This is a partial transcript from “Hannity & Colmes,” January 25, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: He was one of Saddam Hussein’s top military advisors and the only man who disagreed with the dictator and lived to tell about it. Now Iraqi General George Sada is breaking his silence with a new book, “Saddam’s Secrets: How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein.” He joins us for an exclusive interview tonight.
General, when did you come to the United States?
GEORGE SADA, AUTHOR, “SADDAM’S SECRETS”: Well, I came two years ago.
HANNITY: And up to that point, you were in Iraq?
SADA: Yes, I was in Iraq.
HANNITY: And you were Saddam Hussein’s top military advisor?
SADA: Yes, I was No. 2 in the air force.
HANNITY: And how many years did you work under him?
SADA: I worked since the revolution of 1968.
HANNITY: From the beginning?
SADA: Yes. I was retired in ’86 and then I was recalled again when Iraq invaded Kuwait.
HANNITY: Yes. You reveal in this book, there’s been so much discussion about weapons of mass destruction, whether they had them, where they were stored, how they got rid of them, you know, when it came time for the United States to invade and where are they now? You answered these questions.
SADA: Well, I want to make it clear, very clear to everybody in the world that we had the weapon of mass destruction in Iraq, and the regime used them against our Iraqi people. It was used against Kurds in the north, against Arabs — marsh Arabs in the south…
HANNITY: Some people say they were destroyed. Did we still have them leading up to the invasion?
SADA: No, he had a very good organization that Saddam was created to show some of them but to continue to hide.
HANNITY: So he had them.
SADA: Yes.
HANNITY: Where were they? And were they moved and where?
SADA: Well, up to the year 2002, 2002, in summer, they were in Iraq. And after that, when Saddam realized that the inspectors are coming on the first of November and the Americans are coming, so he took the advantage of a natural disaster happened in Syria, a dam was broken. So he — he announced to the world that he is going to make an air bridge…
HANNITY: You know for a fact he moved these weapons to Syria?
SADA: Yes.
HANNITY: How do you know that?
SADA: I know it because I have got the captains of the Iraqi airway that were my friends, and they told me these weapons of mass destruction had been moved to Syria.
BECKEL: How did he move them, general? How were they moved?
SADA: They were moved by air and by ground, 56 sorties by jumbo, 747, and 27 were moved, after they were converted to cargo aircraft, they were moved to Syria.
BECKEL: So I assume this would not have happened without the permission of Damascus. Is that correct?
SADA: Well, of course, you know, when the aircraft would land in Syria, they must have some sort of agreement between the two.
BECKEL: So the Syrian government knows exactly where these weapons are today?
SADA: I think so. Because I am sure that these weapons have landed in Damascus. Where could they have gone?
BECKEL: OK, let me ask you a question. This may be a little tough, but I have to ask you this, general. You talked about the use of these weapons, and it’s been documented. They’re horrible, you said. And you were in the military during that time.
SADA: Yes.
BECKEL: Do you have any personal regrets? Your military used these weapons, correct?
SADA: Yes.
BECKEL: And you were part of — and you were part of that military. So I guess my question is, do you now feel a great deal of regret for having used the weapons?
SADA: Yes, of course. Iraq had used that weapons, it was a great time. And especially when it was used against our people, Kurds in the north and Arabs in the marsh areas.
BECKEL: And during the eight-year Iranian war, it was used against Iranians, as well, right?
SADA: Yes, to be very frank, it was used when the Iranian used to penetrate our defenses in our territories.
BECKEL: Do the Iranians have chemical weapons of mass destruction, as well?
SADA: Well, I cannot tell, but as you know they are building now a nuclear portion.
BECKEL: Last question for you, did Saddam Hussein have a nuclear weapon capability? Was he moving towards it? And if so, when would he have had it if the United States had not invaded?
SADA: Well, you see, Iraq had some projects for nuclear weapons but it was destroyed in 1981.
BECKEL: So — so there was no — so there was no chance there were nuclear weapons or on their way to nuclear weapons when we invaded?
SADA: Not in Iraq.
BECKEL: OK.
HANNITY: And let me ask you about this. You describe this conversation that you had with Saddam Hussein and your disagreement with him.
SADA: Yes.
HANNITY: Not many people got to disagree with Saddam Hussein and live to tell about it.
SADA: Yes.
HANNITY: What happened?
SADA: Yes, actually, I had many times— I have disagreed with Saddam Hussein on many things. And for some reason, he used to believe me and he used to listen to me.
And thank God that in the last war, we were so supposed to attack Israel by like eight aircraft, all equipped with nuclear — chemical weapons in two waves, one wave through Jordan and the other wave through Syria, without telling Syrians and Jordan about that.
But I mentioned to the president, “Sir, this is going to be a disaster, because Israelis have got plans to destroy these airplanes before they go to Israel. Although whatever air defenses are good, but still some aircraft can penetrate.”
HANNITY: Was he an evil man?
SADA: Well, I think to a certain degree, yes, he was.
HANNITY: All right. Thank you for sharing that. Wonder if the mainstream media will pick up on your comments. Appreciate you being with us.
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