first iraqi regime figure to be taken alive

[Basstrap]

http://msnbc.com/news/899067.asp#BODY

AL-SAADI was the official liaison with U.N. weapons inspectors before the war, and U.S. intelligence sources told NBC?s Carl Rochelle that he is suspected of knowing where weapons of mass destruction are stored and which Iraqis were involved in the alleged program.
He has been ?involved in virtually every aspect of the program for decades,? one source said.
The ?potential significance of al-Saadi?s surrender cannot be overstated,? the source added.
A former chief U.N. weapons inspector, David Kay, agreed, telling MSNBC that ?he?s certainly capable of giving away a lot of information if he chooses to.?
Kay, who dealt with al-Saadi when he was an inspector, called al-Saadi ?the most polished? of Saddam?s interlocutors with U.N. inspectors, having worked and studied in Britain and Germany.

?TIME WILL BEAR ME OUT?
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 of 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.
?I was telling the truth, always telling the truth, never told anything but the truth and time will bear me out, you will see,? he told ZDF. ?There will be no difference after this war.?
Al-Saadi said he had stayed at home even after U.S. forces arrived in Baghdad and had decided to voluntarily turn himself in because he felt in no way guilty of any crimes.
According to U.S. intelligence, al-Saadi was also Saddam?s superweapons czar prior to the Gulf War, creating the chemical weapons that killed thousands of Kurds in 1988 and extending the range of Scud missiles that killed dozens of Americans, Saudis and Israelis in nighttime raids during the 1991 war.

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I think the guy is telling the turth. Otherwise I don't think he would risk turning himself over in light of possible war crimes accusations.
I don't know...
I'm not the one for conspiracy theories - I push most of those aside in my mind...however, if they find WMD now I would not put aside the idea that perhaps the military planted them there.
It is not such a far fetched notion; I think if I was in their shoes I might do it as well. Thankfully I would never put myself in those shoes.

who knows...maybe he is either
a)lying
b)not aware of WMD cos he wasn't informed

 

[verte76]

It will be very interesting to hear what this guy has to say. He very well could know some graphic insider information.

 

[The Wanderer]

of course this would be the logical progression for people to say the US planted WMD

 

[Rono]

of course this would be the logical progression for people to say the US planted WMD

Why ? Don`t you trust the US goverment ?

 

[Man Inside The Child]

I agree with Basstrap... There are no WMD's ... If Saddam had them and knowing that his days are numbered, he would have used them.

The U.S. will contrive something before the war is officially over.

 

[Saracene]

I agree with Basstrap... There are no WMD's ... If Saddam had them and knowing that his days are numbered, he would have used them.

Sure, you could say that he'd have nothing to lose, but would he want to give Americans the excuse to say "Hah, I told you so!"?

Whereas even if they do find something now there'll be scepticism galore all around the world.

 

[80sU2isBest]

I agree with Basstrap... There are no WMD's ... If Saddam had them and knowing that his days are numbered, he would have used them.

The U.S. will contrive something before the war is officially over.

Not if he didn't have a chance to. By the time we moved into Baghdad, Saddam's people and means to carry off a chemical attack had long been done away with.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I think he really had plenty of time. He had enough time to get the hell out of there, the 48 hour deadline was his last chance, and leading up to that, the troops were there, ready for action for plenty long enough.

Lets face it, we'll never really know what he does or does not have. The inspections found nothing, sure. But that means nothing. We aren't talking about a reasonable man here. I'd be surprised if any such weapons were found prior to all this, to be honest.