Ex-Marine Says Public Version of Saddam Capture Fiction - United Press Int

[grahamhgreen]

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.

Link -

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. this suprises me, how?

there is nothing about this war that has been on the up and up.

[wakeme2008]

2. :)

:hi: Welcome to DU

[classof56]

3. Interesting. Do you have a link?

Would like to read more. Don't recall having heard about the fierce battle before.

[grahamhgreen]

6. Link

<http://www.13wham.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=422B960A-26BA-4891-9E60-21C8818788D4>

[Wilms]

4. Here's a link to the story.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0310-06.htm

[imperial jedi]

5. no surprise here.

[NYC Liberal]

7. I remember this from a while ago and it didn't surprise me either.

[acmavm]

8. Jessica Lynch, Pat Tillman, the Brits spotting fearless leader's plane

on the way to his 'secret' visit with the troops in Iraq. Lies. All damn lies. Just like WMDs, the imminent threat, and the chemical and biological agents. All Lies. All damn lies.

I really truly hope that for some insane bizarre delusional reason bush** doesn't truly see himself as a sane, just, and moral human being. Because he is none of the above.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. don't forget **'s claim he saw the first plane hit the tower

on TV.

[acmavm]

13. Oh yes. I did forget that one. Apparently his Mommy never told him that

it was wrong to lie. That is was wrong to steal. And that causing the deaths of ten upon tens of thousands of people, our and theirs, is just about as bad as it can get.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

15. Don't mess up my beautiful mind with

this dreck!

[rzemanfl]

19. Missed the one about the Brits spotting AF1 being bullshit. Not

suprised, when and how did that come out? If you remember. Sou many lies, so little time.

[stevedeshazer]

24. It's all staged. Remember the Saddam statue being pulled down?

Staged.

[tavalon]

34. You know how I can tell when anyone in the Bush admin. is lying?

Their mouths are moving. Dead giveaway with these creatures.

[henslee]

10. If this is true... This is a huge story. And if someone died in

the process of his capture... and it was not ackowledged? What is the credibiltiy of this account?

[daleo]

11. Lots of us here thought it looked phony

Personally, I recall thinking the concrete cover over the spider hole didn't make sense - plus it looked like it was made out of styrofoam.

I wonder how this story will be received - it makes Saddam much more like "the lion of Iraq" (or whatever the phrase was), so I think it will be denied by the Pentagon and Bush administration.

[MurrayDelph]

21. It was never a spider-hole

It was an oubliette.

[toymachines]

27. Labrynth style

[Sydnie]

12. MORE Wag The Dog

"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.

Catapulting the Propoganda.

[Skittles]

14. we already knew this

yup

[BrotherBuzz]

16. This UPI story is from last May and isn't LBN

[PATRICK]

36. Yes this looks sloppy

It MIGHT have been the anniversary reminiscence by this ex-Marine but the article doesn't give a time.
A blunder (by ingnorance?) by the media in question more than by the poster.

I remember this too down here in the Memory Hole. Sometimes this stories forgotten because NEVER followed through upon, rise again to the surface, pop and disappear again without a trace of media curiosity.

Since the reissue of the story suggests ignorance of the old interview it seems very likely to swiftly go back down the same hole as the first one. Another indictment of the media in general and a caveat to all LBN posters about relying on their source.

[PurityOfEssence]

17. So Saddam WAS manly after all

Can you imagine Junior participating in a firefight? Hahahahahahaha.

[lumpy]

18. kick

another one to add to the phony roster of Bushco staged events

[deadmessengers]

20. As any Marine will tell you

There's no such thing as an ex-Marine :P

[alfredo]

22. It was just too perfect.

Looks like it was just another bit of managed news out of the junta.

[progressoid]

23. I'm shocked I tell ya. Shocked.

[Gregorian]

25. This, as well as Jessica Lynch

The phoney spidey hole story is at least a year old. But I'm glad it has resurfaced.

This administration has perpetrated more lies than days than just about anything that has ever come along. Amazing.

[robbedvoter]

26. A war started on lies, maintained by lies - will it be ended by the truth?

I was listening to its coverage on Pacifica radio - every single hit that kill innocents was blamed on Saddam - only to be proved within 24h that it was ours. Every day they were screaming: "We finally found WMD" only to have a quiet correction later "It was an ounce bag"
Hiding the coffins, Mishun Accomplished, the killing of the reporters, 16 words, Saddam and 911 - my head is exploding here!

[oneinok]

29. Will the lies ever stop?

It's just one lie after another.

[hwmnbn]

30. Hi oneinok, welcome to DU.....

:hi:

[newspeak]

28. what do you expect?

it runs in the family. Remember Desert Storm and the Iraqis were on the Saudi border ready to attack Saudi Arabia, then the godless Iraqis took out those poor Kuwaiti babies out of the incubators. All lies--every bit a lie. And those in America ate up the BS and didn't see the small corrections afterward. All it takes for the initial lie to be told over and over again. When it is found to be false you can find the correction at the back of the newspaper. oh, by the way, love the actor Graham Greene!

[Crunchy Frog]

31. I thought so.

Wasn't the foliage in the pictures wrong for the time of year he was supposedly captured, or something?

[Bushy Being Born]

32. Here's the supposed hole

Does anyone have a better picture? I don't remember if I ever actually saw a photo of Saddam IN the hole.

[tavalon]

33. Oh, goodness

If that's a lie, then what else have they lied to us about. :eyes:

I actually heard this version a long, long time ago. It's coming around again. The "spider hole" was always too over the top to be believable. But then, so is a plastic turkey.

[Judi Lynn]

35. Hoping EVERYONE will learn about this.

I could swear I heard there was a "first hand account" by a G.I. claiming he personally had punched Saddam Hussein while bringing him outta the "spider hole." I'd sure like to get a look at that one, considering the fact it's probably a creation of Rumsfeld's Pentagon propaganda mill.

Here's a FOX report, and you know how honest THEY are!

Saddam Hussein Captured Near Tikrit
Sunday, December 14, 2003

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. forces converged on a farmhouse near Tikrit and discovered the Ace of Spades literally in the hole -- Saddam Hussein with a pistol, hiding in a dirt pit 6 feet in the ground.

Without any shots fired, American troops pulled a bearded and haggard Saddam from his hiding place near his hometown, U.S. officials announced Sunday morning. Hours later, when President Bush addressed the nation, he declared that "a dark and painful era is over."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," L. Paul Bremer (search), the U.S. administrator in Iraq, told reporters in the first statement on the capture. "The tyrant is a prisoner."
(snip)

"He was caught like a rat," said Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno (search) of the 4th Infantry Division at a separate press conference in Tikrit. “It was ironic that he was in a hole in the ground across the river from the great palaces he built using all the money he robbed from the Iraqi people.”
(snip/)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105727,00.html



Hey, Fox's spider hole is different from the hole I saw on CNN. What's that all about?