Ex-Marine Says Public Version of Saddam Capture Fiction (WHAM13 Rochester – UPI)
A former U.S. Marine who participated in capturing ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said the public version of his capture was fabricated. Ex-Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh, of Lebanese descent, was quoted in the Saudi daily al-Medina Wednesday as saying Saddam was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, and not the day after, as announced by the U.S. Army.
“I was among the 20-man unit, including eight of Arab descent, who searched for Saddam for three days in the area of Dour near Tikrit, and we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced,” Abou Rabeh said. “We captured him after fierce resistance during which a Marine of Sudanese origin was killed,” he said. He said Saddam himself fired at them with a gun from the window of a room on the second floor. Then they shouted at him in Arabic: “You have to surrender. … There is no point in resisting.”
“Later on, a military production team fabricated the film of Saddam’s capture in a hole, which was in fact a deserted well,” Abou Rabeh said.
Abou Rabeh was interviewed in Lebanon.
Given Rabeh’s Arab descent, the fact that he’s apparently now living in Lebanon, and that the interview was with a Saudi paper, I’m naturally skeptical of his motivations. Further, I’m always dubious of the ability of large organizations to keep this type of thing secret for any length of time–more so in cases like this, where large sums of money are to be made.
Still, we can’t discount this entirely. The U.S. military has fed propaganda to the press or allowed helpful-but-wrong reports to go unchallenged numerous times in the past. The Jessica Lynch story is but the most obvious example from this war. There was certainly a propaganda advantage to having the Iraqi people believe Saddam was a coward, hiding in a spider hole and then refusing to fight.
Hat tip: What Really Happened
Update (2019): Michelle Malkin agrees, observing, “I’d like to hear from other soldiers in the unit.” She also points to Charles Johnson, who gives the story no credence and reminds us of a July LGF account of another soldier of Arab descent who was part of the capture party, corroborating the official story. Even better, ETJ of The Neoconservative provides links saying no Marines took part in the mission!
