Army nurse tells of Saddam's days in US custody
Monday, 01 Jan 2007 20:04
Saddam Hussein spent three years in US custody prior to his execution
An army nurse has provided a unique insight into former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's time in US custody.
Master Sergeant Robert Ellis revealed how the dictator, executed on Saturday December 30th for crimes against humanity, watered weeds in the Baghdad prison garden and saved bread crusts from his meals to give to birds.
"He said he was a farmer when he was young and he never forgot where he came from," he said.
The nurse, who monitored Saddam's health between 2004 and 2005, also said the 69-year-old told him of how he used to read bedtime stories to his children.
Sgt Ellis told his hometown's paper the St Louis Post-Dispatch that Saddam was held in a cell that measured six by eight feet (1.8m by 2.4m); with a cot, a table, two plastic chairs and two wash basins.
"One day when I went to see him, he asked why we invaded. Well, he made gestures like shooting a machine gun and asked why soldiers came and shot up the place. He said the laws in Iraq were fair and the weapons inspectors didn't find anything," Sgt Ellis revealed.
"I said, 'That's politics. We soldiers don't get caught up in that sort of thing."
Sgt Ellis, who referred to Saddam as Victor under military code, said he was told by a US colonel that "Saddam Hussein cannot die in US custody", adding himself: "That was my job: to keep him alive and healthy, so they could kill him at a later date."
The soldier explained that the former president had "very good coping skills" and did not fear death but remained defiant that his actions had been for the good of Iraq.
When Sgt Ellis returned to the US because his brother was dying he revealed that Saddam hugged him and said he would be his brother.
