Posted on 03/20/2003 6:08:27 AM PST by Land_of_Lincoln_John
Israeli Foreign Ministry experts believe that Saddam Hussein was speaking live on camera when he addressed the Iraqi nation this morning on television and radio, shortly after the US launched a war against him.
Officials at the ministry's Center for Political Studies reached this conclusion largely based on the fact that Saddam was wearing glasses, and also because the Arabic he spoke was not very sophisticated, suggesting the speech was put together on the spur of the moment.
Had the speech been staged, it is unlikely that Saddam would have been shown wearing glasses, or appearing to read his remarks rather than having them memorized, the officials said.
Saddam also appeared to be under a lot of pressure and more disorganized than usual, when he made the speech, in which he characteristically lashed out at "criminal Zionism" in addition to the United States, it was noted.
In the speech, Saddam accused the United States of committing a "shameful crime" by attacking Iraq and urged the Iraqi people to "go draw your sword" against the enemy.
"We promise you that Iraq, its leadership and its people will stand up to the evil invaders, and we will take them to such limits that they will lose their patience in achieving their plans, which are pushed by criminal Zionism," he said.
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Hussein: "Long Live Palestine." Bush: "No Half-Measures."
Saddam Hussein's speech to his nation this morning claimed that the Zionists are the force behind the American attack. He concluded his talk with the call, "Long live Iraq, long live Palestine."
President Bush said after the attack began, "Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you: this will not be a campaign of half-measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory." Interestingly, for the past 2.5 years, the United States strongly pressured Israel against using a similar policy - "We urge restraint" was a constant refrain - in the conflict forced upon it.
His shoulders look awfully narrow and his face is bloated. Even if he had lost a lot of weight, his skeletal frame wouldn't change. That "body" doesn't look right. Or maybe I am used to seeing pics of the doubles, who have broader shoulders? Eeek. I just remembered who that face reminds me of:
All I can say is that I disagree and think he very well may have done so. In his mind he may have considered it a clever trick, and he may have intended to play the tape after the first attack no matter what.
Remember that if he has any intelligence he wouldn't have wanted to go on live TV to speak after the first shots. He would/could have been afraid that we'd track him that way. This way he stays underground (if he's still alive). There are very solid reasons for recording and playing such a tape even if you're *not* killed in the first attack. Also, Saddam didn't "admit defeat", if I'm not mistaken he called for jihad bla bla bla.
I noticed immediately how frail the speaker appeared. He was paler and his shoulders much more stooped and narrow than Saddam's. If it was really Saddam, then it would appear he has LOST weight, not gained it.
I couldn't get over the large, old-fashioned glasses either. If they were merely reading glasses, why so large? And if Saddam normally wears contacts, why didn't her have them in. It would have been around 9 AM in the morning and he purportedly had been in meetings with his top advisors since early in the AM.
I also noticed that the speaker's eyes were glued to the papers. I don't recall him looking at the camera once. That is very unlike Hussein, who usually speaks extemporaneously and always looks defiantly at the camera.
Another thing I noticed was that you never saw the speaker's hands, but you could tell by looking at the top of the papers he held, that his hands were shaking like leaves much of the time.
This guy's shoulders looked rather slim for it to be Saddam.
I did not mean to imply he admitted defeat on the tape. I just meant that for him to plan for post-death tapes would imply he admitted that he could die. This guy seems like he thinks he is immortal.
However, your points are valid. We are all just trying to play chess without ever seeing the board. One's speculation is as good as another.
On another thread, the fact that Aziz's reported "death or escape" is being discussed as the reason we were able to determine the location of Saddam. Apparently, when he came out and said he was still there, we traced his location, and ..Kaboom.
Interesting.
So if the international/sat media was left intact
it is because they wanted it so.
They must be using it for tracking.
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