Intelligence indicates Saddam may be in Iraq
Nothing from detainees about WMD, officials say
Friday, June 20, 2003 Posted: 11:00 AM EDT (1500 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two U.S. intelligence agencies have made an assessment that deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is alive and inside Iraq, intelligence officials told CNN.
The assessment -- which officials stress is not proven fact -- was based on recent intercepted communications among Saddam loyalists, as well as interviews with individuals in custody, Iraqis on the street and plausible accounts of Saddam sightings, the officials said.
They said they are very wary, however, that some intercepts and information could have been faked in order to lead the United States astray.
Intelligence sources also told CNN that Gen. Abid Hamid Mahmud Al Tikriti, the top aide to Saddam who was captured Monday, is now offering some information. Mahmud is the highest-ranking member of Saddam's former regime in coalition custody, behind the deposed leader and his sons Uday and Qusay on the U.S. military's most-wanted list. (Flash card deck: Iraq's most-wanted; non-Flash gallery)
Officials would not specify what Mahmud is telling them, but they believe he may have been one of the last people to see the Iraqi leader. Information from Mahmud will also be used to verify statements coming from others in U.S. custody.
The officials also said they have at least one credible report that Saddam may not have been at the Mansour District building in Baghdad bombed by the United States on April 7, as was hoped, and may have escaped from a site south of Baghdad bombed by the United States at the start of the war.
None of the high-level Iraqis on the most-wanted list who have been captured or surrendered has so far offered significant intelligence information regarding weapons of mass destruction, according to officials from at least two U.S. intelligence agencies. Officials say that may change if Saddam is captured, but there are no guarantees.
Intelligence officials have told Bush administration policymakers that some of the low-level officials may be more willing to offer information if and when Saddam is captured, or in exchange for deal protecting them from war crimes charges. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld indicated Wednesday that the notion of offering "plea bargains" had been discussed.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/06/20/sprj.irq.main/index.htmlI'm not so sure about this. Why would they tell CNN anything about the interrorgation? This could be misinformation to get Saddam running, where he would be easier to detect.
