Saddam Hussein portait as begging to meet with Chalabi

The Iraqis yesterday hurried to buy al-Mu'tamar (the conference) paper, mouthpiece of the Iraqi National Congress led by Ahmed Chalabi, in which the paper frontpaged his picture with the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein with a title saying "Saddam begs his jailors to meet with Chalabi."

The paper front paged the picture with a caption in red saying "Dr. Chalabi with the detained tyrant." Saddam seemed in the picture in a surrender position, with a remarkable weight loss, an untidy hair and cloths, sitting on one side of an iron bed where Chalabi was sitting facing him on a chair.

The official spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress Intiqad Qanbar said that "issues of the papers sold out quickly, even I, myself, could not get a copy." He added "there is a historical picture in the newspaper showing Saddam jailed meeting with Chalabi, member in the Governing Council." Chalabi, together with other members in the Governing Council met with Saddam Hussein when he was captured by the American forces on Saturday evening in a hiding location in al-Dawar town to the south of Tikrit.