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SE xX] U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation In Reply, Please Refer to Baghdad Operations Center File No. February 15, 2004 DECLASSIFIED BY uc/baw 60324 ON 05-06-2009 Interview Session Number: 5 Interview Conducted by: SSA George L. Piro b6 SSA bic Arabic/English Translation: PH Saddam Hussein (High Value Detainee #1) was interviewed on February 15, 2004 at a military detention facility at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), Baghdad, Iraq. Hussein provided the following information: ) Prior to any questions being asked, Hussein stated that he wanted to ask a question. He then asked what kind of changes have taken place in the world, i.e., with China and Russia, and in international politics. The interviewer related that there has not been a lot of Significant changes, that efforts are underway to rebuild Irag and this includes support from Russia and China, and that things are moving forward rapidly. YK Hussein then explained that since he has been in prison for one or two months, he does not have a picture of what is happening. He indicated that he had intended to ask the interviewer this question two days earlier. Hussein discussed a movie he saw, based on a book, A Tale of Two Cities, which he had read long ago, in which a British man imprisoned in a French jail is likewise out of touch with what is happening in the outside world. According to Hussein, the author of this book was critical of French authorities for this treatment. Hussein noted that nothing had changed since that time. The interviewer responded that "Over time, some things have changed; others have not." 2S The interviewer informed Hussein that today's session would be a dialogue about the 1968 takeover by the Ba'ath Party, in particular trying to distinguish fact from legend. Hussein responded by stating in effect that in 1968, Iraq was living in a primitive way and could only advance itself seriously by understanding two concepts. The first was to recognize that the country had historical precedence for change as demonstrated This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.