News reports indicate that Saddam Hussein disclosed little or nothing of significance during his seven months of captivity. This is, of course, the price we pay for our humane treatment of prisoners, even those like Saddam who are both monsters of depravity and possessors of potentially vital information. Soon after the Iraqi insurgency broke out, it was reported that the terrorists were reporting that their comrades need not fear capture, since “the Americans won’t do anything to you.” What a sadist like Saddam made of his captors’ solicitude for his well-being, one can only imagine.
The only interesting item in the New York Times story linked to above is the observation by one of the intelligence officials responsible for Saddam that:
Mr. Hussein was surprised when the United States began its invasion in March 2003.
One official said that Mr. Hussein had implied that ambiguity over whether his government possessed illegal weapons “would keep the neighbors at bay, while the U.S. would be hung up in interminable debate at the U.N.”
That was, I think, the deal that Saddam had with Jacques Chirac, and if John Kerry had been President, it would have worked.
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