Bremer – Saddam is alive
The spectre of the fallen Iraqi dictator lingers.
The US civilian administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, has warned that Saddam Hussein could well be alive and living inside Iraq.
Mr Bremer on “Fox News Sunday” said: “The sooner we can either kill him or capture him, the better, because the fact that his fate is unknown certainly gives his supporters the chance to go around and try to rally support for him.”
“Dead or alive, this guy is finished in Iraq. There is no public support for him. He is not coming back. But it would certainly be better if we had him in our hands or if he were dead.”
On Saddam’s whereabouts, he added: “I think he’s probably still in Iraq. We don’t know exactly where. He’s probably located somewhere in what we call the Sunni triangle, the area from Tikrit, which is his original home, south to Baghdad. And this is the area where most of the attacks are taking place.”
Mr Bremer also said Americans should brace themselves for a protracted occupation of Iraq given the dogged guerrilla resistance.
His words came after two American soldiers were killed and one injured in an ambush in northern Iraq.
The death toll of US soldiers killed in action has reached 151 since the start of the war on March 20.
Mr Bremer is in Washington on a week-long trip, where he is expected to brief US officials on Iraq’s progress in rebuilding.
