As I have made known since the first day it was reported that Saddam Hussein had been captured by U.S. forces in Iraq, I don't accept that the man they have in custody is truly Saddam Hussein. Further developments since then have served to strengthen my resolve that this is indeed the case.
During the early part of January, 2004 it has been determined by "U.S. lawyers" that the man identified by the U.S. intelligence as Saddam Hussein will not be classified as a "war criminal." The objective of trying Saddam as a "war criminal" was maintained to be a primary goal of the U.S. coalition before and during the invasion of Iraq. Plans to have Saddam Hussein tried before a world court in Hague were being presented on a regular basis.
Suddenly, after his ostensible capture, this man called Saddam has been reclassified as a "prisoner of war." Why has this man who is known to be responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, and some estimates in the millions, been reclassified? His list of violations against humanity have included crimes as horrendous as torture and the gassing of thousands, including children.
What is obvious about the reclassification is that as a "prisoner of War" this Saddam will remain isolated from scrutiny. There can be no fruitful investigations conducted against him, no personal in depth questioning, no cross examinations, no verification of his identity and no judgment or penalty imposed.
As a "war criminal" this man would be subject to full disclosure; as a "prisoner of war" he can be kept secreted away in prison indefinitely without ever undergoing any investigation by the world body. He is now hidden away and imprisoned without due process under the Geneva Convention, which was designed to guarantee humane treatment to captured enemy soldiers.
According to the U.S. acceptance of the Geneva Convention the only people required to have access to a "prisoner of war" are members of the national Red Cross relief agency.
There are others who are having difficulty with accepting that the man being held in isolation is Saddam Hussein. U.S. Congressman Lieberman has questioned the veracity of what has been presented about Saddam's capture and has become the target of ridicule. The political cartoon titled, "Mallard Filmore," compared Lieberman's skepticism to those who question if we truly have landed on the moon.
Questions arise in some journalist's minds when changes in information are suddenly released from the government about this Saddam Hussein's capture. It was solidly reported from numerous official sources immediately after the capture that "this" Saddam had no intelligence information with him, not even a road map.
The Dec. 22, ‘03 special report by Newsweek tallied up what was found by stating, "The capture was easy. Not a shot war fired; no one was hurt. American forces found a couple of AK-47s, a pistol - and $750,000 in hundred-dollar bills. Two men were arrested as they ran away - presumably the final remnants of Saddam's once ferocious corps of bodyguards."
Then suddenly, during the second week of January, 2004 it was released without fanfare in news broadcasts, that "the briefcase full of documents captured with Saddam were supplying a wealth of intelligence information on the insurgency."
The reports were being presented in such a nonchalant manner as to lead one to conclude that "this incredible piece of information is old news that I must have missed," but as demonstrated by the Newsweek special report, this is not old news, but something cunningly introduced in such a manner as to suggest this information has always been available.
Why do such a thing? Because a captured Saddam Hussein along with a wealth of intelligence information is a priceless counter-terrorist's tool.
Those of the insurgency who are unsure of what is truly going on or are straddling the fence of whether to cooperate with U.S. intelligence or not must wonder how long it will be before this "briefcase full of information" will lead to their own downfall. Some may consider the time is right to get a reward rather than prison, while others may just figure it is time to cut all ties and fade away.
The Newsweek special report generates other puzzling questions. All through the report, which garnered itself 11 pages of exposure, it is made clear that Saddam Hussein is a ruthless, cunning survivor. Yet at the time of his capture he was appraised in the report as "resigned and submissive, bewildered and disoriented." It is said as he "was blinking helplessly in a spotlight...he whimpered ‘Don't shoot' in English and Arabic."
The contradiction between Saddam, the presently captured, cowardly lion and the historical, elusive fox, who has now been reported to have been in possession of a briefcase full of intelligence information, grows even more puzzling when we consider the information about his not so subtle orange and white taxi cab.
You heard right. According to the special report, Saddam Hussein was seen before his capture driving around the little town of Ad Dawr in his own private, beat up taxi cab.
The article reported that, "British sources told Newsweek that Saddam has been driving around in a battered, old cab, a clue for aerial surveillance...the last hiding spot of the lion of Babylon, the butcher of Baghdad and what the Pentagon referred to as, "High Value Target Number One" was unprepossing in the extreme. A single, beat up orange and white Iraqi taxi was parked next to the sheep pen. The crack revealed a hidden door."
The utter idiocy of this purported Saddam Hussein is beyond reason. Picture the real Saddam Hussein tooling around Ad Dawr in a high profile, easy to spot vehicle like an orange and white taxi cab while he is in jeopardy for his very life. He then parks his favorite cab in plain view right next to his trap door hideaway!
What's wrong with this picture? Newsweek's special report could not help but further point out the great incongruity for Saddam Hussein having chosen to hide out in a town it was well known that he had hidden in before in his lesser days.
We quote, "Saddam was hiding at one of two farms in the little town of Ad Dawr, according to the tipster. (The choice of ad Dawr showed a certain lack of imagination, or perhaps desperation, by Saddam. In 1959, when Saddam tried unsuccessfully to assassinate the prime minister of Iraq, Abdul Karim Qassim, Saddam had fled to the same village and hid on a family friend's farm, later swimming across the Tigris River to exile in Syria, one of the only times he ever left his country.)"
This Saddam who was effortlessly captured in Ad Dawr and who reportedly yelled up from the filthy hole he was lying down in on his back, "I am Saddam Hussein, the President of the Republic of Iraq," is declared to be the same Saddam Hussein who has somehow managed to hide from tens of thousands of searching eyes, vast numbers of heavy artillery, mechanized armory divisions, myriads of specialized troops, and even missile ready weapon of mass destruction.
As I have stated in our previous Rapture Watch message titled, "Has Saddam really been Caught," "What has been presented thus far proves nothing, except that there is another way things can be viewed regarding the reported capture of Saddam Hussein.
For myself, these thoughts only lend to support a conviction I have derived from studying the word of God. There has been no acceptable alternative to my understanding of the prophecies for Iraq and its Chaldean King in these last days as found in Chapters 50 & 51 of the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah than the one I have expounded on over the past 13 years."
In Jeremiah 50:4,5,19-20 & 51:50, God's Word reveals to us that in the day of Babylon, Iraq's destruction the Jews will have been restored to Israel and will once again possess the ancient areas now called the West Bank and the Golan Heights along with Jerusalem. That time in history is now. Jeremiah 51, 19-20 & 24 further reveal that Israel will play a major role in Iraq's final defeat.
Quote, "The portion of Jacob [Israel] is not like them, for He [God] is the Maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of hosts is His name. You [Israel] are My battle-ax and weapons of war: for with you I will break the nation [Iraq] in pieces; with you I will destroy kingdoms...And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea [Iraq] for all the evil they have done in Zion in your sight," says the Lord."
What God has revealed by His Word makes my position on Iraq and Saddam Hussein unwavering.
If the present scenario being interpreted by the world is correct then Iraq no longer has a king over it capable of organizing a war front that would provoke Israel into launching a retaliatory strike of massive destruction against Iraq. The standing picture is that Iraq's military capability to wage war against its neighbors has been brought to an end and its only leader with the ability to bring about a cohesive national unity to launch such an attack is now a helpless prisoner of war.
The logical conclusion to this perception is that since the occupying forces are now the sole power over Iraq and are ostensibly friends of Israel, then Israel will not be attacked by Iraq and will therefore have no reason to ever launch a retaliatory war against Iraq as God has declared will happen. Saddam Hussein may very well have been riding around in an orange and white taxi and for all we know stopping to pick up fares to add to his nest egg.
On the other hand, if one believes the Word of God, Iraq is still in readiness to launch a full scale war. A war that will not only strike Israel, but according to Jer. 50:44 her king will be able to strike out against the habitation of the strong (the U.S.?) And will be granted by God the power to cause all invading forces to flee for their lives from the land of Iraq.
This war has not taken place in all of past history. This war cannot happen during the last 3 ½ years of the 7 year Tribulation Period when Israel is under the heel of the Anti-Christ. Comprehensive, prophetic studies of the nations involved, the events themselves, and the timing involved leads me to reject that this war will take place during the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period also.
Scripture indicates that the U.S. will be replaced as the world's leader by the European Union by the start of the 7 year Tribulation Period.
The U.S. finds itself conspicuously positioned at the forefront of the Iraqi prophecies. Prophecies which, by my understanding, will come to a horrible conclusion in the very near future before the European Union, Anti-Christ begins the final 7 year tribulation countdown by his strengthening of a peace and security covenant between Israel and her neighbors (see Dan. 9:27).
By these facts I can comfortably reach no other conclusion then that the King of Iraq, the lion of Babylon, Saddam Hussein is still a free man and in charge of his military power.
For some reason an invasion of nations from Iraq's north will soon take place. By God's words found in Jer. 50:44 Saddam will come out of hiding like a lion from the thicket of a flood plain. He will strike the habitation of the strong and the nations coming against him will flee from the land. Retaliation against him and his nation will be fearful and Israel will be counted highly among the destroyers.
Somewhere in the time line between now and the conclusion of this war I anticipate that Jesus Christ will have appeared in the clouds and will have caught up every dead and living believer in Him to join Him in heaven as He prepares for His return with His saints to the earth to the Mount of Olives at the close of the Great Tribulation (see I Thess. 4:15-18, Jude verses 14-15, Rev. 19:11-14 & Zech. 14:3-4).
As sure as all these words of God will come to pass without fail, so too will His prophecies that foretell of the eternal punishment that awaits the unforgiven come to pass.
If you have not trusted in God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins you will soon find yourself assigned for eternity in a realm of fire and darkness.
Jesus Christ shed His own blood on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins so that all who come to Him for forgiveness are promised deliverance from God's wrath and instead will receive eternal life in the joy and glory of His presence.
It is just that simple. Don't put if off, everyday lives are lost forever and you can be assured your day to decide for heaven will one day soon also be lost forever.