"I think that a lot of people will disagree with me when I say this, and I didn't see anybody saying that even in the Arabic media this morning. And I usually do not resort to conspiracy theorists. But let me say this. Don't be surprised (that) if in a year or two or three Bob Woodward comes out with a book in which we learn that the scenes today -- as I was watching on Al-Jazeera this morning -- struck me as too theatrical, too orchestrated, and not really genuine. And I really believe -- personally, I have no evidence of course -- I would not be surprised if this was arranged by the CIA and some of the people from the Iraqi national congress. Because it's symbolic effect will be grave, to basically send a message that the regime is crumbling.
"And I also noted . how did this occur? People were walking spontaneously, and there were in their back pockets had hammers and sledge hammers because whenever they stroll down the street they do that. And there were all these findings in Baghdad, and people saying let us just gather . pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein. ... That's not to say that there's not relief for people to get rid of a brutal dictatorship. I'm not saying that. But I also want to say that when people live under a brutal occupation like this one is, after being bombed from the air and sea and everywhere else for 21 days, I mean, of course they're going to be intimidated and they're going to kiss the shoes -- literally -- of their occupiers. I've seen those scenes myself in South Lebanon, when the Israelis came. Within one year, instead of showering them with praise, they were tossing grenades at their convoys.
"...one last point. As I was watching interviews with people in Basra, for example, whenever they are interviewed by Western journalists who are always embedded and surrounded by heavily armed US troops they say rather cautious nice things like "really happy, there's no problem." But I notice when they speak to Abu Dhabi TV and Al-Jazeera TV, they are very critical of the Americans and British. And some of them. Just yesterday, I was watching this on Abu Dhabi TV . some of the interviewed were saying this is getting worse than times under Saddam Hussein. . This is not to say that we should go back to the kind of Saddam tyranny. But I'm saying that I think -- very quickly -- the Iraqis will come the realization, inevitable, that the United States absolutely doesn't have the true interests of the Iraqi people at heart."