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-Caveat Lector-
Special Dispatch - Iraq
November 5, 2002
No. 437
To view this Special Dispatch in HTML format, please visit:
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD43702
First Interview with Saddam Hussein in Twelve Years
The Egyptian opposition weekly Al-Usbou' published yesterday an interview with Saddam
Hussein. According to Al-Usbou', which has a very strong pan-Arab orientation, this
was the first interview given by Saddam to any media outlet in the last 12 years.(1)
In a lengthy preface to the interview, Sayyid Nassar, the Al-Usbou' journalist who
conducted the interview, noted: "not everything a journalist hears is reported, he
reports what is allowed and what does not harm the national Arab security. Therefore,
I ask the readers forgiveness for not reporting part of the interview". Following is
the interview:
"We Do Not Ask of the Arab Leaders More than They Can Deliver"
Nassar: "I would like to ask you first: 'How do you analyze the Arab position
towards Iraq, the sanctions that it has to deal with, and the threat of aggression and
war?'"
Saddam: "We do not ask of the Arab leaders more than they can deliver. We evaluate
the conditions of each country, its position on the political map, and its ability to
sacrifice. The sacrifice is relative and is the result of historical conditions,
personal capabilities, and the personal viewpoints of its leader. Anyway, we are
satisfied in general. The positive factors are increasing, and the negative factors
are decreasing. In general, the [Arab] position is changing in the direction of Iraq's
interests. Let me tell you frankly that we are progressing with the positive factors,
and are letting the negative ones diminish by themselves, as the right viewpoints
become clearer and dominate the political arena."
Nassar: "Still, Mr. President, you must have some comments here and there about the
positions of a few Arab countries towards Iraq. We understand that there is some
failure on their part in supporting Iraq."
Saddam: "I am interested only in the positive factors. As I said, the negative
factors will diminish on their own when everyone understands our real intentions and
the sensitivity of our circumstances, and what is being hatched against us and against
them. Iraq is not the only country subjected to conspiracies. The U.S. wants to impose
its hegemony on the region, and to do so it has to direct its hostilities towards the
Arab countries, especially the pivotal ones. All this serves the Israeli Entity and
International Zionism."
On U.S. Conspiracies Against the Arab World
Nassar: "Mr. President, what exactly does the U.S. want from Iraq?"
Saddam: "The U.S. wants to destroy the centers of power in the Arab world, regardless
of whether the center of power is in Damascus or Baghdad! Look around you and see what
is happening in the region. See what is happening in southern Sudan, efforts to
separate the south from the north and to influence our big sister Egypt, its national
security, and the overall national security of the Arab nation!!"
"Look and see what is happening in Algiers, see what happened and is still happening
in Somalia and all the countries in the Horn of Africa. See what is going on in
Palestine and what Sharon is doing to our Palestinian brothers. All this exposes the
scope of the conspiracy against our Arab nation."
Nassar: "Mr. President, if we go from the general to the specific, what does the
U.S. want from Iraq?"
Saddam: "The U.S. wants to impose its hegemony on the Arab world, and as a prelude it
wants to control Iraq and then strike the capitals that oppose it and revolt against
its hegemony. From Baghdad, which will be under military control, it will strike
Damascus and Tehran. It will fragment them and will cause major problems to Saudi
Arabia. It is trying to create small entities controlled by safe-keepers working for
the U.S., so that no country will be larger than Israel, quantitatively and
qualitatively. This way the Arab oil will be under its control and the region,
especially the oil sources - after the destruction of Afghanistan - will be under
total control of the U.S. All these things serve the Israeli interests, and based on
this strategy the purpose is to make Israel into a large empire in the area."
"Iraq's problem is that it opposes all these conspiracies, and the others do not
understand that we are defending [them]. Everyone should know that no one will be safe
from [the conspiracies] that are being hatched now against Iraq. All, from the point
of view of the U.S. and Israel, are the same and what will happen to us, will happen
to the others later."
Nassar: "Does the fragmentation conspiracy concern Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
countries?"
Saddam: "I am not (sic) one of those who think that Saudi Arabia will be divided and
that Yemen or Oman will benefit [from that], or that there are efforts to eliminate
some of the Sheikhdoms or Emirates in the Gulf. To the contrary, I think that the
model of the small Sheikhdoms and Emirates will expand in the region. Therefore, all
the large countries such as Iraq, Syria or Saudi Arabia will be divided into small
Emirates, and the oil resources will be in the hands of midget-countries in a way that
will serve the interests of the U.S., which will gain complete control over the oil
fields from Algiers through the countries of the Caspian Sea. After dominating
Afghanistan, [the U.S.] is getting ready now to dominate Iraq, Iran and Syria."
On the Difference Between North Korea's Nuclear Program and Iraq's
Nassar: "Mr. President, two weeks ago North Korea admitted, or more accurately
announced without any pressure, that it had a nuclear program. Nevertheless, we did
not see or hear any hostile American reaction similar to the American reaction towards
Iraq, despite the fact that Iraq declared that it did not have WMD and the
international inspectors confirmed that. Despite that, the U.S. is directing its
strike against Iraq only. What is the meaning of that in your opinion?"
Saddam: "In short, North Korea does not have oil. This is first. Secondly, North Korea
is not Israel's enemy, and is not close to it [geographically]."
Nassar: "Mr. President, I want to ask you something that I already know, but would
like your confirmation. Do you have Kuwaiti prisoners that you did not release as yet,
knowing that Kuwait is demanding their release as a condition for reconciliation?"
Saddam: "You know, and everyone else knows, that I issued a decision to release all
prisoners, political and criminal, Arab and Iraqis. Except for the spies who worked
for Israel and the U.S. We released even murderers, on condition that an agreement was
reached between the families of the murderers and the families of the victims, and
that the amnesty was the will of both sides. The jails in Iraq became the only jails
in the world, and in history, without occupants."
Nassar: "...And the wardens have a problem, Mr. President, they have to look for a job
since the jails are empty..."
Saddam: "We shall turn the jails into shelters for orphans, the victims of American
daily missile attacks on the country's south and north, and on Baghdad's
neighborhoods, while the world conscience remains indifferent."
"We Are Ready for War"
Nassar: "Mr. President, do you think that the attack is imminent?"
Saddam: "We are getting ready as if the war will start in an hour. We are ready for
it psychologically. The U.S., in its daily attacks and attempts to weaken us and to
kill civilians every day with its air missiles and artillery from neighboring
countries, made us feel as if we were in a perpetual war since January 1991. So we are
ready for war. But Iraq will not, in any way, be like Afghanistan. This does not mean
that we are stronger than the U.S., since it has long-range missiles and naval forces,
but we have faith in Allah, in our homeland, and in the Iraqi people. Also, and this
is important, we have faith in the Arab nation. We will not turn the war into a picnic
for the American or the British soldiers. No way! The land always fights on the side
of its owners."
Nassar: "Mr. President, Let's go back to where we started, are you satisfied with
the position of several Arab countries towards Iraq, as far as supporting it against
the American and British hostile schemes. Don't you think that there is a clear
failure?"
Saddam: "I am satisfied with all the efforts to support the strong Arab position in
supporting Iraq and Palestine. The problem is no longer Iraq's problem only, it is the
problem of the whole Arab nation from Tangier to Baghdad. The fate is one, and it is
written in martyrs' blood."
"If there is anyone who thinks that Iraq still has problems with Kuwait, then [let me
say] that all the Arab countries have problems with neighboring Arab countries. We
believe that any success accomplished by any Arab country, including the Arab nation
of Kuwait, is our success. The nation of Kuwait is an Arab nation that believes in its
pan-Arabism. The latest event against the American base [there] proves it."
"To a great extent, we put our faith in our Arab nation. The Arab nation, which
contrary to what many might think, is not in a deep slumber. The demonstrations that
we saw in the Arab world and the West included thousands of supporters of peace and
opponents of war and aggression against Iraq. These demonstrations challenged the
efforts of the Zionist extreme right in Washington to destroy Iraq."
"The American-British Coalition Will Disintegrate"
Nassar: "Mr. President, do you think that time is working in your favor, or against
you?"
Saddam: "No doubt, time is working for us. We have to buy some more time, and the
American-British coalition will disintegrate because of internal reasons and because
of the pressure of public opinion in the American and British street. Nations know the
truth and are more capable of understanding than the leaders who are preoccupied with
the Zionist conspiracies that are hatched by the media, conspiracies that blind those
leaders."
Nassar: "Mr. President, let's go back to where we started: What exactly does the
U.S. want from Iraq?"
Saddam: "It wants an Iraq that accepts the American political and geographical
hegemony over Arab resources. It also wants an Iraq that acknowledges the Zionist
existence and its control over Palestine. Furthermore, it wants an Iraq free of the
pan-Arab ideology, an Iraq that would agree to destroying the Arab League and
establishing a Middle-East organization. It wants a non-Arab Iraq [divided] into
separate nations."
On the Iraqi Opposition
Nassar: "Mr. President, are you worried of the Iraqi opposition, which is in cahoots
with Washington and London? Could this opposition become an alternative to the regime
in Baghdad?"
Saddam: "First of all, there is no true Iraqi opposition that worries us. And if
there was an opposition it should have struggled from inside first in order to get
control, and not from the outside, from a distance of tens of thousands of miles."
"Additionally, opposition members of whom we hear but whom we do not see, and our
people do not recognize, are a group that includes some who were convicted of economic
crimes, and others of moral crimes."
"Members of the opposition, of whom we hear, have no sense; they do not [even] hide
the fact that they are agents of the American and British intelligence, and that they
receive money from them, or that they are guilty of embezzling and squandering money.
Finally, they are a group of people that might fill one single bus in Baghdad, no
more."
Nassar: "Mr. President, a few days ago there was a referendum about renewing the
presidency for seven more years. There were those who asked about the meaning of the
100% support that you received, especially since the Western culture is unable to
comprehend such a percentage."
Saddam: "It has a great significance. It means that I treat my people with justice and
truth. To those who maintain that I do not represent my people, it means that I truly
do represent them. It is the result of a referendum of a free nation, witnessed by
Arab and foreign observers and journalists, and it attests to the fallacy of the
existence of an opposition to the Iraqi regime."
Nassar: "Mr. President, your handling of the recent crisis is different than the
crisis in 1991. Is this the result of a study of the current conditions, or the past,
or both. What were the lessons learned?"
Saddam: "Politics are science, and in any science there are experiments. The
politician is an eternal student, and always benefits from personal experience, or the
experience of other people. We believe in the importance of public opinion and its
effects, and learn from our experiences. Making mistakes and correcting them are a
human act that could be improved. No one among us is infallible, and Allah alone is
perfect."
Nassar: "Mr. President, isn't it time to reconcile with our Kurdish brethren in the
north?"
Saddam: "You know that Iraq gave them what no one else did. You were the first Arab
journalist who met with Mulla Mustafa Al-Barazani in 1966, and you heard him say that
his ultimate aspiration was the autonomous rule that he got [later] from Iraq.
Anything more would be divisive. We reject that, and so do all the wise people among
our Kurdish brothers. We are convinced that if the U.S. and Britain get their hands
off northern Iraq, and do not interfere, we will define ourselves in complete freedom,
without their interference, and will reconcile the people and the land."
At the end of the interview the Iraqi president sent greetings to the nation of Egypt
and its president Hosni Mubarak.
Endnotes:
(1) Al-Usbou' (Egypt), November 4, 2002.
Nassar noted that the interview was a long one, lasting two hours and fourteen
minutes. Despite the fact that no Iraqi newspaper mentioned that the interview took
place, Al-Usbou' displayed a picture in the magazine of the reporter interviewing
Saddam Hussein.
*********************
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