Al-Sahaf: Saddam is in Iraq, he should have resigned office

The former Iraqi minister of information, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf, has hinted upon his arrival in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday that he might not return back to Iraq. He expressed conviction that the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is still alive.

Al-Sahaf said in a statement to Abu Dhabi TV station that he had left Iraq on "a final trip" and he appeared in pictures with members of his family in Abu Dhabi. He said "when I left Iraq via the airport I had in mind not to return back. But I do hope and appeal to God I will be able to return back to Baghdad."

In a statement to the German news agency in the United Arab Emirates, al-Sahaf said he does not know where Saddam Hussein is now, but he indicated he is inside Iraq considering that "Iraq was greatly mistaken by rejecting the UAE initiative which was launched by President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan before the beginning of the American war." He added it was possible to avoid the war and destruction had Saddam Hussein accepted this initiative.

The former Iraqi President said "I was greatly disappointed over the disappearance of members of the Iraqi Baathist leadership." He added he knew not and does not know now where they headed and that their escape was arranged. He continued "I never thought that Baghdad will fall from the war."

Al-Sahaf did not rule that there were "violations" in the lines of the Baath Party leadership. He said "the way things ended shows clearly that there were hidden hands that played in the fate of Iraq and caused the current status."