Answers About Saddam Hussein
by Denise Morris on 01/29/2008 at 9:13 AM
Last night I watched 60 Minutes and saw a fascinating interview with the FBI agent who was Saddam Hussein's main contact after being captured by the U.S.
George Piro -- an agent who had only been employed by the FBI for five years before this assignment -- was picked because he had been born in Lebanon and spoke fluent Arabic. They also thought Hussein would respond to a young Arab man (even if he was working for the U.S.).
I was fascinated by this piece, mainly because of the way they got Hussein to talk. They used subtle tactics to show who was in control of the situation. When talking to Hussein, Piro would have him sit with his back against the wall while he stood against the door -- a way of showing who was in charge. Piro would be the only one Hussein would ever see with a watch -- an indication that he controlled the time. Piro fooled Hussein into thinking he was much more influential at the FBI than he really was -- Hussein thought he reported directly to the president.
Piro did get Hussein to talk. They talked about Bin Laden, WMDs, Kuwait, the killing of his own people and much more.
Piro says that Hussein didn't believe the U.S. would really invade Iraq the way it did in 2003. He said that when the U.S. invaded, there were no WMDs, but Hussein had plans to recreate his weapons program.
In the end, Piro said that Hussein didn't regret any of it. He felt that his brutal acts were necessary and acceptable. His final act of defiance was refusing to wear a hood when he was hanged.
I would encourage you to check out the interview. Piro was able to get into the mind of this brutal dictator and get answers to questions that were a mystery to the United States. Interesting -- frightening -- stuff.
1. Justin said the following at 10:30 AM on Jan 29:
This was a great news story. It showed how much more you can accomplish by talking with a person rather than torturing them.
It also showed what a mistake it was to go into Iraq. Saddam didn't have WMD, and he considered Osama bin Laden to be a threat. He wasn't working with him at all.
2. obewan said the following at 10:52 AM on Jan 29:
Don't forget to mention that the emphasis of his military buildup was due to his fear of Iran. After a lengthy war with Iran, he wanted to be seen as strong and invincible. I still say he was little or no threat to the US because of the oil trading relationship. Does a dog bite the hand that feeds it? Yes he was a threat to the region, but I think he knew the US could easily crush him. After all, he still respected us enough to let the UN inspectors in to do their job. The problem is Bush did not give them enough time to do a more thorough search for nukes and WMD's.
3. Mandi said the following at 11:08 AM on Jan 29:
Yeah, I caught a little part of it the other night...about Saddam writing poetry and sharing stories with Piro that he hadn't even shared with his sons. It made me feel kind of sorry for him in a way. I guess it was one of the few times I saw him as just human, you know...albeit with a seriously skewed moral compass. I felt sad for him, that that's how he led his life. Perhaps the poetry shed light on a part of him that he didn't apparently nurture very much, or very publicly. It made me wonder how different the world would be if he (and everyone, really) would not give into their temptations, their evil passions, and would focus instead on that which would bring beauty to the world. And it made me more sad to see that he was hung (for all the reasons I've gone through on the death penalty post earlier this week, not meaning to re-open that here).
4. Justice said the following at 5:31 PM on Jan 29:
Oberwan,
He did not respect anyone and did NOT let the UN do their job, that's half the reason that we are there now, his defiance towards the UN led the world to believe he actually had weapons that he did not have. Perhaps a look into what was going on in 2002 and 03 would show you this
5. Courtney said the following at 9:17 PM on Jan 29:
I saw this interview too. One thing I got from it is that Saddam had every intention of building his WMD again...all of them. I am very glad that the US went back into Iraq, and that Saddam is no longer in power. Now whether or not they should still be there...that is another question that I do not have the answers to. :)
6. Rachel Gray said the following at 1:07 AM on Jan 30:
I read a book by a German soldier who interrogated American airmen in WWII. He too used psychological techniques to great effect, and never used torture. After the war, some Germans who had employed torture-- including waterboarding-- were hanged by America as war criminals. How I wish we ourselves held to that standard.
7. Justin said the following at 10:53 AM on Jan 30:
I am very glad that the US went back into Iraq, and that Saddam is no longer in power. Now whether or not they should still be there...that is another question that I do not have the answers to. :)
You raise an interesting point.
Am I glad Sadam and his sons are dead? Yes. Was it worth 3,000 American lives, No.
But I suspect reasonable minds will disagree on that.
8. Joseph said the following at 11:46 PM on Jan 30:
I don't know if I am frustrated or puzzled as to why people are still making arguements about should we have gone into Iraq or not. Hindsight is 20/20. Since I am here in Baghdad, I will do the most I can to make the best of an enourmously ugly situation. It would be comforting if more people would put their heads together to attempt to solve that problem than keep arguing over if we should've gone in at all.
The fact is we did go in, and it frequnetly seems like the military are the only ones actively working on something to fix it.
On a side note, I used to think I understood what the conflict in Iraq was, being here... it is so much more complex than any civillian can understand.
9. Justin said the following at 11:47 AM on Jan 31:
I don't know if I am frustrated or puzzled as to why people are still making arguements about should we have gone into Iraq or not. Hindsight is 20/20.
A lot of people, including Military Officials, President George Herbert-Walker Bush and Dick Cheney in 1994, all predicted that an invasion into Iraq would lead to an ugly occuption. A lot of what happened was very predictble and not at all 20/20 hindsight.
Since I am here in Baghdad, I will do the most I can to make the best of an enourmously ugly situation.
You are to be commended for your positive attitude and I wish you the best. You have the most difficult job on the planet.
It would be comforting if more people would put their heads together to attempt to solve that problem than keep arguing over if we should've gone in at all. The fact is we did go in, and it frequnetly seems like the military are the only ones actively working on something to fix it.
Good point. I would just say, I don't think there is anything we can do to solve the problem. And the best thing to do is leave immediately.
On a side note, I used to think I understood what the conflict in Iraq was, being here... it is so much more complex than any civillian can understand.
No doubt.
10. Jethro said the following at 2:29 PM on Jan 31:
Effective interrogation methods. Makes you wonder why Bush, Rumsfeld and Co. are so intent on torturing people. Hopefully they will all be in jail soon enough.