| unlikely ending for saddam hussein |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, December 22 2003 |
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| Of all the possible scenarios that could have marked the end of Saddam Hussein's hiding, coming out of a rat-infested hole in the ground seemed the least likely one. I had imagined so many ways in which the story would pan out, but only a very ingenious novelist could have envisioned such a pathetic ending for such a defiant and powerful man.
The images that we saw of a dirty, bearded man being inspected for lice are not like the Saddam who was described to me by Iraqis in Baghdad when I covered the war in April. This doesn't seem like the man who made people tremble with fear at the mere mention of his name, the one capable of anything to stay in power.
Undoubtedly, Saddam had the means and ways of evading capture. He could have managed to locate a plastic surgeon to change his identity, and then gotten lost among the crowds or simply left the country through one of Iraq's borders. He certainly had enough money to survive and bribe his way through almost any situation. Saddam's personal wealth has been estimated at up to $7 billion, not to mention the control and access he had to Iraqi state oil funds.
The special U.S. task force that was instructed to find him, dead or alive, also found along the way almost $2 million in $100 bills. The money was confiscated from people who were arrested on suspicion of helping Saddam hide or flee. Saddam himself had $750,000 with him at the time he was found. This time around, all his millions and brutal intimidation could only buy him time.
For all these months, I imagined that if Saddam Hussein was still hiding in Iraq, it would be in a very sophisticated secret facility, an underground palace of sorts, or some kind of mystery chamber inside a wall. But it never occurred to me that his hiding place would be a small dirt pit in which he would be sharing his space with rats.
First of all, the eccentric Iraqi leader reportedly had up to 46 luxurious palaces; many of them had bathroom appliances made of gold. He was used to living like royalty, but more than that, he was known for being obsessed with cleanliness.
People who have documented his extravagant lifestyle say that he bathed twice a day, washed his hands countless times and had a full-blown phobia of germs. Fearing that he would be contaminated, he sometimes had people he was going to meet with shower beforehand in front of those responsible for his safety.
It's hard to imagine how and what Saddam ate during these months in hiding. In the hut where he was found, there was a dirty kitchen, some food and pieces of decomposed fruit lying around. The former dictator did not trust anyone and feared being poisoned, so he had his chefs prepare three meals a day in each of his palaces in the presence of his bodyguards. If he doubted a bodyguard's loyalty, he would have him killed.
One of the most surprising things about the disgraced dictator's capture is that he did nothing to defend himself. That tough and ferocious warrior who had hundreds of thousands of people killed and who threatened to use any means to eliminate his enemies came out of his hole with his arms up, asking to negotiate.
In the end, Saddam Hussein was not the heroic fighter he made himself out to be. His pistol at his side, he never fired a shot at U.S. forces. His cowardly surrender was in stark contrast to the image of Saddam defying the United States, the United Nations and the world. Now the world must judge the Butcher of Baghdad and work out with the Iraqi people the punishment he deserves. |
