The many faces of Saddam
2002-09-30 09:18
Berlin - A German forensic pathologist said on Friday he can prove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has used at least three men as doubles for public appearances over the last four years.
Dieter Buhmann said that, using new technology, he examined
some 450 images of people purporting to be Saddam from videos of
public appearances and was able to determine without a doubt that
the Iraqi leader is not always what he seems.
"The anatomical specificity of the faces are different," Buhmann said. "One, for example, has a very large middle face. The distance from one ear to the other is very much different to Saddam Hussein. And in another case the region under the mouth is too small and not high enough."
Saddam's elaborate security precautions have been widely
reported in the Arab press, which has said he makes frequent use of doubles, and also will never spend two nights in a row in the same building.
Buhmann, a pathologist at the University of the Saarland in
Homburg since 1979, said he presented his technique of comparing
facial features using overlays at an FBI forum in 2000, but did not know if US authorities had adopted the technique.
He took on the Saddam project for a German public television
station. - Sapa-AP
- SAPA