BAGHDAD -- Hours before his impending execution, Saddam Hussein looks back on his life and, for the first time, expresses some regrets about the course of his life as the former dictator of Iraq.
"It's hard on Saddam, yes," Hussein says, shaking his head. "Saddam, he think he do right thing by his family. All Iraq is his family! Saddam is not Saddam. Saddam is Uncle Saddam! Everybody love uncle! Then suddenly?" POOF! Uncle sees error of ways, yes?"
Hussein enumerates one or two mistakes he made, such as putting his son Uday in charge of Iraq's soccer federation.
"Bad mistake, bad mistake," says the prisoner, sighing. He has visibly aged since his death sentence was upheld by Iraq's highest court last Tuesday. "Is no wonder Iraqis hate me, yes? Iraqis love football, breathe football, eat football. But Uday, he make them eat football!
"I tell him! I say, 'EH! Uday, you waste many footballs!' But Uday, does he listen to Uncle Saddam? No. No. Uday not hear his Uncle Saddam. Bad mistake."
Then there was the time he undercooked that fish dish. Pressed to provide details, Saddam simply shakes his head.
"It's like American father who works long hours, hard hours. To feed family, to feed great Iraqi nation, yes?" Hussein says. "Then he see answer?" did not spend time enough with family, yes? Yes."
As U.S. soldiers lead him away to the gallows, Saddam sings under his breath: "And cat's in cradle / and silver spoon / little boy blue and doot doot doot / when you comin' home, son? / I don't know when / but we'll have a good time then, dad..."
