Good Story : Now how about the truth?

A "good" story (The Day Sly saw Saddam Hussein) about a former Fijian serving in the British Army and his very brief encounter with Saddam Hussein was published in the Fiji Times.

Sly recounts his late night mission into farmlands around Tikrit when Saddam was captured. It is a "good" story.

History is replete with unsuspecting and well intentioned men and women being used by the more scheming minds in their organisations to perpetuate a certain image or "story".

Did Sly fall victim to an elaborate hoax designed to create the mirage that Saddam was captured hiding in a shallow hole and on being discovered said in good English "Im the President of Iraq and I want to negotiate with President Bush".

Yeah right.....

It was critical that the Americans capture Saddam in a fashion that could be used to emphasise and glorify American military strength, in particular American intelligence.

Why?

Because no WMD's had been found and the credibility and potency of American intelligence services was under siege. The Americans had to prove to their people and the world that the much vaunted and hyped up intelligence machinery still had the power to pull off a major coup.

It was vital that Saddam be captured through an elaborate intelligence operation and be shown powerless and broken. Much depended on it.

But did the Americans get him hiding in a whole? Not if you believe the President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, who had issue a statement a full day before Saddam's capture while on a visit to Iran that Saddam had been captured by the Peshmerga.

And what of Saddam's two bodyguards? Initial reports indicated that two of his loyal men were with him. Where did they disappear?

Here's a few calculated guesses:

Somebody, possibly somebody very close to Saddam and responsible for his safety, is living a very comfortable life in the United States, a life paid for by a million US dollars and promise of entry into US for him and his family.

INDEPENDENT,BALANCED,IMPARTIAL.