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| Sunday, 18 May 2003 |
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Saddam fit enough to stay hiding for years - doctors BAGHDAD, Saturday (Reuters) Saddam Hussein was in excellent health while he was Iraqi president and has the experience and brains to remain in hiding for years, according to his most trusted doctors. The doctors, who refused to be identified, told Reuters that Saddam, who was born in 1937, expected to live over 90 years and was not the sort who would contemplate suicide, even if he was about to be captured. "I have not seen Saddam for a while, but he is fit enough to live in a bunker for a long time. He was never treated for anything major," one doctor said. "He swam and wrestled to keep fit," said the prominent Iraqi physician, who fled Iraq before the war then returned after it was over. He recalled how Saddam liked to demonstrate his physical strength. A few years ago, state television showed him swimming back and fourth across the Tigris river near his home village of Awja, north of Baghdad. "He only trusted a few doctors, although he was seen by many," the doctor said. "We were also careful. It took us four times as long as normal to perform minor surgery on him or his family." The U.S. government, which launched a war against Iraq in March, does not know whether Saddam and his two sons were killed or survived two bombings which targeted them during the invasion. INTELLIGENT Another Iraqi doctor said Saddam had the experience and brains to deal with life underground and avoid U.S. forces hunting for him. "Saddam is intelligent and bright. He must be to have ruled Iraq for 35 years," the doctor said. Saddam's family was also robust, the doctors said, adding that his oldest son, Uday, ended up with only a slight limp after he was hit by 17 bullets in an assassination attempt in 1996. "The Iraqi doctors did an amazing job then to save Uday's life. Saddam was next to his son throughout," the doctor said. Saddam and his two sons are at the top of a U.S. most wanted list of Iraqis. Some people in Baghdad believe Saddam is moving with diehard fighters from the Mujahideen-e Khalq - an Iranian opposition force he shielded when in power. But Farid Soleimani, a spokesman for the Mujahideen in London, said his group was not shielding Saddam, adding the rumour was spread by agents of Iran. "I would not be surprised if he shows up again," one of his doctors added. |
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