Regards, Ivan
Posted on 12/12/2002 5:43:43 PM PST by MadIvan
A former Iraqi military intelligence chief awaits the fall of US bombs. Anton La Guardia met him in a south London flat
Inside an anonymous block of flats in south London, Saddam Hussein's former head of military intelligence is plotting the downfall of his erstwhile master.
General Wafiq al-Samarrai's office in Sutton has the feel of a military operations room. There he sits for hours at a computer screen, surrounded by maps and rows of yellow post-it notes, working his contacts "inside" by telephone and email, hoping to bring forward the fateful day.
Yet while he has long been an advocate of an internal revolt by Saddam's security apparatus, he almost admits defeat for his strategy.
"A coup is impossible before the start of American bombing," he said. "All of them are frightened of Saddam Hussein. But when the bombing starts, everything will be different."
Fellow Iraqi exiles regard Gen al-Samarrai as "very shrewd" and "ambitious", but rough-cut. Kurds and Shi'a exiles are especially wary of his role in the army, but he is needed as one of the few plausible Sunni opposition figures.
He has tried to improve his English since arriving in Britain in 1998, but still needs the help of a translator and has yet to lose the disconcerting but quintessentially Iraqi mannerism of saying "goodbye" with the word "hello".
He is well placed to explain Saddam's mind. Why doesn't the Iraqi leader just give up the weapons of mass destruction, instead of continuing on the suicidal policy of defiance?
"Saddam is afraid," said the general. "He believes he needs the weapons to defend himself against America. If he gives them up, he thinks it will just make it easier for America to get rid of him."
For Saddam, the arrival of weapons inspectors in his palaces is an ominous development, feeding his paranoia. "He thinks the inspectors are looking for him, not his weapons," said Gen al-Samarrai.
"As he sees it, the inspectors are the means for America to kill him with just one missile, instead of 150. He will co-operate with the UN to buy time, but at the end of the day there will be a confrontation."
Gen al-Samarrai betrays little emotion for his former comrades when talking of how the American attack will begin with massive air strikes.
He predicts the war will last between one and four weeks, depending on the assurances America can give officers who want to change sides.
Born in the region of Samarra, the traditional rival to Saddam's home district of Tikrit, Gen al-Samarrai defected in 1994. He drove up to Kirkuk, then walked for 30 hours to cross the frontier into the northern Kurdish enclave.
At first he allied himself with Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress. They fomented a mini war in early 1995 between Kurdish groups and the Iraqi army that went wrong when the insurgents failed to secure American military support.
Al-Samarrai moved to Syria and eventually made his way to London, where he heads a group called the Higher Council for National Salvation. Earlier this year it called on Saddam to stand down.
Is democracy possible in Iraq? The general responds with an English phrase: "Step by step." If his friends in Baghdad have anything to do with it, these may be very slow steps.
Regards, Ivan
"As he sees it, the inspectors are the means for America to kill him with just one missile, instead of 150. He will co-operate with the UN to buy time, but at the end of the day there will be a confrontation."
Interesting explanation for Saddam's opposition to having the "palaces" inspected. There may be a grain of truth to this. Although, I do believe the "palaces" are also WMD production facilities.
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