Nyah!
Deprived of most world news since their capture, some of the hundreds of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay expressed shock when told recently of the capture of Saddam Hussein, a U.S. general said Thursday. Interrogators told some detainees of the war in Iraq in June, and word of Saddam's capture reached others during interrogations in December, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller told reporters in an interview. The entire prison population was later informed of Saddam's capture by loudspeaker after officials determined there was no risk to security or intelligence-gathering, Miller said.
| "May I have your attention, please? U.S. forces have fished Saddam Hussein out of the bottom of an outhouse where he was hiding. That is all!" |
"We told them we had a war with Iraq, we told them the United States won, and we told them we captured Saddam Hussein," Miller said. "There was some shock."
| What? They expected us to lose? |
Some 660 detainees from 44 countries are being held at the base in eastern Cuba on suspicion of links to the fallen Taliban regime of Afghanistan or al-Qaida terror network. Among them are some Iraqis captured in Afghanistan, Miller said, though he declined to say how many. Detainees aren't allowed access to news as it could compromise the interrogation process, said the general, who heads the detention mission at Guantanamo. However, the announcement about the U.S. victory in Iraq and Saddam's Dec. 13 capture has resulted in increased cooperation by some detainees during interrogation, Miller said. |