"Shaking his hand was a crime"
Friday, February 28, 2003
O.C. Iraqis say Saddam used his usual rhetoric aimed at Arab public opinion
By ANN PEPPER
The Orange County Register
Several Orange County Iraqis said Thursday that Saddam Hussein's demeanor and use of formal rather than Iraqi-tinged Arabic in an interview with CBS' Dan Rather showed a man determined to fight to the end.
He was well prepared for the session, answering the questions with typical rhetoric, said Talib Aziz, an Irvine political scientist.
"Just looking at his face and his tone in Arabic when he speaks he is not in some kind of psychological fear," Aziz said. "He spoke in a formal Arabic that all Arabic speakers could understand, so his message was to the Arab street" - not just to Iraqis.
But most Middle Eastern media ignored the interview, with Saddam answering predictable questions in predictable ways, said Mazin Yousif, a Santa Ana businessman and anti- Saddam activist.
"Was he going to say, 'Yes, I have a whole lot of weapons of mass destruction in my basement?' No. So who took advantage of that interview? Saddam did," Yousif said.
Yousif said he believes Saddam chose Rather instead of other TV reporters who'd been pursuing an interview as the one who would go easiest on him.
"I guess Rather wanted to put another notch in his belt," he said. "Shaking his hand was a crime. He shouldn't be treated like a statesman."
Saman Shali, originally from Iraqi Kurdistan and now the owner of a Lake Forest communications company, said the interview showed only that Saddam is full of himself.
"The talk of debating President Bush!" Shali said with irritation. "The issue is not debating, it is disarmament."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT US: (714) 704-3777 or apepper@ocregister.com |
