US fabricated details of Saddam Hussein's capture: Former interpreter
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A former Iraqi interpreter for the US military says reports of Saddam's hiding place were fabricated at the time.
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Iraqi former leader Saddam Hussein after his capture by US troops (Getty Images)
According to a former Iraqi interpreter who served with the US military, alleged reports that US forces seized former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein while he was hiding in an underground tunnel were "fabricated".
US lies unveiled
After Hussein's arrest on December 13, 2003, the Pentagon stated that he was discovered hiding in an eight-foot-deep tunnel beneath a farm. However, the interpreter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, refuted the US claims and said Hussein was asleep in a room at the time of his arrest and had no idea what he was saying or what was going on.
The interpreter told Sputnik that "after his arrest, the situation was fabricated so that the American administration, headed by Bush, could get out [unscathed], so that the coalition he had created against Iraq would not be defeated, so that the US authority would not suffer because of the attack on Iraq under the pretext of having weapons of mass destruction and imminent threat to peace."
Hussein would not have been able to get inside the tunnel, as it was too narrow and he was already weak at the time, the interpreter added.
According to the source, "I was wearing a bulletproof vest, I took it off and was able to forcefully squeeze myself into the hole, I could also get out with difficulty."
The US loots millions of dollars
The location where Saddam was staying when detained by the Americans contained at least 17 boxes stuffed with millions of dollars.
"There was a cattle shed 300 meters [980 feet] across from the room where the president lived. This is based on the words of a soldier since I was forbidden to approach the shed because of the increased security measures. He said that 17 huge crates were found in the cattle shed, they were gigantic and they contained dollars – an estimated several million. There were also gold bars and jewelry but in a separate box next to Hussein," the interpreter revealed.
Each crate, according to the interpreter, could fit up to 9 million dollars and all the crates were seized by the US. Where they were taken, and where they ended up is still a mystery.
Hussein was executed on December 30, 2006, after the United States invaded Iraq under the guise of looking for weapons of mass destruction that the nation was purportedly harboring. Such weapons were never proven to exist.
