Posted on 11/12/2007 7:21:03 PM PST by ikez78
In seven months of secret debriefings, Saddam Hussein admitted that he faked having weapons of mass destruction but planned on developing a weapons of mass destruction program with nuclear capability within a year.
Saddam made the admissions in videotaped interviews with George L. Piro, an FBI agent who was assigned by the FBI with the CIA’s approval to try to develop his cooperation.
For my book "The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to the Next Attack" — being published this week — Piro described the debriefings, which have never been previously revealed. [To get Ronald Kessler's new book, go here now.]
The book is being excerpted exclusively in the December issue of Newsmax magazine.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
And the reason we should believe Saddam told the FBI man the truth when he said he “faked” WMD is...
She didn’t have to come with the idea, she did execute it.
The Plame “story” only got legs due to incompetence and squishiness of top people in DoJ and after Chuck Schumer pushed it with the help of his “inside man” James Comey. Just weeks after he was “installed” as Deputy AG in December of 2003, Comey insisted on Ashcroft’s recusal from the case and appointing his pal Patrick Fitzgerald to be Special Prosecutor. Not long after that Comey refused to reauthorize NSA surveillance program, with Ashcroft in ICU and Alberto Gonzales having to rush to hospital to get reauthorization from him.
Doesn't she say her hubby is willing to do this. That means at minimum a breakfast conversation with Joe regarding national security. Did he have this kind of clearance during this time frame? I do not think that security clearances means one is free to pillow talk regarding government secrets.
Just prior to US moving into Iraq, General Franks was on the hot seat for his wife being in the same space where secret communications were going on. IIRC and someone leaked that there was an investigation going on regarding General Franks.
What we do not know is when Joe and Val hatched this plan and if Joe solicited this recommendation in the first place.
The Plame “story” only got legs due to incompetence and squishiness of top people in DoJ and after Chuck Schumer pushed it with the help of his “inside man” James Comey. Just weeks after he was “installed” as Deputy AG in December of 2003, Comey insisted on Ashcroft’s recusal from the case and appointing his pal Patrick Fitzgerald to be Special Prosecutor. Not long after that Comey refused to reauthorize NSA surveillance program, with Ashcroft in ICU and Alberto Gonzales having to rush to hospital to get reauthorization from him.
Yes. A well plotted plan performed by a number of liberals who were all about saving Saddam.
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NBC Reports Saddam Hussein Planned to Re-start Nuclear Program
By Brad Wilmouth | November 12, 2007 - 04:48 ET
On Sunday’s “NBC Nightly News,” correspondent Pete Williams previewed details of a new book, The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack, by Ronald Kessler, in which Kessler revealed information obtained by the an FBI agent who extensively interviewed Saddam Hussein and found, among other things, that the former Iraqi leader had deliberately tried to “fool the U.S.” into believing he had weapons of mass destruction because “he wanted Iranian leaders to believe that he had nuclear and biological weapons.” The FBI agent, named George Piro, also reported that Saddam Hussein “hoped the post-Gulf War sanctions on Iraq would dissolve, allowing him to pursue a nuclear capability.” (Transcript follows)
NBC News correspondent Pete Williams began his report: “Saddam Hussein told his American captors that he so feared Iran, he wanted Iranian leaders to believe that he had nuclear and biological weapons. So he planned to fool the U.S. by, among other things, stalling U.N. inspectors to make it appear he had something to hide, weapons of mass destruction or WMD. But he hoped the post-Gulf War sanctions on Iraq would dissolve, allowing him to pursue a nuclear capability.”
Then a soundbite of Kessler ran: “Saddam said that if America thought that he had WMD, then, of course, Iran would, and this would fulfill his goal of making sure that Iran did not want to attack Iraq.”
Below is a complete transcript of the story from the Sunday November 11 “NBC Nightly News”:
LESTER HOLT: On this Veterans Day, with American troops still embroiled in Iraq, new details are emerging about some of the issues that led the U.S. into war. The secrets of Saddam Hussein are revealed in a new book that includes details from an FBI agent who spent months with the Iraqi leader after his capture. Here’s NBC justice correspondent Pete Williams.
PETE WILLIAMS: Saddam Hussein told his American captors that he so feared Iran, he wanted Iranian leaders to believe that he had nuclear and biological weapons. So he planned to fool the U.S. by, among other things, stalling U.N. inspectors to make it appear he had something to hide, weapons of mass destruction or WMD. But he hoped the post-Gulf War sanctions on Iraq would dissolve, allowing him to pursue a nuclear capability. That’s what he told the only American to extensively debrief him after he was captured in 2003, according to investigative reporter Ron Kessler.
RON KESSLER: Saddam said that if America thought that he had WMD, then, of course, Iran would, and this would fulfill his goal of making sure that Iran did not want to attack Iraq.
WILLIAMS: For a new book about the war on terror, Kessler interviewed George Piro, an Arabic-speaking FBI agent who debriefed Saddam, and who has declined until now to talk about it. Citing the sensitive nature of his work, the FBI would not release a picture. Piro spent at least five hours with Saddam every day over seven months in a cell near the Baghdad airport. Among his claims, that contrary to what some U.S. officials suspected, he never used doubles or lookalikes, and that he planted false rumors of plans to overthrow him.
KESSLER: Saddam told Piro that he would periodically orchestrate a phony plot against himself, and the idea was to see if others would join in. And, of course, if they did, those people would be executed.
WILLIAMS: According to the book, Piro sought to win Saddam’s confidence by being the only conduit to the outside world. So Piro showed Saddam video of Iraqis tearing down his statues, but also had special cookies flown in for Saddam’s birthday. And that suit Saddam wore to court for his trial, given to him by Piro. Kessler says Piro’s techniques appear to have won over Saddam completely.
KESSLER: At the end, when they finally said goodbye, Saddam actually teared up.
WILLIAMS: The FBI won’t allow Piro to be interviewed on camera, and is just now beginning to let him tell the story of how he got Saddam Hussein to reveal secrets. Pete Williams, NBC News, Washington.
No. Saddam had stuff, hid stuff, and conned Piro knowing that possession of WMDs would hasten his demise.
Saddam being after all somewhat of a REALIST, who knew that no FAIRY TALE was going to keep Iran from attacking.
There is the truth, and there is deniability, and there is another layer of deniability, and another.
Remember that Goering conned his Allied officer handler who had those friendly chats and allowed the Nazi to get to his poison and cheat the hangman.
Saddam met the hangman with many secrets intact.
Waterboarding instead of cookies would have been better, but Turban Durbin would have wet himself.
Thanks for the ping.
Bump to read in the AM.
Thanks for the ping, Mark. Classic, potlatch...LOL! Interesting thread. Thanks to all.
Thanks for the ping!
I still wonder what all might be buried out in the desert sands in Iraq. Just look at how well preserved those Russian jets were when they were unearthed.
Do you recall when the war started and we were able to sit and watch them going in on TV? It was an extraordinary experience.
Then I remember seeing many many large trucks - [18 wheelers?] - all headed into Syria!
At the time I thought ‘why don’t they stop them, who and what is escaping?’. But, as I read in the news, that wasn’t the ‘priority’ at the time.
My son is a BioChemist and having worked on Johnston Atoll, cleaning up the environment from years of bombing practice and storage there, he was offered the opportunity to go to Iraq after the ‘fall of Baghdad’ to search for WMDs.
Heh - we convinced him not to - in spite of the high pay!
ikez, sorry, I missed pinging you on my post #33.
Thank you PGalt. I didn’t make that one, there is a strange name on it and if I save ‘found ones’ I leave the name on.
It’s a good one - free for the taking, lol.
Well said.
FYI official and even unofficial intel sources have the exact GPS of the locations in Syria and Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.
There were some 30,000 yes 30k Syrians and Iraqis working on making WMDs in Libya, so much of the stuff was already out of country.
Some of it was nuclear work and it’s likely that some of what the Israelis destroyed was sneaked back in from Libya for further development by the Syrian experts who had also returned and continued working on WMDs inside Syria.
The North Koreans were additional hired expertise, most likely paid by Iranian money.
Didn’t some NK, Syrian and Iranian scientists and bio-chem experts recently get all killed to death in an accident while attempting to fit a warhead to a missile in Syria?
Killed by explosion yes. Exactly what they were doing not so clear but your version sounds just right.
If want to believe it was an accident, go right ahead.
I suspect that the explosion had some outside help...
shhhhh. It’s probably a secret.
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