Saddam said useful in U.S. interrogation ( 2004-02-01 15:19) (Agencies)
American officials have received useful
information from direct interrogation of Saddam Hussein, a senior military
official said Sunday.
The official would not say what the information was, but he said it allowed
interrogators to confirm some suspicions and reject other information.
Speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, the official said both
documents and the results of questioning of Saddam have allowed the military to
hunt for some people involved in attacks on U.S. troops.
He said military officials believe there are 14 cells of Saddam sympathizers
in the Baghdad area and that many of them had already lost their leaders in U.S.
raids.
The official commented shortly after Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz
flew to Iraq to visit troops that he says were justified in ousting Saddam
because the former leader violated U.S. resolutions ordering him to disarm.
The Pentagon's second-in-command arrived in Baghdad from a troop visit in
Germany where he said flawed intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction should be investigated, but that the inability of inspectors to find
such weapons did not mean the war was unnecessary.
"It's exciting to be back," he said after landing near Baghdad, referring to
a visit three months ago in which a hotel where he was staying was attacked.
The Wolfowitz visit to Iraq was not disclosed in advance of his arrival for
security reasons.
He complimented both military and civilian men and women working to stabilize
the country. "They're making the world safer for our children," Wolfowitz said.
He said he looks forward to meeting with commanders and troops in the field
and is particularly interested in assessing how a massive rotation of military
forces is going.
David Kay, the former chief inspector in Iraq, said last week he believes
deposed Iraqi President Saddam probably did not have the stockpiles of chemical
and biological weapons that President Bush claimed as justification for the
invasion in March.
"You have to make decisions based on the intelligence you have, not on the
intelligence you can discover later," Wolfowitz said, while visiting the
headquarters of the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Germany.
The division is preparing to ship out beginning next week for Iraq, where it
will replace the 4th Infantry Division in the dangerous north-central part of
the country.
Wolfowitz said he retains confidence in American intelligence agencies,
despite their apparent mistakes about Iraq's weapons programs. "You need to look
into when you got it right, and when you got it wrong," Wolfowitz said. "It's
important to understand we could not possibly do what we need to do in the world
without intelligence."
Wolfowitz said deposing Saddam was important to bring freedom to the Middle
East.
"We have an absolutely important job to do to help the Iraqi people build a
free and democratic Iraq," Wolfowitz said. "It's going to be a very important
turning point in the war on terrorism. The Middle East has been heading down the
wrong road for some years now."
Earlier Saturday, Wolfowitz met with troops and their families.
Soldiers' spouses complained that American troops need time to rest between
their frequent missions.
Bonnie McCarty said her husband is preparing for a yearlong tour of duty in
Iraq. "When he comes back, does this mean in another year he's going to go back
again because the size of the Army isn't big enough?" McCarty asked Wolfowitz.
"We don't want to keep going through this."
Wolfowitz said the Army is considering an increase in the number of combat
units to ease the strain.
He said he and other Pentagon officials know that the last several years have
been difficult for soldiers and their families and are trying to ease the
strain. Wolfowitz said Pentagon officials are not sure, however, that
permanently enlarging the Army is the answer.
"There's a big uncertainty about what we're going to need in the future, "
Wolfowitz said.