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Article: Saddam's fears prevented coup, CIA report shows; Didn't trust Republican Guard.(NATION)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- October 11, 2004
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Byline: Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The United States has learned why neither the Iraqi military nor the CIA was able to topple Saddam Hussein in a classic coup d'etat.
The CIA's voluminous report on Saddam's regime details how he stayed a safe distance from the Republican Guard. The seven army divisions stood as Saddam's most potent weapon. They invaded Kuwait, crushed uprisings in the Shi'ite south and Kurdish north and protected Baghdad. But Saddam did not trust the Guard's commanders.
"[The Republican Guard] was the last and the heaviest armed tier of regime security," said the report, filed last week by chief weapons inspector ...