Saddam Was Not in Hiding But a Captive This is a theory that Saddam Hussein was captured by Iraqis that were trying to collect the reward money. I don't know if it's true (or it really matters), but it's interesting.
posted by Sullivan 20 years ago
  • I was wondering about that last night, although there was reports that he had a gun. I would like to know how long he had been there. Has he been living in this hole for the whole eight months since the war? Does he even know what has been going on since the invasion?
  • What is DEBKAfile? Who are their "analysts" that have come up with this conclusion? One voice in the internet wilderness does not a story make.
  • from the New Yorker: "...World Tribune.com more fairly qualifies as something between a newspaper and a rumor-mongering blog. Call it "blews." In this sense, it is part of a loose network of mostly conservative sites-WorldNetDaily, Dr. Koontz's National Security Message Board, debka File (produced by a pair of Jerusalem-based journalists thought to have moles in Israeli intelligence)-whose dispatches sometimes serve as the journalistic equivalent of trial balloons: a story may not be based on knowable facts, but it nevertheless may occasionally turn out to be right. (Much of the time, of course, it more closely resembles a Bat Boy update in the Weekly World News.)"
  • also, FWIW, washpost refers to debkafile as a "hardline Israeli news site."
  • Believe nothing from Debka, and you'll be right more often than not. I can't give you better odds than that.
  • 1. The length and state of his hair indicated he had not seen a barber or even had a shampoo for several weeks. He's in hiding. What, he's expected to waltz into his local loyalist hairdresser and demand a cut and set? 2. The wild state of his beard indicated he had not shaved for the same period Don't you think he'd want to look as much like someone else as he could, given the circumstances? 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. That's neither here nor there. I doubt that he was down there until they heard that the soldiers were coming - it was nothing but a last resort. 4. Saddam looked beaten and hungry. I think that's because he was beaten. 5. Detained trying to escape were two unidentified men. Left with him were two AK-47 assault guns and a pistol, none of which were used. Would you and your friend try and fight an entire batallion of American soldiers with a couple of assault rifles? 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. Can't argue much with that. All I can assume is that it was necessary in order to make it as well-hidden as possible. 7. And most important, $750,000 in 100-dollar notes were found with him (a pittance for his captors who expected a $25m reward)– but no communications equipment of any kind, whether cell phone or even a carrier pigeon for contacting the outside world. Surely any kidnappers would need a form of communications equipment in order to function as kidnappers - talking about ransoms, organising deals and drop-offs, that kind of thing. Very silly.
  • If they were interested in collecting the reward why hadnt' they turned him over yet? What were they waiting for?
  • Debka is a good way to get your posts deleted from the FP at Metafilter or called out to MeTa. Debka does have some great stories though: Debka was the source that broke the story that Saddam escaped Iraq and was living at a resort in Syria. Perhaps the kidnappers got him from Syria and then put him in that pit?
  • speaking of his hair, did you guys notice that for some reason his beard is gray but his hair is still black? what's up with that?
  • his beard is gray but his hair is still black My hair is black, but my beard is brown and ginger. Great, hey?
  • ginger? you've tasted your beard?
  • Er... ginger is british for red, I suppose. Ginger hair.
  • British for red hair, I meant...
  • darn! i much preferred the thought of you munching on your own beard, dng! hee hee.
  • also, FWIW, washpost refers to debkafile as a "hardline Israeli news site." and so?
  • dng: So your beard goes nicely with tea, eh? Oh, and what Blaise said. That's not news they're reporting, it's speculation.
  • FWIW, I heard from various news outlets that the covering for the hole was made of styrofoam and could have been moved from inside, so he wasn't dependent on others to get him out. And what Blaise said...
  • And so? And so they have an agenda which may or may not be reflected in their "news" items. In other "news"
  • (V.O.: 15 sec. bump) "Up next on a Very Special Episode, Carson gets down on the dirty side of earth tones, while Jai makes sure Mr. Big trims his lice-ridden beard with the soothing powers of aloe, on 'Queer Eye For The Iraqi Guy'-- special guest--S. Hussein!"
  • Earth tones are so Al Gore. D
  • Dammit Man, Speak English!
  • Ho hum, nothing to see here, just old spider holes...