Collection of reports shows Saddam's brutality

US intelligence agencies did not anticipate they would know in advance about any successful coup against Saddam Hussein, according to documents analysing the situation in Iraq over the past 25 years.

“Any group of anti-Saddam conspirators that cannot keep their plot secret from US intelligence is not likely to keep it secret from Saddam’s security services,” said a December 1993 national intelligence estimate. The estimates are considered the government’s most secretive and authoritative reviews.