ACQUIRED VIRGINITY:

Saddam said to fear torture by new Iraq leadership (PHILIP SHERWELL, May 16, 2004, Chicago Sun-Times)

They are also trying to exploit a newfound obsession of the former dictator with hygiene and careful food preparation to persuade him to begin giving information after five frustrating months of questioning.

Lengthy daily interrogation sessions have been structured around an apparent attempt to prepare Saddam to be handed over to the interim government that takes power after June 30. The 67-year-old, who admitted that he feared torture soon after he was arrested last December, has been told that his transfer will be delayed if he begins to cooperate.

Saddam is due to face trial at a new war crimes tribunal in Baghdad after the transfer of sovereignty.

The White House wants to hold on to Saddam for as long as possible in the run-up to November's presidential election, in the hope that he may yet reveal the existence of an illicit program to build weapons of mass destruction.

Saddam has good reason to fear that his Iraqi opponents might seek revenge for his brutal 24-year reign. Many survivors of his prisons, and relatives of those who were killed by his regime, now hold positions in the interim governing council.

Saddam has remained defiantly reticent under questioning but is said to be depressed and prone to angry outbursts when he insists he is still the Iraqi president.

He is also showing increasing signs of medical anxiety and tension, fueled by phobias he has developed over cleanliness, physical contact and food preparation.

So we get to keep our skirts clean, but have him tortured anyway, as we do when we hand folks to the Syrians, Jordanians & Egyptians.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 16, 2004 10:47 AM