Saddam's Science Adviser Surrenders

AP ^ | 4/12/2003

[Leroy S. Mort]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Saddam Hussein's science adviser surrendered to U.S. military authorities Saturday, insisting that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and the U.S.-led invasion was unjustified.

Lt. Gen. Amer al-Saadi arranged his surrender with the help of Germany's ZDF television network, which filmed him leaving his Baghdad villa with his German wife, Helga, and presenting himself to an American warrant officer, who escorted him away.

Al-Saadi told ZDF that he had no information on what happened to Saddam and repeated his assertion, made often in news conferences before the U.S.-led invasion, that Iraq was free of weapons of mass destruction.

In Doha, Qatar, the U.S. Central Command said it had no information on al-Saadi's surrender.

The elegant, British-educated al-Saadi is believed to be the first of 55 regime figures sought by the coalition to be taken into custody. He had been wanted because he was a special weapons adviser to Saddam and oversaw Iraq's chemical program in the past. He is believed to have in-depth knowledge of other weapons program as well.

He was among the key figures who worked with U.N. weapons inspectors and often spoke for the Iraqi government in news conferences between the resumption of inspections in November and their end last month.

After Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the U.N. Security Council in February, al-Saadi suggested that monitored Iraqi conversations Powell played were fabricated, that defector informants were unreliable, and that satellite photographs ``proved nothing.''

Al-Saadi had also defended the regime's longtime practice of insisting that Iraqi officials be present during meetings between U.N. weapons inspectors and Iraqi scientists, saying that otherwise the scientists' remarks might be distorted.

[Leroy S. Mort]

"I knew NOOTHINGGG." (Looks like we have another Baghdad Bob)

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[ChemistCat]

Which one is he? :-)

I can't wait to see which HAND is dealt first as we confirm these guys out of action. Dead is good, captured is better I guess....

[ApesForEvolution]

Let the Kurds interrogate him...

[Jay D. Dyson]

"What can I say? You got me, copper. I'll go quietly...

;D

-Jay

[Drango]

---

Be the first on your block to collect all the cards!

[demkicker]

The three weasles are smirking because they must know this guy is going to play innocent. I just hope he'll crack soon. The weasle gloating is making me a bit nervous.

[JimRic54]

Is that Peter Arnett? Looks a littel like him.

[Fitzcarraldo]

The Baghdad Gang creates secret tunnels, has secret dungeons, rules by brutality and works with international terrorists. I would be surprised if they did not have WMDs. We are finding traces and suggestions of WMDs throughout the country, but IMO, the crown jewels of Saddam's effort have left the country months ago. They probably need more time to clean up the traces before they fall into American hands. His dream is to exterminate Israel, and if his WMDs are in Syria, they are that much closer to his long-standing target.

Saddam has used Iraq, and used it handily, and there is really no need now to defend it, and he's know that. This minister is probably first of a few who will continue to obfuscate, probably because his family under the gun.

[tutstar]

and Schroeder had nothing to do with arranging the surrender....I wonder if Helga is related to him????

[AFPhys]

It will take several months to locate the information about where the Chem/Bio weapons are and to dig them out and test them. Don't pay attention to the media hype which figures everything has to be accomplished in a half hour TV show. They're there: ask the Kurds what they think about that question.

[wordsofearnest]

Did we not know where he lived? Could we have checked it out? Am I missing something?

[tutstar]

I don't know if we knew where he lived. My thought is that it's awfully curious that 'German' media assisted him, he's married to a 'German' and we know what Germany's position on the war is.