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Saddam, Junk Food & You

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:37 pm
by ToxicSkin
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:13 p.m. ET June 20, 2005

The rest of the article can be found here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8288955/
NEW YORK - Thrust unexpectedly into the role of prison guards for Saddam Hussein, several young American soldiers found the deposed Iraqi leader to be a friendly, talkative �clean freak� who loved Raisin Bran for breakfast, could down a large bag of Doritos in 10 minutes and insisted he was still president of Iraq, the men said in an interview published Monday and in comments on NBC's "Today" show.

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Interviewed in GQ magazine�s July issue, the men said Saddam greatly admires President Reagan and thought President Clinton was �OK,� but had harsh words for both President Bushes, each of whom went to war against him.

�The Bush father, son, no good,� Cpl. Jonathan �Paco� Reese, 22, of Millville, Pa., quotes Saddam as saying in English. But his fellow GI, Specialist Sean O�Shea, then 19, says Saddam later softened that view.

�Towards the end he was saying that he doesn�t hold any hard feelings and he just wanted to talk to Bush, to make friends with him,� O�Shea, of Minooka, Pa., told the magazine.

A third soldier, Spc. Jesse Dawson, quoted Saddam as saying of Bush, ��He knows I have nothing, no mass weapons. He knows he�ll never find them.��

The three GIs were among members of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 103rd Armor Regiment, a Pennsylvania National Guard unit from the Scranton area that was activated for duty in Iraq in late 2003. Instead of going into combat, they were chosen by the FBI to serve as guards at a U.S. military compound where Saddam was an �HVD,� or high value detainee.


Who is this guy? Doesn't seem like the cold vicious dictator Bush made him out to be. He's soft and gentle like a little baby lamb.
The soldiers say Saddam was preoccupied with cleanliness, washing up after shaking hands and using diaper wipes to clean his meal trays, his utensils and the table before eating. �He had germophobia or whatever you call it� said Dawson, 25, of Berwick, Pa.

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:44 pm
by Redskins4Life
It may be possible that Saddam is a down to earth guy but make no mistake, he did VERY cruel things as a leader to his Iraqi people (I dont think it justified going into Iraq to take him down for it though)

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:52 pm
by ToxicSkin
Oh there is no doubt he did some cruel things as leader of the Iraqi people, it was just that the type of behavior in the article was never shown. But maybe that was something that never got out until now.

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:52 am
by John Manfreda
He could be putting on an act so the guards don't think he is such a bad guy. That is what I think he is doing. He would put people in the wood chipper, the guy is a cold bloded, sick, killer.

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:56 am
by BossHog
I'm sure Adolf Hitler had some good traits too... :-"

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:39 am
by tazlah
BossHog wrote:I'm sure Adolf Hitler had some good traits too... :-"


Apparently he was vegetarian. :shock:

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:11 am
by skins#1fan
anyone that can throw innocent woman and children in gas chambers doesnt have to many good qualities in my opinion, and if he does I could care less to even here about them!

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:37 pm
by Skinsfan55
ah yes the obligatory misplaced Hitler reference...

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:55 pm
by Irn-Bru
Skinsfan55 wrote:ah yes the obligatory misplaced Hitler reference...


. . .usually paired with Bush. But not the greatest analogy to Saddam, either.


There are sides of Saddam that I don't ever care to see. His "soft" side would be one, and the side of him that enjoyed watching his guards or sons push people through meat grinders would be another.

But who knows, maybe he is a softie, deep down past all that torture and rape stuff.

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 4:02 pm
by BossHog
I wasn't comparing the two at all... bad choice of dictators I guess... just saying that everyone has a good side, or good traits. It doesn't mean that they don't have bad ones, or even hellacious ones.

As a Canadian, I'm not 'caught up' in the American/Iraqi conflict politically in my opinion. Whether or not Saddam is guilty of what Bush now alleges, it doesn't change the fact that he gassed thousands of kurds in his own country in the early eighties... or the fact that he killed 100's of his own officers...

There's no doubt that Hitler committed much more egregious crimes against humanity, and a lot more of them... but it doesn't make Saddam a nice guy because he enjoys a Dorito and keeps a clean room.

That's all I was saying. :up: