Ex-CIA officer says Saddam should have been left to run Iraq

WASHINGTON: John Nixon, a former CIA officer who interrogated Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, said recently that the man should have been left to run the country, stating that it would have been a better option. 

John Nixon will be revealing lots of discussions he had with the former Iraqi dictator, when he had the chance of interrogating him in 2003 after Saddam was captured by coalition forces. He disclosed that Saddam had predicted to him during their various sessions that USA would not be able to govern Iraq since the occupying forces did not understand the minds of Arabs. 

"When I interrogated Saddam, he told me: 'You are going to fail. You are going to find that it is not so easy to govern Iraq.' When I told him I was curious why he felt that way, he replied: 'You are going to fail in Iraq because you do not know the language, the history, and you do not understand the Arab mind.' "

According to Nixon, though Saddam was a brutal leader who often used excessive tactics, militant groups such as the Islamic State would never have gained a foothold in the country. 

"Saddam's leadership style and penchant for brutality were among the many faults of his regime, but he could be ruthlessly decisive when he felt his power base was threatened, and it is far from certain that his regime would have been overthrown by a movement of popular discontent," he wrote. "Likewise, it is improbable that a group like ISIS would have been able to enjoy the kind of success under his repressive regime that they have had under the Shia-led Baghdad government."

The former CIA chief said that though he didn't like Saddam Hussein, he came away with a 'grudging respect' for the Iraqi dictator for keeping the country as a whole for as long as he did.