Cairo: “Saddam Was Not Hanged; Neither Were Uday and Qusai Killed: American Lies and Secrets Relating to the Game of Saddam’s Body Doubles.
This is not a news headline or a statement made by a high-ranking official, but the title of a book by an Egyptian journalist that caters to the myths and rumors created to try and unravel the secretive nature of the Iraqi government, its president, and the ironclad rule in Iraq.
It is a title that comes at an odd time, following the hanging of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, the subsequent videos released, the gaping neck wound, the gloating and regrets expressed by his Iraqi and Arab detractors and supporters.
But perhaps it is also a stern reminder of the impact of paranoia and conspiracy theories which continue to dog this region.
The premise is rather simple. That the videos of Saddam’s hanging were fake and that those who knew him and buried him Oueja were misled; that millions who watched the videos were duped in another twist of the games played during Saddam’s rule were much alive and kicking even during his long trial and execution, indicating by so doing that Saddam and the US were two faces of one coin.
Authored by veteran Egyptian journalist Anis Al Digheidi and published by Madbuli, ‘Saddam Was Not Hanged’ is currently hitting the racks of many bookshops, making available to readers documents in image, sound, handwriting as well as experts’ quotes, all of which prove that the man who stood trial and was said to have been hanged was Michael Ramadan, one of the look-alikes Saddam had used to replace him in a bevy of critical situations and official meetings.
Al Digheidi, who has also authored “The Secret Life of Saddam Hussein , relied on his personal connections with Saddam’s family, mainly his son Uday, his daughter Raghad and his wife Sajda Talfah. He was Uday’s tennis partner during his visits to Iraq and claims he was severely reprimanded on the phone by Sajda when he released his first book on Saddam
Such connections have obviously made him state his facts with a confidence that was also peppered with jeers, slang insults and mockery directed against the Arab rulers, peoples and the Bush administration, a triangle he believes is responsible for all the region’s current setbacks.
The book is a wakeup call for millions of Arabs who have not been weaned off Saddam’s secret maneuvers to stay in power, mainly the game of using look-alikes or the use of people who resemble him as replacements.
“How could [the look-alikes] be ruled out? Al Digheidi writes. “How could that be overlooked with a man who had managed to protect himself using 13 copies of himself during his rule that continued for more than 35 years?
The technique that figured in the histories of dictators like Hitler, Mussolini and Mao was used for the first time to extreme by the former Iraqi president, the author explains.
“No doubt, Saddam was targeted by several intelligence bureaus including those of the US, the UK, Iran and Israel, wrote Al Digheidi.
“Inside as well as outside his country he was hated by his opponents, so much so that he was exposed to no less than six attempts on his life every year! He stopped using wireless after 1991 and married many times to create a gap with his family to avoid being present with them, he added.
Al Digheidi has pointed out two moles on the right side of Michael Ramadan’s face and asked the reader to look at a range of photos featuring the life of Saddam from childhood up to his late age, all of which showed that the former dictator did not have any moles on his face.
“Could he have developed them over the years? mocked Al Digheidi.
Another important difference cited by the author was the round bones of the ears spotted by a specialist who took a keen interest in Saddam’s look-alikes. Such bones, like finger prints, are a distinguishable mark of every human being.
Then there are those who claim that the man executed spoke with a slightly different accent – the dialect of southern Iraqi tribes whereas Saddam who belonged to Sunni midlands, had a different accent.
Two letters one written by Saddam and another by Ramadan were another piece of alleged evidence documented in the book.
Al Digheidi started taking interest in US media reports that claimed Saddam had a body double prior to the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003.
Prior to the American invasion he viewed Saddam on TV amid a crowd of Iraqi people at Al Mansour district. “I was dumbstruck to notice that the ailing president had suddenly turned 15 years younger. He was again vigorous, young and active. Only then did I started penning the first lines of this book.
In addition to focusing on reports of Saddam look-alikes, the book was also an attempt to bring to notice the much-talked-about fake killings of Uday and Qusai, Saddam’s sons, using similar evidences relating to physical and facial features.
“In this welter of tragic incidents, we haven’t heard the voices of Saddam’s family, his wives and his close circles. If Qusai and Uday were killed why weren’t we shown their mother and sisters’ reactions?
He added: “Those at the court of law were opponents that returned after long deportations and could have failed to recognize him following decades away from the Iraqi scene.
Saddam had always been guided by the US as he waged his eight-year war against Iran, was given green light to invade Kuwait and did not exhibit a morsel of will to bow out even as he saw a superpower’s military machinery moving to the Gulf.
It is a down-to-earth Hollywood production started by Saddam and completed by Bush’s administration that played well on the copy technique to send a strong-worded message to the rest of the Arab rulers by hanging Saddam on the first day of the Eid Al Adha, says Al Digheidi.
The book also claims that Ramadan had definitely conspired with the CIA, or he would have shouted out to say: “I am not Saddam.
But where is the true Saddam now? Where are his sons? And why did not he remove the distinctive moles of Ramadan face when he recruited the body double?
If the CIA was aware of that facial feature, why did it not have it removed?
These questions and others have made the book a laughable enterprise, according to Iraqis close to the former government hierarchies.
“Thirteen body doubles of Saddam in Iraq? I heard of one actor who slightly resembled Saddam, but what this book is saying is ridiculous, said one Iraqi writer who asked not to be identified.
Other Iraqis The Daily Star Egypt has spoken with have also cast doubt on Al Digheidi’s theories and believe he is out of touch with recent events.
“In the book he claims Raghad and Rana did not mourn their brothers or even make public announcements. Perhaps it is best he check with the lawyers representing the Saddam family before he makes such flustered comments, said Ahmed Ali Ahmed, an Iraqi journalist in Mosul.
The journalist said Raghad and Rana were saddened by their brothers’ deaths but had a difficult time reconciling their anger because Uday and Qusai had killed their husbands in 1995.
