MARCH 28, 200 8
The interrogation of
Saddam Hussein
World Focus
Frank Shatz
T
he war in Iraq has emerged as one
of the most contentious issues in
the 2008 presidential campaign.
Sen. Barack Obama has stacked his
candidacy on the premise that he
opposed the war from the very beginning. He has repeatedly proclaimed
that he sees it as the wrong war, at the
wrong place, at the wrong time. He
asserts that his opposition to the war
proves that his judgment was sounder
than either Sen. Hillary Clinton's or
Sen. John McCain's.
The war in Iraq turned out to be
long, costly in lives and treasures, and
the occupation of Iraq has been mismanaged from the very beginning. In
short, the war in Iraq has become
highly unpopular. It's no wonder that
Sen. Obama sees his opposition to it as
a winning formula.
Under closer scrutiny, however, the
reasons he cites for opposing the war
in the first place seem to be less then
persuasive, namely that there was little
evidence that Saddam possessed
weapons of mass destruction or was
developing them.
We now know that most of the
chemical weapons and stockpiles
Saddam had were destroyed after the
Gulf War. Saddam at that time was,
however, so successful in pretending
that he had WMD that, on the eve of
the 2003 war, each commander of his
Revolutionary Guard divisions was
convinced that although his division
had not been issued WMD, the other
divisions had them along with instructions to use them against the invading
U. S. forces.
Furthermore, it was not only the
Bush administration that believed that
Iraq had and was working on developing WMD. Most of the world's intelligence services, including the British,
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French, Russian, Egyptian and even
Israeli agreed with this assessment.
After the fall of Saddam, it had
remained a mystery why he risked
American invasion to maintain the fiction that he possessed WMD. The
answer to this is now available.
Recently published excerpts from
the transcript of Saddam's interrogation by FBI agent George Piro are
shedding light on what motivated the
Iraqi dictator. During the interrogation
that lasted seven months, Piro, who
gained Saddam's trust, managed to
elicit from him a good deal of what
were his plans and intentions. All that
Saddam revealed was verified with
other former high-ranking members of
his government.
One of the great unanswered questions was: Why did Saddam risk invasion by hindering and misleading U.N.
inspectors in their search for WMD?
According to Piro, "It was important
for him to project power. In his mind,
it was Iraq's MVD capability that kept
Iranians away from reinvading Iraq."
Saddam's miscalculations were multiple. He believed that President George
W. Bush would not invade Iraq but
would retaliate for its defiance with
the same type of attack as the U. S. did
in 1998, under Operation Desert Fox.
It was a four-day aerial attack. "It is
what we have expected. We survived
it once," Saddam told Piro.
One of the most imp6rtant questions
waiting to be answered was whether
Saddam, after his defeat in the Gulf
War, after the punishing attacks during
Operation Desert Fox, and the decade
long sanction regime that impoverished Iraq, was, he, willing to give up
his quest for MVD.
According to Piro, that wasn't the
case. Saddam admitted that, in spite of
everything, he was determined to
reconstitute his arsenal of weapons of
mass destruction. He intended to do so
as soon as the sanctions were lifted.
He pointed out that all the scientists
and technical personnel were in place
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A
t a time in the travel season when
people will be using more restraint
in their budgets, being creative with
promotional ideas for shopping and
activities in Lake Placid will help to
make your business stand out.
According to the Travel Industry
Association (TIA), recent trends have
indicated that consumers are reacting to
a tighter economy and rising gas prices
by transforming their travel plans,
rather than cancelling them. Visitors
will seek alternatives for transportation,
lodging, entertainment and recreation
that more closely fit their budgets. The
TIA notes though that most aren't likely to actually cancel altogether.
This means that in order to drawthese
more value-conscious travelers in, businesses need something that will make
them more noticeable. Looking for that
"extra something," visitors will be
reacting more this spring to coupons
and special promotions. Lodging properties generally lower their rates and
offer great packages during the shoulder seasons to continually attract travelers, and this should hold true for nonlodging businesses as well.
The bureau offers space to advertize
your coupons on our Web site. Our
Internet Resource Specialist Kathy
Berghorn is in charge of the program.
to restart the program.
When Piro asked him what weapons
of mass destruction he had in mind, he
proclaimed that he wanted to reconstitute his entire WMD program. To buttress Iraq's need for a nuclear weapon,
Saddam said he had long believed that
"Israel faces a nuclear strike of very
high probability from a Muslim country."
The transcript of the interrogation
leaves little doubt that Saddam and his
regime were a menace to peace and
stability in the Middle East. Thus,
those senators who voted to authorize
the invasion of Iraq, including Sen.
McCain and Sen. Hillary Clinton,
seem to have acted prudently.
The gross mismanagement of the
prosecution of the war, attributed primarily to former Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld, was sharply criticized by McCain, as well as by
Clinton. They have both advocated
policies that would have altered the
situation in Iraq. McCain, advocated
the use of a "surge" strategy. Finally
implemented, it seems to be showing
results. Clinton urged changing course
and involving our alienated allies in
the effort to restore political stability
in Iraq.
Sen. Obama's stand on the Iraq war
remained the same. Namely, to withdraw U. S. forces immediately, regardless of the consequences. The revelations contained in the transcript of
Saddam Hussein's interrogation have
not changed his views. Sen. Obama is
seen as inflexible. Political analysts
believe that, should he become the
Democratic standard-bearer in the
presidential election, his rigid posture
on Iraq would be the club with which
McCain would beat him.
• • •
Frank Shatz lives in
Williamsburg,Va. and Lake
Placid. His column was reprinted
with permission from
The Virginia Gazette.
"Coupons are to non-lodging properties
what Hot Deals are to lodging properties," she said.
They are a place to put their business
in front of the consumer with special,
creative offers to spike interest and get
them into their doors.
Providing coupons and promotions
for the.spring will encourage people
who are looking to transform their travel plans to take a closer look at Lake
Placid. Increasing demand will help
businesses reap the dividends by simultaneously raising the volume of people
who will decide to make the trip here.
If you want to include your business's
coupons on the Web site, please contact
Kathy at 523-2445 ex.888 or e-mail at
[email protected].
'Whit:' A person you should know
Growing up
in Lake Placid
Barbara Tyrell
Kelly
I
t seems to me that some children
are bom in each generation who
come already equipped with a gift
for math, music, art or language. So
it was with Robert W. Whitney,
who was born in Lake Placid in
May of 1927, the son of Walter
and Mae Whitney. Bob was my
classmate from kindergarten until
we graduated in 1945.
For many years, Robert
Whitney's father was the head of
the bellhops at the Lake Placid
Club, and the family, which included a younger sister, Janet, lived in a
Wanda Building apartment adjacent
to Mirror Lake. Today "Whit" lives
in Shreveport, La., where he and his
long time partner"Kit Blue" moved
after Hurricane Katrina forced them
from their home in New Orleans.
Bob was married twice and
divorced twice and has two grown
children (both by his second wife)
a daughter Blair and a son Evan,
whom he raised pretty much by
himself.
Bob Whitney is one of those people who are born with a sense of
style, and not only that, but with
the "eye" required to be an artist.
When we were in Miss Ware's
kindergarten, I wondered why I
could not see what he saw, or get it
down on paper with a pencil or
crayons. By the time we reached
fifth grade, he had painted an
almost life-size copy of
Gainsborough's "Blue Boy." In
high school he was fortunate to
have as his teacher John Gallucci,
who is a well-known watercolorist.
(The rest of our class also were
taught by Mr. Gallucci, but without
the. results he got with Bob. This is
where that inborn talent comes into
play.) In high school "Whit" (as he
had renamed himself) was well on
his way to a successful and varied
career as an artist, art director and
entrepreneur.
After high school, "Whit" served
in World War II aboard a destroyer
in the U.S. Navy. After leaving the
service he attended Syracuse
University, graduating in 1950
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1987
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with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In
1951 he received a fellowship for
graduate study in Florence, Italy.
After returning from Italy, he
served as art director for several
agencies including WSYR TV in
Syracuse and NBC TV in New
York City. In 1961 and 1962 he
was art director for a series of documentary films for the
USENformation Agency. One was
nominated for an Academy Award
but did not win, even though Whit
says he had his tux ready.
In 1962 Whitney returned
home to Lake Placid where for several years he freelanced as an art
director and in design, until 1970
when he became the founding art
director for Adirondack Life magazine. The magazine was sold in
1977 and Bob then became the art
director for the 1980 Winter
Olympics. Whitney's next move
was to New Orleans where he was
hired to act as art director for the
1984 World's Fair. Soon after the
"Fair" Bob became a consulting art
director for a number of national
clients, including Ringling Bros./
Barnum & Bailey (who were at that
time handling ice shows for
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PAGE
5
Color and Commentary
The proposed
yellow KCS
Earth Day submarine
Hot coupon deals
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Martha Sez
Martha Allen
I
t snowed again last night, but
April is almost here, and
there are signs of spring in
Keene Valley.
From the Keene Central
School playground, a person
can hear redwinged blackbirds
singing their garbled love
songs. The birds are all across
the street, but there are a lot of
them, so they are audible.
There is a perfectly good
maple tree on the playground,
a tree the children are technically not allowed to climb, and
sometimes they festoon its
lower branches with bird-andsquirrel treats - strings of
apple slices, peanuts in the
shell and berries, as well as
seeds entrapped in sticky
peanut butter pasted onto
pinecones, for example - but
the wildlife leave it all well
alone.
ever melts. And, of course, that
inescapable sign of spring:
ongoing school budget meetings.
Inevitably, the district must
make difficult choices. This
year, the high price of fuel oil
threatens some of the school's
beloved but nonmandatory
programs and institutions.
Could we really do without
kindergarten? Art? Music?
Hold on there, not so fast,
says resourceful fifth-grade
teacher Mr. K. As K explains
to anyone who will listen, he
has a plan.
The plan is for Earth Day,
April 22, 2008. According to
K's calculations, building a
Centurion attack submarine
and selling it to the United
States government will earn
the school enough money to
keep KCS afloat for the next
280 years, without ever having
This is disappointing for the
to raise another levy.
teachers who plan the projects — the children don't seem
"It would be built on the
to care, somehow - but I have
playground by high-school
never seen a bird or a squirrel
students," K explained.
in that maple tree, even on
"As an Earth Day project?" I
weekends.
asked.
Insects, yes, weather permit"Earth Week," K elucidated.
ting, in May or June, inch
"It will take a week to build
worms hanging from their little it."
strings. Yellow jackets someHe showed me the U.S. govtimes buzz around the trunk,
ernment pamphlet he sent off
tiny terrorists that they are.
for from an Internet site,
Traveling dogs occasionally
doubtless thereby becoming an
trot over to sniff. But birds,
object of U.S. Office of
squirrels, raccoons — no.
Homeland Security scrutiny.
According to the pamphlet,
For some reason that 1 have
never understood, many people this year Uncle Sam will purchase two or three Centurion
who will go to great lengths to
subs, with Tomahawk Cruise
feed birds, even so far as to
Missiles, at a cost of $1,400
encourage children to engage
million each.
in projects involving peanut
butter and seeds - these same
He figures that there is probpeople often begrudge squirably plutonium to be found in
rels a handout. They might
the local landfills, and plenty
find chipmunks cute, but squir- of scrap metal.
rels can forget it as far as these
A small, serious boy, squintpeople are concerned. This,
ing in the harsh glare of March
despite the fact that birds are
sunshine reflecting in from the
close relatives of dinosaurs —
playground snow field, asked
in fact, they may even BE
to see a picture of the
dinosaurs, according to one
Centurion. K showed him.
scientist I met at the University
"I can make you one cooler
of Michigan — while squirrels than that," the boy declared
are dear little furry mammals,
gravely, adding, "with invenlike us. As we are. Whatever.
tions." He went off to the
drawing table. A little girl
At Keene Central School,
offered to help paint the sub
however, there is none of this
yellow.
silly prejudice. People would
be glad to see a squirrel eating
Outside, as a cutting wind
those delicious treats, perhaps
whipped across the playtopped off with a little saucer
ground, lowering the wind
of suet garnished with black
chill temperature to roughly
oil sunflower seeds. But no
that of Saranac Lake, primary
dice.
school children could be seen
through the window tearing off
Still, it is officially spring,
their coats and hats and racing
and at least you can hear the
away from their teachers, who
redwinged blackbirds from the
were trying to make themplayground. Other harbingers
selves heard over the gale,
of spring at KCS are the
screaming that it was cold out.
seedlings in the south-facing
Which was of course unreawindows of the lower grades;
sonable because, as the chilthey may someday thrive in
dren pointed out, it is spring!
the school garden, if the snow
"Disney"), and Universal Studios
in Hollywood and Orlando, Fla. His
last project for Universal Studios
was the "ET" poster.
Bob says he has had a "lifelong
love affair with watercolor painting" and "is grateful that several
hundred of my paintings are in pub-
lic and private collections here and
abroad."
When you are about town, look
around to see the Whitney paintings
that are displayed in homes and
businesses and remember that the
artist is a product of our town and
schools.
"50 YEARS . .WHERE DID THEY 6 0 ? " , " PlD W KNOW THAT
ALBERTS 0R6AMIZED TH/6 WHOLE THmb?", "WHAT HAPPENED TO
THE FOOTBALL REU> ?", "THE TOWN LCOKS DIFFERENT. TOOAMNY SH0RS/," '
" 1 HEAR THAT THEY WANT TO m LP A WAUMRT HERE.. FOOLS/," " HE USED
TO FJE SO HAWRSOME ' "GOD I FEE L B A T " " YOU ARE FAT " , ' THEY SAY
THAT 5HE STILL SKATES • • I NEVER SAW SO MANY BALD HEARS" "DO YOV
REMEMBER DAW6mpROMEO?>,"HCWABOUT WUk.mpXlilY.m,
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A cartoon done by Whitney for the 50th Reunion
of the LPHS Class of 1945
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