US 'got it so wrong' on Saddam Hussein, says CIA analyst who interrogated dictator.

'We never thought about using weapons of mass destruction,' former Iraqi ruler told CIA
Will Worley Sunday 18 December 2016

Saddam Hussein was executed in 2006
The US "got it wrong" about Saddam Hussein and Iraq, the CIA analyst who interrogated the former dictator has said.

John Nixon had numerous conversations with the deposed leader and now says that America was critically mistaken about their intervention Iraq in a number of ways.

In particular, he claims, the CIA’s view of Hussein’s attitude to using chemical weapons was wrong.

Mr Nixon also criticised the conduct of George W Bush, under whose leadership America invaded Iraq, saying the former president heard “only what he wanted to hear” on the topic.

During the interrogations, Mr Nixon asked Hussein if he’d ever thought of engaging in a pre-emptive strike with WMDs against US troops based in Saudi Arabia.

According to Mr Nixon, writing in the Mail on Sunday, the former dictator’s reply was: “We never thought about using weapons of mass destruction. It was not discussed. Use chemical weapons against the world? Is there anyone with full faculties who would do this? Who would use these weapons when they had not been used against us?”

'I toppled Saddam’s statue, now I want him back'
Mr Nixon admitted this was “not what we had expected to hear”.

The main reason the American and British governments used to justify the controversial invasion of Iraq was the supposed risk posed by the WMDs possessed by the country.

Saddam Hussein was the president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 Getty

Hussein then said America had made such a grave misjudgement because “the spirit of listening and understanding was not there” and some of the blame for this lay with himself.

The faulty intelligence surrounding WMDs wasn’t the only mistake the Americans made about Iraq.

According to Mr Nixon, Hussein warned him against the nation building the American government was attempting in the country.

“You are going to fail,” Hussein told him. “You are going to find that it is not so easy to govern Iraq.”

Hussein was executed in 2006, three years after his capture close to his home town of Tikrit at the hands of American Special Forces.

But his predictions were accurate: The country descended into chaos after he was removed from power, and nearly 200,000 people have died in the conflicts that followed.

Iraq is now widely regarded as a failed state, and still suffers from widespread violence, including from Isis, who are currently defending the city of Mosul.

Thirteen years on, at least 5,000 American troops remain in the country.

Mr Nixon also spoke out against Mr Bush, who was rude towards him and reportedly made inappropriate jokes about the missing WMDs.

Mr Bush blamed the CIA for Iraq’s failures, Mr Nixon said, adding that he “called its analysis ‘guesswork’ while hearing only what he wanted to hear”.

RTI reveals Make In India logo designed by foreign co’s Indian arm!

Going against the essence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much-touted initiative to promote India as a manufacturing hub, the logo of the Make in India campaign was designed by a foreign firm’s India arm, a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed.

'Make in India' is NDA government's ambitious initiative to attract international investment in the country. (Make in India website photo)

This information came to light after Neemuch district-based RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaur filed an application in this regard with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, New Delhi.

The Make in India campaign was launched by the PM just months after he assumed office to give a push to India’s economy.

However, controversy over its logo erupted soon after — first over the logo’s similarity to advertisements displayed by Zurich Cantonal Bank on local trains in Zurich and later when sections of media raised the issue of it being designed by a subsidiary of a US-based consultant firm.

The logo was designed by the Indian subsidiary of Portland, Oregon-based Wieden+Kennedy, one of the largest independently owned advertising agencies in the world.

Responding to criticism over hiring a foreign firm for the Make in India logo, Amitabh Kant, secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), on

Thursday tweeted, “Logo has been designed by young Indians led by an Indian creative director. This is an Indian subsidiary of W & K.”

Congress distances itself from Chidambaram’s remark on Afzal Guru’s hanging !!

Congress distances itself from Chidambaram’s remark on Afzal Guru’s hanging!!

Chidambaram has been quoted as having said in a newspaper interview that he felt it was possible to hold an “honest opinion” that the Afzal Guru case was “perhaps not correctly decided” and that there were “grave doubts about the extent of his involvement” in the Parliament attack.

Congress on Thursday distanced itself from its senior leader P Chidambaram’s remark that the case of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged in 2013, “was perhaps not correctly decided”. “The decision of the honourable Supreme Court in the Afzal Guru case is final and declaratory of law and justice in the case. It is futile to reopen this debate since the matter has attained judicial finality. Every citizen and instrumentality of the government is bound in law to accept the judgment of the final court,” party spokesman Ashwani Kumar told reporters.

 Kumar, also a senior advocate like Chidambaram, said that “Congress party accepts the SC judgment in the case as final and correct”. Replying to a question, he said the Supreme Court has itself said that “we are not infallible but we are final” Chidambaram has been quoted as having said in a newspaper interview that he felt it was possible to hold an “honest opinion” that the Afzal Guru case was “perhaps not correctly decided” and that there were “grave doubts about the extent of his involvement” in the Parliament attack. Chidambaram was Union Home minister when Afzal Guru’s mercy plea was rejected by the previous UPA government in 2011. 

Startup India: Tech ventures have big expectations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's StartUp India, StandUp India initiative aims at giving boost to entrepreneurship and job creation in the country. As startups await the launch of the action plan on January 16, TechGig.com spoke to tech startup about their expectations from the government's new initiative. 

Natasha Jain, CEO, Ruplee, a mobile eating-out payment app

"At the roots of development is the capability of creating a social sustainability. And as we all know no organisation can run without a skilled manpower.

We are talking of this in a country where the average age is in mid-20s. My take is that more startup will lead to more infrastructure to support the entire startup ecosystem and this will create far more 'sustainable' job opportunities then the startup themselves. For example, food startups would need raw material, suppliers, small food outlets, logistics provider. Similarly, transport startups would need more vehicles on road leading to a larger workforce needed to make and maintain the vehicles; and of course drive them."

Deepak Sethi, cofounder, Pom Pom, an online recycling platform (The company is an invitee at the StartUp India event)

"The emphasis given by PM to start ups, entrepreneurship and new ideas is in itself a strong catalyst for the youth who want to set up their own enterprises. New companies will lead to more jobs and more ideas getting formalised and cemented into a corporate structure. We also hope it will give young women and entrepreneurs, more so in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, access to funding opportunities to scale up and turn their dreams into sustainable businesses."

Dhruv Chaudhari, founder and CTO, Hugefly Technologies, a machine learning startup 

"Startup India, Standup India will undoubtedly boost entrepreneurship, job creation and promote technological innovation at a large scale. Youth will get exposure to work on and develop new technologies. This will not only create jobs, but quality skill sets. Hence, jobs created by Startups will have a long-lasting socio-economic impact as well."

Puneet Kapoor, director, BigChemist, an online pharmacy 

"If early-stage startups are funded in a time-bound manner with a roadmap created for growth and sustainability, they move up the value chain. There could be issues where the startup is not yet profitable or does not have sustaining cash flows and also does not have access to more capital. In such cases, there would be job losses, to avoid such realistic scenario, an exit policy should be part of the programme wherein bigger players with the help of the fund are able to take over the startup without major hindrances to keep that startup going in one form or the other. There should be some part of the fund be marked and kept for such event to follow in future."

Amit Mittal, cofounder, Simpli5d Technologies, a digital anti-fraud tech company 

"I hope the government takes into account the constraints of a small start-up and makes policies which simplify approvals and regulatory compliance. What we need for a startup India is an agile governance."

Siddharth Rathod and Dr. Kamlesh Kothari, founders, CloneMe, a 3D printing startup 

"This initiative will definitely provide a thrust to the new generation, the so-called 25-year-old tech enthusiasts, to take up entrepreneurship. Talking about 3D Printing, in India, the technology is in a growing phase and the initial designers will have the option to freelance, join a company or become entrepreneurs. Apart from CAD designers, machine technicians who can service 3D printers will also see a great demand for their skills in coming years. The sectors in which jobs will be created would be aerospace, automobile, jewellery, medical, art, fashion and consumer sectors.

Kiran Gopinath, founder and CEO, Adadyn, an ad-tech startup 

"Any initiatives to promote Startups in India, will go a long way in creating jobs not just in the metropolitan cities, but in tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well. As we have seen in the last few years, the opening up of a startup ecosystem has improved the employment situation in India and there is room to absorb talent."

Suvro Ghosh, founder, Lazoi, an online healthcare solution platform

"The challenges that Indian start-ups are facing today are manifold -- whether in terms of reach or speed of internet or in terms of technology. Because in long term reach as well as technology advancement will be very important for start-ups to grow and flourish in India. So if we can deliver in that front and reach to farthest corner of India especially in rural areas by 2020 as planned, startups itself will put the established behemoths into shame in creating new jobs."

Ranjit Punja, CEO and cofounder, CreditMantri, a credit management services startup

"As a fintech startup, it is heartening to learn that the Prime Minister has announced an inter-ministerial body to provide innovative startups with the much needed support to scale rapidly. Great ideas coupled with superior execution and facilitated by favourable regulation, adequate financing and now government support will definitely rapidly create employment and can accelerate economic growth in the country."

Rahul Agarwal, coounder and CEO, MebelKart, an online furniture marketplace 

"The tech disruption brought about by startups will play a key role not only in the way we function but also in defining business models and generating employment across the country. We are hopeful that with the government's involvement, we can look forward to ease of policy regulations, tax exemptions and quick implementation of GST. Going forward it will be crucial for the government, trade associations and startup ecosystem to all work together to create innovative and path-breaking products and companies which can change the world."