Saddam's wife helped locate him

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | December 15, 2003 | DPA

[aculeus]

Well-informed Lebanese sources said today that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's second wife supplied the US with "some information" about where her husband was hiding in Iraq.

Samira Shahbandar, who lives with the ousted Iraqi leader's only surviving son Ali, "is believed to have given the Americans and their allies some information about the area where Saddam was hiding in," the sources said.

Saddam was captured based on information from a member of a family "close to him", Major General Raymond Odierno said.

Odierno, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division that captured Saddam, said that over the last 10 days soldiers had questioned "five to 10 members" of families "close to Saddam".

"Finally we got the ultimate information from one of these individuals," he said.

Lebanese security sources failed to confirm whether Samira was living in Beirut under an assumed name with her son, as was reported by the Sunday Times in London.

The Times report claimed that Samira spoke to her husband on the phone weekly and received letters from him regularly.

According to the paper, Saddam's wife told them that her husband gave her $US5 million ($A6.78 million) in cash plus gold and jewellery before sending her with his son Ali to the Syrian border after the US-led invasion of Iraq in March.

The paper said a representative of the Sunday Times met Samira in La Cottage, a restaurant in the ancient city of Baalbeck in eastern Lebanon. However, sources in Baalbeck told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) there was no La Cottage restaurant in the city.

During a press conference in Baghdad today, the US forces commander in Iraq, General Ricardo Sanchez, ignored a question as to whether the US had received information from Saddam's second wife, saying only, "We had intelligence information".

[OpusatFR]

Guess she wanted to remarry.

[dinok]

I tell you, if there had been no wife # 3 & #4 she may not have betrayed him. But then she may have nagged him to death and saved us the trouble.

Either way...GREAT DAY!!!

[Tijeras_Slim]

According to the paper, Saddam's wife told them that her husband gave her $US5 million in cash plus gold and jewellery

Only $5M? She obviously was pissed at her cheap ol' man. Give her a book deal.

[duckman]

Hell has no fury as a woman scorned.

[Vigilanteman]

This could be nothing more than speculation and conjecture. Nonetheless, it should be published far and wide. Every terrorist and terrorist enabler should be looking over their shoulder constantly and wonder which of their most trusted sidekicks is selling them out.

[vbmoneyspender]

ping

[camas]

so true

[Cicero]

My first thought was that there might be some connection with the Times interview posted here yesterday, in which this wife said she was in regular mail and phone contact with Saddam. I must admit that my first suspicion was that the U.S. already knew where he was and had him under surveillance, but decided to arrest him when this wife released the news to the press, for fear he might try to move to another location.

[Bon mots]

WIVES!!

Q: Your dog is barking to come in at the back door, and your wife is shouting to come in at the front door... which one do you let in?
A: The dog! Because when it gets in, it shuts up.

[Tamzee]

That $5 million belongs to the Iraqi people. They could use it to take down more statues of Sub-human Hussein.

[Zipporah]

I did think it was odd that Saddam was captured on the heels of the report that his wife said Saddam called her and wrote her frequently.

[expatpat]

Not the first woman to take her guy's money and then turn him in.

[Semper911]

Dead Wife Walking.

Why the hell wouldn't they protect the identity of their intel sources?

[blam]

"Only $5M? She obviously was pissed at her cheap ol' man. Give her a book deal."

She'll probably claim the $25M reward.

[Tijeras_Slim]

OK, its not like she's gonna get alimony.

[RightWhale]

which of their most trusted sidekicks is selling them out.

Tyrants trust no one. Gangs trust no one. Terrorists trust no one. The rest of these rats will live in crawlspaces in basements forever and never talk to each other again. They will dream of emerging from the sewers some night to slit throats and disappear again.

[af_vet_1981]

Why wouldn't they protect the identity of their intel sources?

How do you know that they are not ?

[Scenic Sounds]

She'll probably claim the $25M reward.

Wouldn't that be something?

[Semper911]

How do you know that they are not ?

Uh, maybe because I am reading about in the press? Somebody leaked it... hence my question.

But as someone said, maybe she'll get the $25 million reward. That should get her some plastic surgery and a nice new fake passport.