Saddam's Secrets
SADDAM'S
SECRETS
IRAQI DENERAL
GEORGES SADA
AN INSIDER EXPOSES
PLANS TO DESTROY
ISRAEL, HIDE WMDs,
AND CONTROL
THE ARAB WORLD
SADDAM'S
SECRETS
HOW AN IRAQI GENERAL DEFIED AND SURVIVED SADDAM HUSSEIN
IRAQI DENERAL
GEORGES SADA
WITH JIM NELSON BLACK
Saddam’s Secrets
Copyright © 2006 by Georges Sada.
Published by Integrity Publishers, a division of Integrity Media, Inc., 5250 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brent-wood, TN 37027.
HELPING PEOPLE WORLD WIDE EXPERIENCE the MANIFEST PRESENCE of GOD.
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The New King James Version® (NKJV®). Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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TIMETABLE OF KEY EVENTS
Pre-modern history Land of Iraq ruled by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks.
800-750 BC Ministry of prophet Jonah in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
First century AD Christian gospel comes to what is today Iraq.
634 AD Arab conquest of what is today Iraq; introduction of Muslim religion.
762 Baghdad made capital of Iraq and the Islamic caliphate.
1700s-1800s Iraq a battleground between Ottoman Turks and Persians.
World War I Iraq taken from Ottoman control and put under British mandate.
1921 League of Nations and British name Faisal I, a Hashemite, king of Iraq.
1932 British mandate (governing oversight of Iraq) ends.
1933 King Faisal I dies, and his son Ghazi succeeds him.
1958 King Faisal II overthrown by military coup; Gen. Abdel Karim Qassem becomes the new president.
Georges Sada enters Iraqi Air Academy after high school.
1959 Saddam leads a failed assassination attempt on Gen. Qassem.
On February 9 Cadet Georges Sada begins pilot training in Russia.
1959-1963 Saddam remains in hiding in Syria.
1963 Gen. Qassem ousted by Col. Abdel-Salam Aref.
1964-1965 Georges Sada sent for advanced instrument training in Texas.
1966 Col. Abdel-Salam Aref is killed in a helicopter crash; he is succeeded as president by his brother, Abdel-Rahman Aref.
July 17, 1968 Revolution in Iraq; Abdel-Rahman Aref ousted; Gen. Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr made president; appoints Saddam Hussein as his chief bodyguard, and later his deputy. Soon Saddam demands officer’s rank in the army and is appointed a four-star general despite his lack of military training.
July 17, 1979 Saddam forces President Al-Bakr out of power; Saddam becomes president and prime minister of Iraq.
1980 Iraq goes to war with Iran.
April 8, 1980 Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Amina assassinated by order of Saddam to squelch any thought of religious revolution in Iraq.
June 7, 1981 Israeli F-16s destroy Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactor.
1983 Kurds attacked with chemical weapons by Saddam; eight thousand lives lost.
1986 Georges Sada involuntarily retired from Iraqi Air Force.
1988 Halabja attacked by Saddam’s forces with chemical weapons; 5,000 killed; 182,000 Kurds killed at Anfal.
August 8, 1988 Iraq’s war with Iran ends; Saddam voluntarily ceases hostilities and signs compromise agreements that were very costly to Iraq.
August 2, 1990 Saddam orders the invasion of Kuwait.
Air Vice Marshal Georges Sada is recalled to active duty in Iraqi Air Force and put in charge of POWs.
January 17, 1991 Beginning of first Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm); General Sada escapes missile strike on headquarters by seventeen seconds.
February 28, 1991 End of first Gulf War.
March 6, 1991 Coalition prisoners freed from Iraqi prisons.
1996 U.N. Oil-for-Food program begins.
1998 Georges Sada becomes involved with the International Centre for Peace and Reconciliation and related activities in Iraq.
March 19, 2003 Start of Operation Iraqi Freedom to remove Saddam from power.
April 9, 2003 End of war; statue of Saddam torn down in Baghdad’s Fardus Square.
December 13, 2003 Saddam Hussein is found hiding in a spider hole.
February 24, 2004 Signing of the “Baghdad Religious Accord” at Babylon Hotel, and formation of the Iraqi Institute for Peace (IIP) in Iraq; Georges Sada named as executive secretary of IIP.
October 15, 2005 New Iraqi constitution approved by 79 percent of voters in national referendum-hailed as the first democratic national charter in Arab history.
December 15, 2005 The first constitutional elections in Iraqi history to establish a National Assembly.
CONTENTS
Foreword by Col. David Eberly
Prologue
Introduction: A Man of the People
PART I
Chapter 1: A World of Change
Chapter 2: Saddam’s Rise to Power
Chapter 3: Betrayal and Revenge
Chapter 4: A New Beginning
PART II
Chapter 5: A Sudden Change of Plans
Chapter 6: The Consequences of War
Chapter 7: Damage Assessment
Chapter 8: Beating the System
PART III
Chapter 9: The War of Liberation
Chapter 10: Insurgency and Survival
Chapter 11: The Way Forward
Chapter 12: A Time for Peace
Notes
Acknowledgments
FOREWORD
You are about to learn some of the previously unpublished secrets of the most tyrannical leader since Adolf Hitler, as told by a most courageous man: Georges Sada, retired Iraqi general, fighter pilot, and a man of faith who faced certain death at the hands of Saddam’s mad son, Qusay.
Though we came from worlds apart, our lives crossed during the darkest days of the first Gulf War. I had waited twenty years for the opportunity to enter the battle skies in the service of my country. As a United States Air Force pilot, I grew up in the shadow of those who served in Vietnam. Squadron assignments in Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East exposed me to all aspects of fighter tactics, and I accumulated more than 3,400 flying hours. But like most airmen, I never thought much about the prospect of being shot down by enemy fire.
Then in early August 1990, as part of the U.S. response to Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait, I was deployed to southwest Asia, and subsequently participated in the opening air strike by coalition forces. On the third night of the war, January 19, 1991, the unimagin-able happened and the F-15E Strike Eagle I was flying was hit by a surface-to-air missile near the town of Al Qaim in northwest Iraq. In an instan
t, through a brilliant white flash, I was transformed from hunter to hunted.
I managed to evade capture for three nights and even made it to the Syrian border. But I was eventually taken prisoner at gunpoint, and after two days, I was taken to the POW compound in Baghdad. There, in an underground bunker, I was led blindfolded to the interrogation room. Suddenly I found myself in the presence of a man who, despite the power he had over me, still seemed to respect my human dignity.
As I reported in my book, Faith Beyond Belief, death threats were common during the days and weeks that followed, and the wrath of the guards at the intelligence headquarters and the Abu Ghraib Prison was often demoralizing. During forty-three days in Saddam’s prisons, my primary mission was just staying alive, but as the ranking POW, I also had to defend the rights of the others and insist on humane treatment for them as well. Locked away, where daylight and darkness were just another part of an endless nightmare, my faith sustained me and gave me the courage to face the challenges beyond my cell door.
The book in your hands is an amazing story from the other side of the blindfold. Georges Sada, who had been recalled from retirement after the attack on Kuwait, was Saddam Hussein’s special advisor and the man Saddam put in charge of prisoners of war. A fighter pilot throughout his long and distinguished career, Gen. Sada1 had not only been tested in battle, but he had faced Saddam’s wrath on more than one occasion himself.
In late 2004, thirteen years after that first formal interrogation, I spoke with Georges Sada, and discovered that he was the man on the other side of the blindfold. Only then did I understand the source of his strength and the respect that I had sensed from him that night. This man, a former air vice marshal in the Iraqi Air Force, had held my life in his hands. But it wasn’t until our first telephone conversation that I understood the risks he had taken to save me and my fellow prisoners of war from a swift and certain death at the hands of Saddam’s son, Qusay.
Our friendship has grown since that time, and I have learned first-hand of Georges Sada’s remarkable journey. As the bombing of Baghdad intensified, Qusay had ordered him to execute all the pilots. But Georges wouldn’t do it. He argued that the rights accorded to prisoners under the Geneva Convention were inviolable, and by the grace of God he was able to convince Saddam that the captured pilots must not be killed. Nevertheless, he was arrested on January 25, 1991, by the Republican Guard and held prisoner under the threat of death.
In the pages that follow, you will discover the answers to many questions about Saddam—who he was, what he was really like, and what he was doing to terrorize the world. The book explains how this brutal tyrant was able to deceive the world for so long, and how he was able to expand his power and control beyond all logical limits. It was a world of extremes, of revenge and hatred, and of incredible cunning and duplicity; yet, Saddam Hussein trusted Georges Sada because he was different from all the other advisors that surrounded him.
An Assyrian and a Christian with roots that go back to Bible times, Georges was not a member of the Baath Party and he was not interested in the politics of power. Unlike most of the officers in Saddam’s inner circle, General Sada had no ax to grind and no political ambitions. Speaking the truth to Saddam was always risky, but somehow Georges managed to do it without losing his own head.
Now that I know the man who was once my jailer, I can tell you that Georges Sada is an honest and honorable man. As senior advisor to the National Security Council of the new government in Iraq, he has been recognized in his own country and by leaders in many countries as a man of remarkable character. He is a man of his word, and the Word lives in him. And perhaps most remarkable of all, he is a faithful witness to the last days of one of the most tyrannical regimes of modern times.
I am delighted that you will have the opportunity in these pages to learn secrets of the Iraqi dictator that few men could share in such a way. By coming forward now—not because he sought to tell this story, but because he was persuaded to do so by others—he has again put his own life at risk. It takes enormous courage to do something like this. But being too transparent in naming names, he could also put the lives of others at risk, and this is why he has chosen not to give the names of his family members and certain others in this account.
As a fighter pilot myself, I also recognize another characteristic in Georges that may need some explaining to an American audience. Gen. Sada is a true son of the Middle East. He doesn’t mince words, and he speaks of his exploits as a pilot, a military officer, a top advisor, and now as a leader in the peace and reconciliation movement, with a directness that may at first seem brash or boastful. But I can assure you he is a gentleman in every sense of the word, and I hope you will find the candor and directness of his words refreshing.
Whenever I’ve been asked to speak about my experiences in the Gulf War, I often say that I harbor no ill will for the Iraqi people. We were at war and I fully appreciate the situation they were in. Today I respect the people of Iraq for what they’ve endured, and I understand the degree to which Saddam had corrupted everything he touched. As Georges Sada puts it, Saddam was a genius at doing evil, and for a time he transformed that nation into an evil empire. There is no question that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and without the intervention of American and coalition forces in 1991 and 2003, the world would eventually have suffered even greater disasters. The evidence of that is documented in these pages.
I heartily commend this important book to the American audience, and to the many others around the world who will encounter the life and legacy of General Georges Sada for the first time. This is a story you will not soon forget.
— David Eberly, Colonel, USAF (Retired)
PROLOGUE
One of Saddam’s secrets was so incendiary that, had it come to pass, it would have set the entire Middle East ablaze, if not the whole world.
In November 1990 I made a frightening discovery: Saddam had ordered the air force to begin planning for a major aerial assault against Israel. If the Americans were going to attack and force him to give up Kuwait, he said, then our pilots would be ready to attack Israel as soon as the first rockets hit, and they would extract a heavy price. They would attack in two massive, back-to-back assaults with three types of chemical weapons: the nerve gas Tabun, as well as Sarin 1 and Sarin 2.
The mission was to deploy ninety-eight of our best fighter aircraft—Russian Sukhois, French Mirages, and the MiGs—fueled and equipped to penetrate the Israeli borders through Jordan and Syria, but without telling either of those countries that we were coming. Clearly this would be an unauthorized invasion of Syrian and Jordanian air space, with payloads of deadly toxins. I was shocked that such an order could have been given; but I knew that if this mission ever took place, crossing restricted air space would be the least of our worries.
A few days after I first learned about the plans, I got a call from the palace. They told me that Saddam was asking for me personally, and he wanted to see me in his office right away. So, again, I went to meet with the president, and I was surprised to see that the entire general staff was already assembled in the conference room when I arrived.
Saddam had checked me out many times, and I think he respected me. I know why he trusted me: he couldn’t trust most of his generals to tell him the truth because of their fear of him and their allegiance to a religious or political agenda. Either they would say whatever Saddam wanted to hear, or they would say what was politically advantageous to their own people. So he would often say to me, “At least Georges will tell me the truth.” And even Saddam occasionally needed to hear the truth.
I didn’t know why he had called me that day, but I knew it was going to be something very important. Several of the officers in the room were of higher rank than I was, but it was prearranged for me to sit right in front of Saddam. By right, my place should have been on the second row, but he had instructed his aides to put me on the first row, so that’s where I sat.
When everyone was se
ated, Saddam made a few remarks and then he looked at me and said, “Georges, do you know why you’re here?” I said, “No, sir, but it’s a great pleasure to be here.” He said, “I’ve decided that the air force will attack Israel.” Suddenly I knew what this was all about. Although I had no idea where the conversation would end up, it was clear that Saddam was looking for justification for a decision he had already made.
So I asked, “Attack Israel, sir?” and he said, “Yes, that’s right.” He gave me a moment to reflect on that, and then he began asking me all sorts of questions.
The first question he asked was surprising. He said, “Georges, who’s stronger, Israel or Iraq?” I knew what he wanted me to say, but I had to be realistic. After all, the reason Saddam had called for me was because he knew I would answer him honestly and correctly. So I paused for a moment and said, “Sir, what you’re talking about is the difference between men who are blind and men who can see.”
He looked at me quizzically and said, “What do you mean, Georges?” I said, “Sir, there are two groups, one which is blind and one which can see, and they’re preparing for battle.”
“Yes,” he said, “and which is which? Which ones are blind and which ones can see?” “Unfortunately, sir,” I told him, “we’re the blind ones and the Israelis are the ones who can see.” With that, Saddam erupted. “Why!?”
Believe me, I knew I was on shaky ground. Many good men had died for words less offensive than the ones I’d just spoken. Saddam had personally shot and killed high-ranking officers on the spot, and he had ordered men to be executed for thoughts or actions he only imagined. So before I answered the question, I decided to make one more defensive maneuver, and I said, “Sir, if I speak the truth to you now, will you, according to the custom of the Arabs, give me permission to speak freely, with immunity?” In other words, I was saying, Will you promise not to shoot the messenger?