7:43 PM SGT

CIA gets insight on Saddam Hussein from a novel: daily

WASHINGTON, May 25 (AFP) -

The US Central Intelligence Agency has pored over a novel in Arabic they believed may have been written by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to glean insights into his thinking, The New York Times said Friday.

The novel, "Zabibah wal-Malik" (Zabibah and the King), was purchased by the CIA in a London bookstore after a Saudi-owned, London-based daily identified its author as the Iraqi leader -- on the book's cover only appear the words "by its author."

After a US government interpreter scrutinized the novel for three months, the CIA reached the conclusion that Hussein probably did not write it, but that he carefully supervised its production and suffused it with his own words and ideas, officials told the Times.

CIA officials have read between the lines to find what they claim is an intriguing window into Hussein's thinking. They believe Zabibah represents the Iraqi people.

"In the book, Saddam is the king, and the king is apologetic to the people. He says: 'I'm a great leader. You must obey me. Not only that, you must love me'," said one US official.

"The book is a kind of dirge," another official said. "The king is talking about his death. Every time I read the book I feel for the king. This is what Saddam wants the people to do -- to feel for him."

In a passage, Zabibah is raped, an action US official believes refers to the US invasion of Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. The king declares a war "that will not end until victory or death."

In Zabibah's battle with her rapists -- her estranged husband and his supporters -- she is killed. Her husband is also killed on the same day, January 17, the day the US-led coalition began bombing Baghdad.

"The dialogue between the king and Zabibah exposes a wide spectrum of Saddam's thinking: tribal values are paramount and family is the only trusted security," said the daily, quoting a US government summary of the book.

"Honor is linked to a woman's purity, making rape worse than murder. In this context, man's revenge becomes his highest duty," the summary said, adding that the king's role, "is to give orders, rule and lead the people, who must obey and satisfy his wishes."

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2001