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UK Seeks Deals With Iraqi Prisoners, U.S. Reluctant
Replace "U.S." with "Bad Cop" and "Britain" with "Good Cop": The U.S. has spurned repeated calls from its all-time war alley Britain to cut deals with top Iraqi officials, now in the custody of the Anglo-American forces, in swap for information on the whereabouts of ousted president Saddam Hussein and Iraqâs alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD), reported a leading British newspaper Wednesday. British officials told American colleagues that offering to free the detained Iraqis, who feature on the U.S.-drafted list of most wanted 55 members of the ousted regime, is the only way to extract information from them about Saddam and his weapons arsenal, reported The Times. Bad Cop: "You're gonna fry, asshole!" Good Cop: "Just give me something and I'll talk to the DA." British officials told the daily that although frequently squeezed by the CIA and Britainâs MI6, none of the 31 former Iraq officials had divulged any information during intensive interrogation. They may be afraid of incriminating themselves, or scared of possible revenge by Saddamâs loyalists, British investigators argue. London is, therefore, proposing to offer them protection and a new life overseas if their information were decisive. Good Cop: "Witness protection program, a nice flat in Oxford, free health care, just give me one chemical storage site." Among the most important former officials in the U.S.-British custody are Tariq Aziz, the former Deputy Prime Minister, Zuhayr Talib abd al-Sattar al-Naqib, director of military intelligence, Amir Hamudi Hasan al-Sadi, a presidential advisor on scientific and technical affairs, and Rihab Taha, known in the west as Dr Germ. But the British appeals fell on deaf ears in Washington, with U.S. President George Bushâs administration adamant not to bargain with the Iraqis. Bad Cop: "And it's up, against the wall, Bathist Mother!" "We have been trying for ages to persuade the Americans but they have come up with all kinds of legal arguments," an unnamed British government official said. "Something about trees and ropes, we're trying to get it translated." According to The Times, a few top scientists have been flown out of Iraq, but most of the detainees are still being held at an undisclosed location in Baghdad. They all stick to one story, namely, that Iraq had no clandestine WMD program, British investigators told the paper. "Ve know nuthing, nuthing." Posted by: Steve 2003-06-18 |
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