Hussein Casts Himself as a Martyr in Letter

AMMAN, Jordan — Facing trial and possible execution for the massacre of his fellow Muslims, ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein sought in a letter published Sunday to cast himself as a martyr, writing that his “soul and existence is to be sacrificed” for the Arab cause.

A Jordanian friend received the letter through the International Committee of the Red Cross, which verified its authenticity and said it had been censored by the ex-dictator’s American captors in Iraq.

“My soul and my existence is to be sacrificed for our precious Palestine and our beloved, patient and suffering Iraq,” said the letter, published in two Jordanian newspapers and made available to Associated Press.

The Jordanian Arab Baath Socialist Party, which made the letter public, said its recipient declined to be identified. It was believed to have been the first letter sent by Hussein to someone other than a family member since he was captured in December 2003.

Iraqi authorities are preparing about a dozen cases against Hussein and his former lieutenants but have completed the preliminary investigation of only one -- the 1982 massacre of Shiite townspeople in Dujayl.

Hussein’s letter appeared to include musings on his mortality. “Life is meaningless without the considerations of faith, love and inherited history in our nation,” he wrote.

“It is not much for a man to support his nation with his soul and all he commands because it deserves it, since it has given us life in the name of God and allowed us to inherit the best,” he added in an apparent call to Arabs to follow in his footsteps.