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[Hogisbald]

Saddam Hussein is convinced he is still the president and will return to power in Iraq, according to his American guards.

The former dictator would like to be "friends'' with George Bush, has no hard feelings towards him and would like to make peace, they say.

He told them he had never dealt with Osama bin Laden and claimed President Bush knew he had no weapons of mass destruction.

In first-hand accounts, five soldiers aged between 19 and 25, who got to know Saddam over a period of 10 months, reveal how America's most prized detainee enjoys eating Doritos and raisin bran cereal as his Baghdad trial draws ever closer.

The revelations, printed in the US edition of GQ magazine, offer a unique insight into the mind and lifestyle of the man toppled from power by British and American troops.


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Speaking about President Bush, Saddam told his guards: "He knows I have nothing, no mass weapons. He knows he'll never find them.''

He invited the group, from the Pennsylvania National Guard, back to visit Iraq once he is acquitted and back in power.

"I'll show you all around my country,'' he said. "You are like sons to me. It's not beautiful now, but it will be when I'm back in charge.''

Saddam told them he believes he was betrayed by a "Judas'' when he was captured in Tikrit and that he knows the identity of the Iraqi who gave away his hiding place.

When the bombing of Baghdad began in March 2003, he said he tried to flee his palace in a taxi.

"America, they dumb,'' he said. "They bomb wrong palace.''


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In the article, Tuesdays with Saddam, by Lisa DePaulo, the guards reveal that the former Iraqi leader is a "clean freak'' who obsessively washes his hands, carefully wiping his plate and utensils with baby wipes before eating.

Saddam gave Specialist Sean O'Shea, 19, advice on how to handle women, telling him to find one who could cook and clean and who was "not too smart, not too dumb, not too old, not too young. In the middle''.

He loved Doritos crisps and Raisin Bran Crunch cereal but would not touch Kellogg's Froot Loops.

The guards were given strict orders to treat their captive with respect but be firm if necessary and not reveal anything about their private lives.

All five have now returned to the US. They were interviewed with permission from their bosses, having signed exit papers prohibiting them from revealing certain information.

[PVH]

Originally Posted by Hog

He loved Doritos crisps and Raisin Bran Crunch cereal but would not touch Kellogg's Froot Loops.

Do all american prisoners get such delights? If so..i want to be in an american jail...

[Paranoid Android]

You knwo you don't have to go to prison to get your preffered choice of cereal!