We Knew Saddam Was Mad, Says Officer In Elite Guards

Independent (UK) ^ | 4-17-2003 | Kim Sengupta

[blam]

We knew Saddam was mad, says officer in elite Guards

By Kim Sengupta in Baghdad
17 April 2003

When his troops came to see Colonel A T Saied and protest that they did not want to die fighting in a hopelessly unequal war, he sent them home with his blessing. He and a group of other Republican Guard commanders had already decided that they were not going to sacrifice themselves or their men for Saddam Hussein.

The colonel is the first senior officer of the Guards, the elite troops President Saddam depended on most, to talk about the fall of Baghdad. He gave a candid and revealing account of just how shambolic were plans to defend the capital, and how many officers had decided their leader had long lost touch with reality.

When Saddam appeared on television on walkabout in the Adhamiya district of Baghdad during the bombing campaign, the reaction was: "Why doesn't someone shoot him?" Col Saied described how unit after unit melted away, and the "political commissars" of the regime, men attached to the notorious secret police branch, Amn al-Khas, were the first to desert. The US bombing of communications meant messages had to be relayed orally, and that system then collapsed as commanding officers at headquarters disappeared.

Col Saied also dismissed the notion that the Republican Guard were super-efficient and professional shock troops. Instead, he maintained, they were under-equipped, the senior officers were often corrupt, and morale was dented by Baath party members being paid more than their superiors in rank. Ordinary soldiers received 20,000 dinars (£3.80) a month.

"Senior members of the Republican Guard and the Special Republican Guard would go to see Saddam, and he would tell us how the Iraqi forces could defeat anyone in the world, including the United States.

"Afterwards, a few of us, who trusted each other, would say the man is mad, he cannot mean this," said Col Saied. "Our immediate superiors also knew that, but they said we must humour him. No one believed we could hold Baghdad for more than a few days without air cover and with American superiority in equipment".

Col Saied, who only wants his first initials published, left his command last week as American tanks rolled through Baghdad. He changed his uniform and medals for civilian clothes and returned to his wife and four children.

Yesterday he said: "As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

[CathyRyan]

"As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

[js1138]

Worth repeating a few hundred times.

"As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

[Falcon4.0]

Ethnic cleansing, Ethnic cleansing.

If we say it loud enough, all will be forgiven'

and maybe we'll have to vote Democrat,?

[liberalnot]

sounds like an after-the-fact cnn report. (/s)

[MonroeDNA]

"No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

Individual freedom bump!

[tang-soo]

This story reminds me of these guys ...



Its the best picture I could find, but these are the guards from the Wicked Witch's Castle. If you remember, they seemed ruthless and bent on destroying Dorthy and her friends until Dorthy killed the witch. Then, they were able to show their true feelings and honored the new heros.

Woaaa Wee Oh, OWoaaa Woaa!

[nevergiveup]

Woaaa Wee Oh, OWoaaa Woaa!

Which brings up the ultimate mystery of life. Does anybody really really know for sure what they were really really singing?

[dighton]

"As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

[lawgirl]

That's awesome!

[RightOnline]

The only thing that amazes me to this day is the fact that no one in either Iraq or N. Korea had the guts to kill the cause(s) of their national misery........these madmen who brought their countries and citizenry to ruin.

[Bluntpoint]

When reached for comment, Tim Robbins stated:

"Give this guy a week and he will try silence me also."

[Samwise]

Yesterday he said: "As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

Pinging Hollyweird and France.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

"As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

[Maigrey]

"As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

Words of wisdom and self-preservation bump!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The only thing that amazes me to this day is the fact that no one in either Iraq or N. Korea had the guts to kill the cause(s) of their national misery........these madmen who brought their countries and citizenry to ruin.

Don't know about North Korea but the Iraqi's tried to overthrow Saddam several times. It never worked and those who tried paid a horrible price along with their families.

[Gritty]

"As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

Is there anybody here who wouldn't rather have this man as the Minority Leader in either Congress or the Senate instead of the worthless gasbags now there?

[redbaiter]

Perhaps the answer is not to find out what they were singing but to watch the movie in, ah, how shall I say it, a certain state of mind wherein their song makes perfect sense.

[EaglesUpForever]

"As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I am duty bound to defend my country and my family. But in this case, the Americans have done us a favour. No one could have got rid of Saddam from inside. So this is for the good."

No wonder they are still playing the lootings in the middle eastern press, and whining about the looted museum in the western press. This is the very last thing Arabs, Islamofascist, french, russian, and leftists want to hear.

[nevergiveup]

Been there, done that. It's false reality proved unsuccessful at satisfying my inner yearnings (kinda like being a democrat). I still am in search of the true meaning of life and I am sure that the Wicked Witch's nomenclatur holds the key.