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Clues emerge to Saddam whereabouts
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The exiled leader of the Iraqi National Congress has told the United States he has concrete information about the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein. Ahmed Chalabi said Tuesday the deposed Iraqi leader survived the two decapitation strikes aimed against him during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Saddam is "moving in an arc around the Tigris River," starting northeast of Baghdad, he said. Finding Saddam would just be a matter of knowing whom to talk to, he said, speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations. Chalabi fled Iraq in 1958 and didn't return until the toppling of Saddam's regime in April. Based on information "from credible sources," he said he believes the former Iraqi president wants revenge, and has obtained two suicide bombing vests for attacks on U.S. forces. Chalabi said Saddam is paying a bounty for every U.S. soldier killed. Several U.S. soldiers have already been killed by hostile fire in Iraq since the end of the war. (Baghdad attack) In a satellite news conference last week, Chalabi said the attacks on U.S. troops are "taking place directly, I believe, as an action of the Baathists." Saddam led the Baath Party, formally the Baath Arab Socialist Party, in Iraq. The most recent evidence Saddam survived strikes targeted at him surfaced in May on a tape purported to have been recorded by the deposed Iraqi leader. An unemotional and tired-sounding voice called on the people of Iraq to reject the "invaders," while promising that victory is coming. (Tape urges resistance) On Tuesday, the United States said it had captured two more "most wanted" Iraqis, bringing to 28 the number in custody. Two others are suspected dead and one is listed as "status unknown."(Two more captured) SkepticsWhile critics have questioned the information Chalabi has imparted both before and after the war, he has denounced such accusations, saying his supporters have turned over helpful defectors and scientists to the U.S. government. Asked if any hard evidence of weapons of mass destruction will ever be found in Iraq, Chalabi said, "I believe they will." However, the former Iraqi exile said the United States has "not aggressively sought to go after the scientists" who would have knowledge of such material. He said some of those scientists have fled the country. Chalabi, whose name has been floated as a possible future leader of Iraq, repeated his previous assertions that he would not seek a political post in the country's new government. "I believe the most important thing I can do for the future of my country is to take part in the building of civil society from outside the government," he said. The Iraqi National Congress emerged after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, pledging "full representation" of religions and ethnicities. The London-based group has received the lion's share of U.S. support, but faces stiff opposition from Iraqis opposed to being ruled by exiles who avoided recent hardships under Saddam and U.N. sanctions.
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