Posted 11:06 AM by Blah blah

Articles I posted on Parisoula Lampsos, Saddam's favorite mistress for 30 years. I've read she's in hiding now. Pictures: Her picture 1. Picture 2.

Saddam's Love Shack (AP): " 'Shagadelic,' another soldier shouted. Indeed, the carpet was navy blue shag."

A Shag-dad love pad (NY Daily News): "Saddam, you sexy beast! U.S. soldiers searching door-to-door in an upscale central Baghdad neighborhood for cowering Iraqi government officials stumbled upon what they believe is one of the tawdry tyrant's secret love lairs. Replete with statues of topless women, a whirlpool tub, beanbag chairs and a king-size bed surrounded with mirrors, the townhouse evoked a groovy, '60s-era playboy pad that would make another international man of mystery - Austin Powers - feel right at home."

Inside Uday Hussein's House.
Mark Bowden: Saddam's True Self.

Inside the Secret World (Time): "Snapshots and papers found in a lavish, looted safe house paint a vivid picture of Saddam's unhappy eldest son Uday." He even had a Yahoo email address. This is chilling: "In a 1990 letter, Uday reveals that his father plans to create a greater Iraq that includes Kuwait, Palestine and Arabstan, a region of Iran historically controlled by Baghdad. The note says Saddam is beginning with the easiest—Kuwait."

You should also read this amazingly well-written, detailed, and intimate article about Saddam and his daily life, Tales of the Tyrant (The Atlantic). Also tells how Saddam rose to power.

This is the best article I've ever read about Saddam. Period. Please read this piece, especially you anti-war people! It will convince you once and for all of the following. I personally believe this now:

1. Military strikes were the only realistic solution to the threat of Saddam and his growing weapons program.
2. Saddam, for decades, has had no interest in diplomacy except for helping himself rise to power and stay there. Read about how he misled Iran and started the Iran-Iraq war. See how he lied to and killed his own previous supporters to remain at the top.
3. He lives in a culture of exaggerated vanity and unreality that he created by force. Normal, reasonable methods like sanctions, and even the threat of overwhelming force, do not faze him. His own top people fear to tell him the truth about weakness and failure. Read about how, before the 1991 Gulf War, he still thought he'd win and declared victory after a humiliating retreat.
4. One way or the other, his ambitions and methods would lead to a confrontation with the U.S., either in secret terrorist activities, a buildup of nuclear weapons, or another attack on a neighboring country. I feel the problem of Saddam ultimately had to be solved. I am unhappy with how Bush did it, but I'm happy he did it.

"[Saddam, talking to Salah Omar al-Ali, his Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations:] 'How should we solve our problems with Iran? Iran took our lands. They are controlling the Shatt-al-Arab, our big river. How can meetings and discussions solve a problem like this? Do you know why they decided to meet with us here, Salah? They are weak is why they are talking with us. If they were strong there would be no need to talk. So this gives us an opportunity, an opportunity that only comes along once in a century. We have an opportunity here to recapture our territories and regain control of our river.'

That was when al-Ali realized that Saddam had just been playing with the Iranians, and that Iraq was going to go to war. Saddam had no interest in diplomacy. To him, statecraft was just a game whose object was to outmaneuver one's enemies. Someone like al-Ali was there to maintain a pretense, to help size up the situation, to look for openings, and to lull foes into a false sense of security. Within a year the Iran-Iraq war began."

Interview with Mark Bowden, the author of this stunning article. He's the man who wrote Black Hawk Down, on which Ridley Scott made his 2001 movie. People say this book is one of the most gripping true stories of war ever written. I must buy Mark Bowden's books. Reading his electric prose is like being thrown into the midst of a firing squad. He's a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.