Not One Gilded Faucet in Sight

The U.S. special forces soldier was poised to dispatch the suspect in the hole to the other world when a scraggly, disoriented figure raised his arms out of the hollow.

“I’m Saddam Hussein,” the man said in English. “I’m the president of Iraq. And I’m willing to negotiate.”

“President Bush sends his regards,” the soldier replied as a colleague helped the ex-dictator out of the ground.

A day after the former Iraqi leader’s arrest was announced, new details emerged Monday about the intricate operation that led to the capture near this village southeast of Tikrit, Hussein’s longtime power base.

Hussein was ratted out by a man from a prominent Tikrit-area family, one so trusted that it was among a handful that provided men to Hussein’s presidential security detail and now is suspected of being heavily involved in attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces, said Col. James Hickey, commander of the Army brigade that launched the raid.

The man, whose identity remains secret, described the general area in which Hussein was likely to be living. U.S. forces also had learned that Hussein might be hiding underground.

Still, the ramshackle state of Hussein’s quarters -- a decrepit above-ground two-room adobe hut and the concealed crawl space outside -- stunned the Americans.

“We expected something more elaborate, something more well-constructed,” said Hickey, who had led a dozen large raids in search of Hussein. “We didn’t think it would be so humble and simple.”

The underground chamber, which was opened to journalists Monday, is about the size of a coffin and contains a fluorescent light, exhaust fan and ventilation pipe. Though it was probably a tight squeeze for Hussein, it provided him with excellent cover, at least until Saturday night.

The hut, consisting of a bedroom and kitchen, is a similarly humble and unlikely dwelling for a former dictator known for his extravagant tastes.

On Monday, the bedroom was a cluttered mess containing a few boxes of new sandals, packages of underwear and T-shirts, and a poster of Noah’s Ark on the wall. There were packages of insect repellent, and the mini refrigerator contained a few hard chocolate treats in cellophane wrappers.

Outside hung homemade sausages and dried figs. Beyond a small wall surrounding the hut lay a dirt path, a field of sunflowers and pens holding turkeys, chickens, sheep and cows.

The raid on the compound was the culmination of an intense intelligence-gathering operation that for months focused on Hussein’s personal security detail, officials said. The presumption was that some of his former bodyguards were probably still in touch with Hussein and helping him move about the country to avoid arrest, officials said. U.S. forces have detained several bodyguards and aides.

“We have built a pretty elaborate estimate of who Saddam Hussein supporters and enablers were in the area,” said Hickey, a 43-year-old native of Chicago.

In November, U.S. forces began focusing on the man who would eventually provide the crucial information on Hussein.

Raids on the evening of Dec. 4 resulted in the arrest of several of the man’s associates, but he remained at large. The next evening, acting on information that the man was in the nearby city of Samarra, the Army swooped down on a site. They seized $1.9 million in the raid but failed to find their target.

Then, on Friday, the man was arrested in Baghdad in a large sweep that also resulted in the detention of many former members of the Fedayeen Saddam, a militia loyal to Hussein.

The man was turned over to U.S. forces in Tikrit the next day and was questioned intensely for four hours. He provided detailed information on Hussein’s whereabouts, leading to the raid that netted the former leader.

“I felt a great sense of accomplishment,” Hickey said.

The man remains in U.S. custody, Hickey said, and is not likely to be eligible for the $25 million reward the U.S. had offered for information leading to Hussein’s arrest.

Several of the man’s top associates have been detained on suspicion of financing insurgent attacks, and several of his relatives are “definitely combatants,” said Hickey, who added that coalition forces twice raided family properties near Tikrit this summer. Still, the informant’s role -- if any -- in the armed opposition remains unclear.

In the raid that netted Hussein, two other men were detained: One is believed to be a former aide to Hussein, the other the owner of the property. The two tried to flee as troops approached but were quickly caught.

As for Hussein, Hickey said the decision to surrender was astute. The soldiers’ standing orders were to capture Hussein dead or alive -- and they had anticipated that he might put up a struggle.

Tossing a grenade into the hole or spraying it with small-arms fire would have been the soldiers’ expected response in case of a threat. But Hussein offered no resistance, even though he carried a sidearm.

His offer of negotiation was brusquely rebuffed by the squad of about 24 special forces soldiers who took him into custody, officials said.

Within an hour of his apprehension at 8:15 p.m., Hussein was aboard an Army helicopter, en route to a secure location in Tikrit, officials said. He would soon be shuttled south to Baghdad for interrogation.