- UPDATE
-
- (Note - Saddam himself reported that he was, indeed,
at a friend's house when US troops showed up. He said he has no recall
of how he got into the hole - an old well. He was clearly drugged in the
photo-op of his 'capture'. Just because a story appears in a 'Saudi paper'
somehow is supposed to lessen its credibility? We don't think so. It
is also possible the soldier source changed his name in the story...to
protect his health. This kind of statement from the Pentagon press is no
surprise. -ed)
-
-
- From: "Pam Hess"
- To: RePorterNoteBook@aol.com
- Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 22:58:27
-
- I'm the UPI Pentagon correspondent. This is actually
not a true story.
-
- It was written in a Saudi paper, and picked up by our
Arabic speaking desk in Lebanon. However, I've not been able to find any
evidence that this guy exists, much less that he was in the Marine Corps.
The story was not run by me before it was published, and we have since
pointed out the errors in the piece.
-
- Pamela Hess
- United Press International
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- 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.
-
- Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
-
- http://www.newkerala.com/
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