The United States had previously betrayed the Kurds during Gulf War I, when Sir George Bush, Sr. had been US president.

According to The Sunday Express, Saddam had been handed over to Kurdish forces, who then brokered a deal with US commanders. He was drugged and abandoned, then left for the Americans.

Saddam was evidently betrayed by a member of the al-Jabour tribe whose daughter was "defiled" by Uday, the Express reported. "As soon as he heard the news, Saddam visited the family and paid them 7 million pounds in blood money with the warning: 'If you try to take revenge, you will force me to wipe out the al-Jabour tribe.'"

An Iraqi was quoted as saying, "He was dumped in that hole in Ad Dawr after being handed over to the patriotic front by his own tribesmen and held prisoner until Jalal Talabani made his own negotiations."

Talabani is a leader of the Kurdish Patriotic Front, a militia group in northern Iraq.

The Kurdish Patriotic Front held Saddam while they negotiated their own deal. It didn't involve just the reward, but gaining political advantage in the region.

There had been a feud between Saddam Hussein and the al-Jabour tribe, since the raped woman's husband tried to take revenge and was then shot by Uday's bodyguard.

"The net really began to close when his family fled to Jordan and Uday and Qusay were killed in Mosul. A 20-million pounds reward went to the informant who gave information on their hiding place. However, I doubt if the reward for Saddam will be paid to those directly responsible for his capture," the report concluded.

Like the phoney story about the recovery of Jessica Lynch, the "Capture" of Saddam Hussein is another failed psyops (psychological operation) by the Pentagon.