Aziz: Saddam was sure he'd survive invasion

Washington - Ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein did not order a counterattack when U.S. troops began marching into Iraq because he thought the ground thrust was a ruse and was convinced he would survive an invasion, The Washington Post reported on Monday.

Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, who surrendered in April, told interrogators that after meeting with Russian and French intermediaries, Saddam was convinced that he could avoid a war, the newspaper said, citing U.S. officials.

The report said Aziz told interrogators that French and Russian intermediaries assured Saddam during late 2002 and early this year that they would block a U.S.-led war through delays and vetoes at the U.N. Security Council.

On the eve of the war, Hussein emerged from meetings with French and Russian contacts convinced that the United States would not launch an immediate invasion of Iraq, according to Aziz's statements as described by U.S. officials, the newspaper reported.

Aziz told interrogators that Saddam was so sure of himself that refused to order an immediate military response when he heard reports that American ground forces were pouring into Iraq he concluded that the crossing was some sort of feint, the newspaper said.

U.S. officials involved in the interrogations were cited as saying that Aziz's account had not been corroborated by other sources.

According to the newspaper, U.S.-led investigators also asked other former high-ranking Iraqi detainees why, if Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction, was he willing to let the world believe that he did.

The report said that several detainees said they believe that Saddam was afraid to lose face with his Arab neighbors who he believed paid him deference because they feared he had weapons of mass destruction. -- Reuters

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