C.I.A. Sleuths Study a Novel for the Thinking of Hussein

[Doug Millison]

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/25/world/25IRAQ.html
C.I.A. Sleuths Study a Novel for the Thinking of Hussein

[...] The book tells of the close relationship between a mighty king and a
beautiful villager named Zabibah. "I believe the novel was written by a
novelist or a group of highly educated people who know Saddam upside down,"
said one United States official. "In the book, Saddam is the king, and the
king is apologetic to the people. He says: `I'm a great leader. You must
obey me. Not only that, you must love me.' " Most surprising are the king's
stream-of-consciousness confessions to Zabibah. "He imparts his inner self
to her, even his anger and frustration," the official said."  [...] Struck
by her wisdom and intelligence, the king carries on long conversations with
her - about God, politics, love, family, loyalty, betrayal and the will of
the people. Along the way, he reveals his insecurities. [...] The
relationship, except for occasional embraces and kisses, remains chaste and
eventually destroys Zabibah's marriage to a cruel man she never loved. "I
love you, I don't love my husband," Zabibah confesses to the king. "I'm
married in name only." [...] The book's most powerful section focuses on the
rape of Zabibah, an obvious reference to the United States invasion of Iraq
at the end of the Persian Gulf war. One night, while returning to her
cottage from the king's palace, Zabibah is gagged and dragged into a forest
where she is raped by a man who conceals his identity. He turns out to be
her estranged husband.[...] "Saddam's style, sentence structure and
expressions are clearly present in the novel," said a United States
government summary of the book. "The dialogue between the king and Zabibah
exposes a wide spectrum of Saddam's thinking: tribal values are paramount
and family is the only trusted security. Honor is linked to a woman's
purity, making rape worse than murder. In this context, man's revenge
becomes his highest duty." The king's role, meanwhile, "is to give orders,
rule and lead the people, who must obey and satisfy his wishes."  [...]