Posted on 09/17/2003 5:48:13 PM PDT by HAL9000
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iraq's former information minister said Wednesday that ousted President Saddam Hussein made tactical errors in his fight against U.S.-led forces.Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who drew international attention during the war for making obviously absurd claims of Iraqi military victories, criticized Saddam's decision to divide Iraq into four military zones five days before the war.
''It (the decision) was a direct mistake of the president and the leadership,'' al-Sahhaf said on Abu Dhabi Television. That ''led to fatal mistakes.''
He complained that the zones were placed under the control of civilians, including Saddam's younger son Qusai, and his trusted aides, Ali Hassan al-Majid and Izzat Ibrahim. He said the military experts were relegated to secondary positions.
Al-Sahhaf, who is expected to appear in four more episodes of the program ''Al-Sahhaf's War,'' also denied that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
''Chemical weapons and missiles were destroyed in the 1991 war,'' he said.
During the interview, the station aired what it called exclusive footage, acquired inside Iraq, of Saddam meeting with top officials just days before the war.
In one segment, Saddam is seen calling Arab leaders ''agents'' for suggesting he go into exile as a way to avert the war. Saudi Arabia and several Gulf states had supported the idea.
''Nobody dared to speak to Saddam about the idea of going into exile,'' Al-Sahhaf said, saying it was never considered by the president.
Al-Sahhaf disappeared April 9, the day Baghdad fell, and reportedly hid in a relative's home. He was not included in the list of 55 most wanted Iraqi officials and left Baghdad for the United Arab Emirates on July 10.
Never thought I'd see the day when Christiane Amanpour turned on Saddm Hussein.
And we're supposed to take his word for it!?! LOL!
Uh...
Never mind.
Like not learning a thing from the spanking he got in Kuwait?
Good old Bagdad "What tanks? There are no tanks" Bob.
He's BAAAAAaaaaack.
And then hiring generals from the former Soviet Union to help HIM defeat the country that defeated THEM in the Cold War?
Winner!! Winner!!
ROTFLMAO!!!!
Good one.
LVM
Well, he's comedy relief of sorts, and we can use him to good purpose : we know that whatever he SAYS, the exact OPPOSITE is true.
I still swear that was him posing as Saddam in that "press statement" video.
Well, except for all that stuff the UN inspectors had to destroy throughout the nineties that somehow had escaped the 1991 war's target list. And the bomb full of liquid and the illegal drones and modified missiles that even Blixie's group found more recently. Minor discrepencies.
With an accuracy rating like that, Baghdad Bob should run for President of the US like Wesley Clark. They've got a lot in common- both of them were on the same side in the war, both talk big fo rtheir size, both spew bs, both love media attention, and both wore nifty little uniforms when primping for the camera.
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