Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Saddam to Commanders: Wait, Do We Have WMDs?

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 31, 2009 2:55 PM CST

(Newser) – Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction, but America made such a strong case that even the Iraqi leader himself had doubts, the Washington Post reports. Saddam, apparently in awe of US intelligence, asked his top commanders if the nation had stashes even he didn't know about. So says a new book by a CIA investigator, which also notes that Vladimir Putin tried to get Saddam to step down in 2003 to avert a US invasion.

Hide and Seek, by Charles Duelfer, also doles out blame over US bumbling. Duelfer gave the CIA a list of Iraqis who could help stabilize the country post-invasion, which was instead used to target and harass the individuals. More tantalizing: Details on Saddam's last days in prison, where he wrote poems, flirted with US nurses, asked for a firing squad instead of a noose, and pledged to restart Iraq's nuclear program.

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (1)]

Captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo)

Ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in court in 2006. (AP Photo)

Chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission Hans Blix. (AP Photo)

U.S. President George W. Bush. (AP Photo)

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Duelfer says Powell put the kibosh on a report linking Iraq to Russia before the US invasion. (AP Photo)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Once U.S. forces were in Iraq, they used the lists as targets. Those named would find their homes raided, and they would be thrown in jail. We continued to make more enemies. - Charles Duelfer, on lists of cooperative Iraqis

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Blair Tells Iraq Inquiry He'd Do It Again

At the time, existence of WMDs in Iraq was 'beyond doubt'

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair mounted a spirited defense of Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war today, telling the Chilcot inquiry he would make the same choices now, based on the information he had then. “The crucial thing after Sept. 11 is that the calculus of risk changed,” the former prime minister told the panel, and he deemed the risk of an Iraqi WMD too terrible to ignore. “Could we take the risk of this man reconstituting his weapons program?” More»

Tony Blair Faces Grilling Over Iraq War

Ex-prime minister to be questioned on WMDs, promises to Bush

(NEWSER) - The decision to send British troops to join the US invasion of Iraq was by far the most controversial of Tony Blair's leadership, and his place in history may depend on how well he defends it today. The former prime minister will face 6 hours of grilling from inquisitors about when he committed Britain to the war, whether or not he manipulated intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, and if he strong-armed his attorney general into declaring the war legal. More»

Blair: I Would've Invaded Iraq Anyway

Even if he'd known there were no WMD, ex-PM wanted Saddam out

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair is unrepentant of his support for the Iraq war, telling a BBC interviewer that even if he'd known there were no weapons of mass destruction, "I would still have thought it right to remove him. I mean obviously you would have had to use and deploy different arguments, about the nature of the threat." More»

Blair Knew Iraq Had No WMD 10 Days Before War Began

Intelligence ignored, British panel told

(NEWSER) - Prime Minister Tony Blair was told Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction 10 days before ordering British troops into the country in 2003, but Blair pushed ahead anyway, a panel investigating the war was told today. But, said a key intelligence official, the information didn’t weaken the case for the US and British invasion; rather, “it just proved [Saddam Hussein] had been lying and that he had prohibited items.” More»

Saddam's FBI Interviews Released

Says WMD fiction was aimed at Iran; he wanted pact with US

(NEWSER) - Transcripts of Saddam Hussein's two dozen interviews with the FBI before his execution were released yesterday, after details were published last week by the New York Daily News, which obtained them through the Freedom of Information Act. Some details are still redacted, but the FBI says no "enhanced" techniques were used in interrogations. In the interviews, Saddam said he pretended to have WMDs because he was worried about looking weak to the “fanatic” leaders of Iran, and admits that refusing UN verification of the destruction of his WMDs was a mistake. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website