clark must be on saddam's payroll also.Why else would he defend the butcher of baghdad ?
Sunday April 6, 2003; 10:46 p.m. EDT
Defector Details Saddam's Torture Techniques
An Iraqi defector with detailed knowledge of Saddam Hussein's decades-long record of torture and human rights abuses has stepped forward to challenge the claims of premier peace activist, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who has been telling audiences that reports of the Iraqi dictator's brutality are greatly exaggerated
On Thursday, Maha Yusef, a former Iraqi citizen who escaped from Saddam's clutches along with her husband in the 1980s, described several executions that were preceded by the most gruesome and extreme methods of torture - episodes that were personally supervised by Saddam or his son Uday.
Yusef described the plight of one of Saddam's own relatives, Dr. Rahji al Tikriti, who had escaped to Amman, Jordan in a blatant show of defiance against the Baath Party regime.
The Iraqi dictator sent word to his relative that, "if you come back to Iraq, you'll be fine, we'll forgive you," Yusef told WLIE-NY Radio's Mike Siegel.
The relative agreed. Yusef explained what happened next:
"As soon as he arrived back in Baghdad Dr. Rahji was taken to jail. He was starved for a few days. Then, while Saddam was meeting with his cabinet, he said, 'I would like you to come out and let's look at this courtyard'"
Dr. Rahji, meanwhile, had been dragged from his jail cell, stripped naked and marched to the center of the courtyard - in full view of the gathering.
As recounted by the Iraqi defector, "Four or five Doberman Pinschers who hadn't eaten for a while - [Saddam] actually had them go and eat this gentleman alive."
"He loves doing these kind of acts," Yusef told Siegel, because it sends a message to other dissidents.
The defector-turned-American citizen said her account of Saddam ordering his own relative's execution by dog mauling is "a well known story" in Iraq, and sourced her own version to several Iraqis with intimate knowledge of Baath Party brutality.
Yusef detailed another execution ordered by Saddam's high-living son Uday, who killed "a beautiful Iraqi woman" who made the mistake of telling her hairdresser that he had invited her to a party at the presidential palace.
Saddam's secret police were tipped that the woman was bragging she was Uday's girlfriend.
Upon arriving at the palace, Uday had the woman stripped naked in front of other party guests, slathered her with honey and thrown into a room full of bees, where she was stung to death.
"Obviously he learned these little techniques from his father," Yusef told Siegel.
The former Iraqi citizen detailed yet another gruesome episode that dates back to the Iran-Iraq war, where Saddam asked his cabinet if anyone disagreed with his battle strategy. When the Health Minister suggested it might be a good idea to declare a cease fire, Saddam invited him to step into an adjoining room.
Then he personally shot him in the head.
The brutality didn't end there. Believing that her husband had been jailed rather than executed, the Health Minister's wife appealed for his release. She was ecstatic when Saddam agreed to her request.
"First thing in the morning she opens her door and she sees this plastic bag on her doorstep," Yusef said. "Inside was her husband's body - cut into many pieces."
Apprised last week of Maha Yusef's account of the dog attack execution, peace activist Clark said, "I've worked with problems of defection and informers for years and years and they're not generally reliable. You have to be careful about who you're talking to. I also recognize propaganda. And I hear more garbage and propaganda coming out about how evil the Iraqi people are."
Sunday April 6, 2003; 10:46 p.m. EDT
Defector Details Saddam's Torture Techniques
An Iraqi defector with detailed knowledge of Saddam Hussein's decades-long record of torture and human rights abuses has stepped forward to challenge the claims of premier peace activist, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who has been telling audiences that reports of the Iraqi dictator's brutality are greatly exaggerated
On Thursday, Maha Yusef, a former Iraqi citizen who escaped from Saddam's clutches along with her husband in the 1980s, described several executions that were preceded by the most gruesome and extreme methods of torture - episodes that were personally supervised by Saddam or his son Uday.
Yusef described the plight of one of Saddam's own relatives, Dr. Rahji al Tikriti, who had escaped to Amman, Jordan in a blatant show of defiance against the Baath Party regime.
The Iraqi dictator sent word to his relative that, "if you come back to Iraq, you'll be fine, we'll forgive you," Yusef told WLIE-NY Radio's Mike Siegel.
The relative agreed. Yusef explained what happened next:
"As soon as he arrived back in Baghdad Dr. Rahji was taken to jail. He was starved for a few days. Then, while Saddam was meeting with his cabinet, he said, 'I would like you to come out and let's look at this courtyard'"
Dr. Rahji, meanwhile, had been dragged from his jail cell, stripped naked and marched to the center of the courtyard - in full view of the gathering.
As recounted by the Iraqi defector, "Four or five Doberman Pinschers who hadn't eaten for a while - [Saddam] actually had them go and eat this gentleman alive."
"He loves doing these kind of acts," Yusef told Siegel, because it sends a message to other dissidents.
The defector-turned-American citizen said her account of Saddam ordering his own relative's execution by dog mauling is "a well known story" in Iraq, and sourced her own version to several Iraqis with intimate knowledge of Baath Party brutality.
Yusef detailed another execution ordered by Saddam's high-living son Uday, who killed "a beautiful Iraqi woman" who made the mistake of telling her hairdresser that he had invited her to a party at the presidential palace.
Saddam's secret police were tipped that the woman was bragging she was Uday's girlfriend.
Upon arriving at the palace, Uday had the woman stripped naked in front of other party guests, slathered her with honey and thrown into a room full of bees, where she was stung to death.
"Obviously he learned these little techniques from his father," Yusef told Siegel.
The former Iraqi citizen detailed yet another gruesome episode that dates back to the Iran-Iraq war, where Saddam asked his cabinet if anyone disagreed with his battle strategy. When the Health Minister suggested it might be a good idea to declare a cease fire, Saddam invited him to step into an adjoining room.
Then he personally shot him in the head.
The brutality didn't end there. Believing that her husband had been jailed rather than executed, the Health Minister's wife appealed for his release. She was ecstatic when Saddam agreed to her request.
"First thing in the morning she opens her door and she sees this plastic bag on her doorstep," Yusef said. "Inside was her husband's body - cut into many pieces."
Apprised last week of Maha Yusef's account of the dog attack execution, peace activist Clark said, "I've worked with problems of defection and informers for years and years and they're not generally reliable. You have to be careful about who you're talking to. I also recognize propaganda. And I hear more garbage and propaganda coming out about how evil the Iraqi people are."
