Saddam reading material: Feodor Dostoevski's "Crime and Punishment."
Soldier nearly threw grenade into hide-out
By Seattle Times news services
ADWAR, Iraq — Saddam Hussein crawled out with his hands above his head, just as a Special Forces soldier was about to throw a grenade into the hole where he was hiding, U.S. military officers said yesterday.
"I am Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq. And I'm willing to negotiate," the former dictator said in English when he stepped out, according to Maj. Bryan Reed of the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat team, which conducted the raid with the Special Forces team.
A soldier replied: "President Bush sends his regards."
The exchange was recounted yesterday as Reed led reporters on a tour of Saddam's hideaway.
The military said Saddam appeared disoriented when he emerged from the shaft. His sister, Nawal Ibrahim al-Hasa, said that can be explained.
A view from inside the hole where deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured Saturday on a farm near his hometown of Tikrit. The hole also contained a ventilation fan and a pipe that rose to the outside to provide air.
"Saddam Hussein, hero of Arabs, would never surrender like this. He must have been subjected to drugs or nerve gas to paralyze him, for he is not one to surrender in this humiliating manner," she told the London-based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi by telephone from an unidentified Arab capital.
Saddam had a pistol when he surrendered; two AK-47s rifles were found at the scene. Two men on the property, possibly his bodyguards, were captured without a fight.
The shaft that led to Saddam's hiding place was about 4 feet wide, making it easy for even a large man to squeeze into the hole. It led to a coffin-wide, mud-covered cubbyhole where a 6-foot-tall person could stretch his legs.
"Someone could probably stay down for as long as need be with food," said Command Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Wilson. "It's not the comforts of home. You can sit up and lay down, and that's about it."
The hole, braced by strips of lumber, had a fluorescent light at one end. An electrical wire connected it to the house. At the other end of the hole was a white ventilation fan. A long, football-thick pipe rose from the hole to suck in air.
Yesterday, an empty black plastic bag, similar to ones local vendors sell fruit in, was all that remained.
It was not known how long Saddam lived in the adjacent 8-by-14-foot hut, which was crammed with two rusty beds piled with thick, fuzzy blankets in clashing colors, but it was apparent he had spent some time there.
The bedroom was filled with men's clothes, including new shirts and socks still in their wrappers, suggesting he had shopped recently. There was a pair of shiny black leather slippers with gold ornaments. A plastic bottle of Lacoste Pour Homme cologne sat on the shelf.
The shaft leading to Saddam's hiding place was about 4 feet wide, making it accessible for even a large man.
About 20 Arabic-language books were on a small bookshelf. There was a book on interpreting dreams, volumes of classical Arabic poetry titled "Discipline" and "Sin," and Feodor Dostoevski's "Crime and Punishment."
The kitchen was nothing more than a tin-roofed shed attached to the bedroom. The floor was blackened with dirt. Rusted kettles sat on top of a gas stove. A red bucket contained flour. There were tinned foods, jars of honey and some pastry.
A small refrigerator contained a few Bounty candy bars, hot dogs and a can of 7UP. There was old bread on a counter, leftover rice in a pot and dirty dishes in the sink.
"I expected it to be neater at least," said Army Spec. Roy Yoo.
On a shelf above the stove, there was soap, a canister of coffee, mouthwash, a mirror and two Mars candy bars.
A gold-plated mirror hung in a corner. At the back was a small, closet-size bathroom that also served as a shower. Half-eaten pomegranates and orange peels were in the wastebasket.
"Nothing fancy, no valuables. Only thing that denotes class really are the pastries," said Capt. Joe Munger, apparently discounting the $750,000 in U.S. bills found in a chest on the property.
The building also contained signs of a man not used to roughing it: two cans of Raid, a fly swatter and antibiotics.
Outside the hut, a ditch appeared to serve as a latrine. The yard was littered with garbage, plastic bags, empty bottles, rotten fruit and a broken chair. There were two tents on the property, a chicken coop and a stable that was home to a single cow.
"What we found surprised us," said Col. James Hickey, commander of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and leader of the raid. "We didn't expect it would be so humble and simple."
The compound was a far cry from the silk-and-feather excess of the presidential palace that Saddam fled when U.S. troops took Baghdad last spring. Still, it was clear someone had gone to great trouble to ensure that the ousted leader had all the basics. The house had running water pumped in from the river, and electricity from a generator powered its fluorescent lights.
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