Surprise, Surprise. Saddam's "rat hole" capture bogus !

[Laura PourMeADrink]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/storymain.jsp?number=1

An alleged ex-Marine who claims to have participated in the capturing of Saddam Hussein says the public version of his capture was fabricated, United Press International is reporting.
Former Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh was quoted in a Saudi newspaper as saying the ousted Iraqi president was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, and not the day after, as announced by the U.S. Army, according to UPI. <<snip>>



Back then, I remember hearing that it was the Kurds who found him. Of course, did they get credit -- no.

[imenja]

1. that and Jessica Lynch

and who knows what else

[Pepperbelly]

2. another link ... you beat me to it.

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=82739

[rodeodance]

4. DOD says NO to this story --article posted earlier on DU

[Pepperbelly]

7. Really ...

How did they dispute it?

[BlueEyedSon]

Everything is bogus, it's the "Potemkin Presidency."

[TrustingDog]

13. I'm still waiting for all the Saddam Doubles....

whatever happened to those guys?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

15. Great Question ! We probably killed them all - and then found

out they weren't real.

[TrustingDog]

3. Office of Strategic Information.

like bloody hell they closed it down. but most wool bearers believe it.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2002/02/dod022602.html

Q: Mr. Secretary, the president said yesterday that you and he were reading from virtually the same page, paraphrasing, on the Pentagon's controversial new Office of Strategic Information. He said that the American people -- and, we assume, the world -- will not be misled on U.S. strategic policy. Are you going to kill that office?

Rumsfeld: I was -- I met with Undersecretary Doug Feith this morning, and he indicated to me that he has decided to close down the Office of Strategic Influence.

Q: Why? Could you tell us why?

Rumsfeld: Well, you know, there have been so many stories about this office, and commentary, some portion of which has contained inaccurate speculation and assertions that the office would -- could become involved in activities that the department has in fact not done, is not doing, and would not condone. I guess notwithstanding the fact that much of the thrust of the criticism and the cartoons and the editorial comment has been off the mark, the office has clearly been so damaged that it's unclear to me -- it's pretty clear to me that it could not function effectively. So it's being closed down.

Q: Mr. Secretary, from the outset, though, within days after September 11th, I think you were one of the first in the administration to stand here and say it's imperative for the United States to reach out and in fact educate the rest of the world, if not the Muslim world --

Rumsfeld: Yeah.

[rodeodance]

8. "An alleged ex-Marine" I see this story hit cnn online news

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. How can you be an alleged marine -- if he wasn't a marine they

would have figured that out in 30 seconds flat.

[BlueEyedSon]

17. Really , I don't remember the Faux news reports. Maybe there were none.

[uppityperson]

5. So far these all seem copies of the same story, nothing on CNN

I keep hoping this will actually get wider coverage.

Edited to add this story and link dismissing as "ridiculous and untrue" found after google search so who knows? (The Shadow knows?)
http://www.13wham.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=1478A240-CCC8-4661-BD4D-4D6350E4F15C


Pentagon officials dismissed as ridiculous and untrue a report that the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was staged.

A Saudi Arabian newspaper reported Tuesday that a former U.S. Marine, now living in Lebanon, claimed the Iraqi dictator had been captured earlier by a small team of troops, and forced into the now famous spider hole to play a role in a film fabricated by the U.S. military to make Saddam look bad. United Press International published a summary of the newspaper report without seeking Pentagon comment.
<clippy>

The U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division announced Dec. 14 that Saddam Hussein had been captured in a massive operation on Dec. 13. He was discovered, bearded and disoriented, in a small underground chamber. Saddam was captured near Tikrit in an operation led by the 4th Infantry Division. The operation involved about 600 troops.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. One kind of weird thing -- why didn't Saddam say that in his

hearing? (not that I don't believe the guy's story) - when did you first hear the story? I just saw it at about 6:30 EST. It says it is a UPI story, but their website doesn't have anything.

[FreedomAngel82]

19. Maybe

they threatned him or something. We all know how "tough and strong" the Bush administration likes to have it.

[Generic Guy]

6. Of course it was bogus.

Everything that comes from this misadministration is bogus. I even seriously doubt that we actually did get the real Saddam.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. But doesn't it seem like their world of deceipt is coming undone,

just a little ? People out there will hear. Not all at once, but everyone who opens with Compaq home page will see that story....

[Generic Guy]

14. You would think so

But, there are many people who actually believe bush won the 04 election so I think some people refuse to see the truth.

[stellanoir]

12. the thing that was totally suspect

about that report from the get go, was that people who had lived in the Mid East said that the dates on the trees were ripe in the photgraphs of Sadaam's capture. That meant very simply that when they allegedly pulled Sadaam out of his "spider hole," it would have had to have ocurred in the summer, not in December when the dates would have been withered and dried.

'Member back then, Dean was on a total roll and trouncing * in the polls. It's all stagecraft with these folks, and such BS.

Unbelievable really.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. Interesting - hadn't heard the fruit thing. It is really hard to remember

before 2000 when no public official could get away with this shit. And no media would ignore it. These things are totally adding credence to our position - if you would lie about this, the war, you would rig an election too.

[AntiCoup2K4]

18. Does anybody believe those two bloated, made up corpses they had on TV....

Were Saddam's spawn Easy and Queasy?? That one always seemed a little too convenient for me. I wouldn't be surprised if the "Saddam" in custody is a fake (I don't believe they have cut his hair yet) And the real Husseins are enjoying a well financed exile somewhere.

[FreedomAngel82]

20. I wouldn't be surprised

I remember reading from somewhere that we aren't allowed to go into Pakistain. Is that true and why? And maybe there's some other reason for not going into Saudi Arabia and "giving them democracy."

[Tinoire]

21. Blast from the past....

Triana (1000+ posts) Mon Dec-15-03 03:22 PM
Original message
Indications Saddam Was Not in Hiding But a Captive http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=743

DEBKAfile Special Report

December 14, 2003, 6:55 PM (GMT+02:00)

A number of questions are raised by the incredibly bedraggled, tired and crushed condition of this once savage, dapper and pampered ruler who was discovered in a hole in the ground on Saturday, December 13:

1. The length and state of his hair indicated he had not seen a barber or even had a shampoo for several weeks.

2. The wild state of his beard indicated he had not shaved for the same period

3. The hole dug in the floor of a cellar in a farm compound near Tikrit was primitive indeed – 6ft across and 8ft across with minimal sanitary arrangements - a far cry from his opulent palaces.

4. Saddam looked beaten and hungry.

5. Detained trying to escape were two unidentified men. Left with him were two AK-47 assault guns and a pistol, none of which were used.

6. The hole had only one opening. It was not only camouflaged with mud and bricks – it was blocked. He could not have climbed out without someone on the outside removing the covering.

7. And most important, $750,000 in 100-dollar notes were found with him (a pittance for his captors who expected a $25m reward)– but no communications equipment of any kind, whether cell phone or even a carrier pigeon for contacting the outside world.

According to DEBKAfile analysts, these seven anomalies point to one conclusion: Saddam Hussein was not in hiding; he was a prisoner.

(snip of their analysis)

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=743


Tuesday, December 2, 2003
LaHood: Hussein's capture imminent

Pantagraph Staff

BLOOMINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood held his thumb and forefinger slightly apart and said, "We're this close" to catching Saddam Hussein.
Once that's accomplished, Iraqi resistance will fall apart, said the five-term Republican congressman from Peoria who serves on the House Intelligence Committee.

A member of The Pantagraph editorial board -- not really expecting an answer -- asked LaHood for more details, saying, "Do you know something we don't?"

"Yes I do," replied LaHood.

(snip)

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/120203/new_20031202014.shtml (link no longer active but referenced in this Dec-15-03 DU thread: Indications Saddam Was Not in Hiding But a Captive)
[br />====

Saddam's Sister Says U.S. Forces Drugged Him

Purveyor (157 posts) Mon Dec-15-03 04:05 PM

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's sister said on Monday her brother would never have surrendered meekly and that U.S. forces must have used drugs or gas to paralyze him.

"Saddam Hussein, hero of Arabs, would never surrender like this. He must have been subjected to drugs or nerve gas to paralyze him, for he is not one to surrender in this humiliating manner," Nawal Ibrahim al-Hasan told London-based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi by telephone from an unidentified Arab capital.

<snip>

"Is it possible for a president to be humiliated like this and for the Americans to comb through his hair for nits?" al-Hasan said in the interview, to be published in the Arabic-language daily's Tuesday edition.

"This is not the Saddam Hussein we know. He must have been drugged or injected with illegal chemicals. What happened is an insult to all Arabs and Muslims," the paper quoted her as saying as she wept.

(snip)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3996209 (link no longer active but referenced in thread)


More comments here...
Saddam's hero-like image shattered in Arab eyes