Posted on 10/02/2003 12:02:22 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan
The discovery of Saddam Hussein's secret diary in a bombed-out bunker in Baghdad proves it beyond the shadow of a doubt: The Iraqi strongman was not only a ruthless tyrant who ruled his country with an iron fist, but he was also a frustrated rock musician, a nerd who fretted about his manhood, a secret admirer of President George W. Bush, a cannibal who feasted on human flesh -- and a closet transvestite who, in his heart of hearts, preferred silk panties, cocktail dresses and feather boas to the Army greens he forced himself to wear in public.
And that's not all. Peppering the handwritten, "chicken scratch" text of the 247-page document -- portions of which were shredded by a Coalition bunker bomb -- are hundreds of startling glimpses into the life, mind and soul of the most vicious dictator to hit the world stage since Nazi madman Adolf Hitler took control of Germany in 1934.
"This is an astonishing self-portrait of a man who for many in the world is evil incarnate," a CIA analyst who has seen the diary told reporters in Washington. "The fact that he thrived on terror, torture and death is common knowledge -- we all saw that as he imposed his will on millions of innocent people as the self-proclaimed leader of Iraq.
"But the idea of him secretly worrying about his masculinity and prowess as a lover, wishing that he had learned to play keyboards and sing with a rock band, pining for a love connection with first lady Laura Bush and dreaming of a gay old night on the town with French President Jacques Chirac, is something nobody expected. "I thought he spent his private hours pulling the wings off flies and watching his goons torture innocent women and children with cattle prods and stun guns. "But now we know the truth. Saddam was vicious and ruthless, yes. But he also was a pea-brained idiot, a pervert -- and crazy as a loon."
The source declined to say precisely when and where the leather-bound diary was discovered, although it is widely believed to have been found by U.S. troops just days after they made their first forays into the heart of Baghdad.
According to the source, both CIA and Army intelligence analysts agree "beyond any reasonable doubt" that the journal "is written in Saddam's peculiar, childlike scrawl" and is, in fact, "authentic."
It begins with an entry dated January 17, 1998, in which he slapped himself on the wrist for ordering the decapitation of a childhood friend who lightheartedly joked that Saddam "looked like he was putting on a little weight in his old age."
It ends with a scribbled note about the "bad chicken" he ate while Coalition forces bombed Baghdad on April 2, 2003 -- giving him what the CIA source snidely calls "the mother of all stomach pains and a serious case of the trots."
In between are several sacrilegious references to the Koran, the Islamic holy book to which many of Saddam's former subjects are devoted. Besides calling the Koran "a bunch of fairy tales and nonsense," Saddam filled the margins of his journals with obscene doodles of Muslim holy men.
Neither the CIA nor the Pentagon will discuss the diary on the record pending a go-ahead from the White House. Privately, however, insiders confirm that "significant entries" will be made public in weeks and months to come, possibly by the president himself.
Here, from the source, are excerpts as translated by the CIA:
His gay nights with French President Jacques Chirac. In an entry dated Aug. 5, 6, 7, 8, 2001, Saddam writes: "Jacques is my friend, my lover, my confidante. His kisses are like the French wines we drink -- sweet, and fine. Our nights are filled with love for one another. I wish he never had to leave me, but the world wouldn't understand what we have between us." His bizarre obsession with Michael Jackson. Saddam referred to the reclusive but wildly popular pop icon in numerous diary entries, including one dated Sept. 20, 2001, that read: "He is a man of enormous and extraordinary talents. But how does he go walking on the moon, how does he do the moonwalk? My Michael moves like an angel. I would kill everyone who dislikes him." His incredible plan to escape the world's retribution by secretly escaping to Cuba -- where he expected a warm welcome from fellow dictator Fidel Castro. "Fidel and I are soul mates," he wrote on March 17, 2003. "In a few days I will have one of my look-alikes go to dinner in Baghdad, while I slip out and go where they understand me."
Why he loves the taste of human flesh. In a diary entry dated March 22, 1999, Saddam extolled the virtues of eating human flesh, especially flesh stripped from infants who were gutted alive: "Cannibal cultures have the right idea. Human flesh is more powerful than all other meats. When I eat the flesh of fresh babies, I am energized and joyous for weeks. The taste is exquisite, like tender marinated lamb."
The wild tattoo he doesn't want the world to see. In several diary entries Saddam talks about the Laura Bush tattoo over his heart. "It is true that I am most intrigued by this woman who can control with a smile or a coy shake of her tresses the Great Satan (President Bush). But she can never be mine. I should forget her and remove this image (tattoo) over my heart. But I can't get her out of my mind."
What he really thinks about Osama Bin Laden -- and President Bush. In a post-September 11 entry, Saddam pontificates on Bin Laden and Bush: "Bush is a great leader but he is evil -- EVIL -- and he must be destroyed. And I must be the one to destroy him, because Osama cannot. Osama is a coward who hides behind his followers rather than lead them as Bush and I do. Osama is just a whimpering mama's boy born into wealth. And it shows."
Secret torment over his tiny wee-wee. While parading around Baghdad firing rifles and ordering executions like a "big dog," Saddam bemoaned his shrunken manhood in a secret diary entry dated March 11, 1999: "Why me? Why me? My own sons are endowed like big, strong animals and I am so small. My lovers laugh at me behind my back. I have heard they call me 'the pencil.'
Why he wanted to become a rock star. In a diary entry dated June 2, 1998, Saddam wrote: "If they could see me on stage, if they could hear me sing and play the piano or drums, they would see I am a passionate man, a loving man, a fun man. Saddam! Saddam! Saddam! I'd knock them dead. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Why he ordered agents to kill an unnamed friend's bride -- on their wedding day. In a diary entry dated Nov. 19, 2002, Saddam wrote: "Kill her. Kill her with Sarin gas! Didn't she know when she married my friend, she married me, too? Foolish woman."
The all-American love child he doesn't want you to know about. According to a diary entry dated Jan. 30, 1999, Saddam fathered at least one baby out of wedlock -- with the wife of an American oil tycoon. "Doesn't he (the unnamed oil man) realize the boy looks like me? Maybe he doesn't want to know. But he has to. The boy is my son and one day I will march into America with an army to claim him."
His plan to nuke the pyramids, Mt. Rushmore -- and the Eiffel Tower. Saddam's ego was without bounds, and in a diary entry dated Aug. 12, 2002, he dreamed of a world where all eyes were on him: "The pyramids and Mt. Rushmore, the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower . . . I will destroy them all in a show of technological might they do not believe I have. They will see my power in a mushroom cloud of death and devastation. Then they will know who I am." The shocking real reason he developed weapons of mass destruction. In a diary entry dated May 12, 2000, Saddam revealed the true intent behind Iraqi programs to develop weapons of mass destruction: "I will conquer and enslave all Arabs wherever they live and work -- all Arabs will bow before mighty Saddam. By the holy name of Allah, everyone else, all infidels, will die."
Why he dressed in women's clothes. Western journalists have long suspected that Saddam was gay, but nobody realized he was a transvestite, too. As he wrote in an undated diary entry, "I love being a woman. I love wearing women's clothes. I love my glittering dresses and feathers. Oh, how I adore the undergarments. I feel pretty in my fancy silks. And vulnerable, too. Sometimes I just want a strong man to hold me in his arms and whisper to me, 'Everything's going to be O.K., Saddam. Everything's going to be O.K.'"
Strange how those traits seem to all go hand in hand.
ROFL Funniest thing I have read today.
Why not?
Well, monsieur, it does explain a lot...
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