'Fatigued' Saddam interrogated
2003-12-16 13:04
Washington - Under US interrogation, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has so far denied leading or planning attacks in Iraq and the existence of weapons of mass destruction, The New York Times newspaper said on Tuesday.
US officials, however, were discounting much of the limited information Saddam was providing and expected it would take weeks or months before he would begin to answer "more candidly," said the daily quoting unnamed US officials who referred to reports in briefings transmitted from Iraq.
After being captured on Saturday, Saddam was being interrogated at an undisclosed location by members of the US Central Command, Central Intelligence Agency and Defence Intelligence Agency, US officials told the daily.
He was being questioned on substantive issues, the officials said, because his resistance to interrogation seemed low - he appeared mentally and physically fatigued.
The interrogators were also keen on getting any information on the ongoing guerrilla war in Iraq, to help prevent more attacks or disrupt militant cells, the officials said.
One US official said Saddam "compliant in the sense that he is responding, as opposed to being obstinate and not speaking at all. But he is not helpful."
A senior US official said Saddam "has given no indication that he will be a helpful person in getting information," adding: "that is what we expected."
A member of the Iraqi Governing Council who was able to meet with Saddam shortly after his capture said he had found the toppled Iraqi leader unrepentant and without remorse, adding that "sometimes there was a hint of defiance."
Another senior US official told The New York Times that Saddam was being afforted protections granted prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention, but cautioned that the status could change if it is determined he played a role in attacks against non-military targets after May 1 this year.
That was the date on which US President George W Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq.