Saddam feared getting HIV from prison guards

A leading Arabic newspaper reports that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was afraid he would catch venereal disease, including HIV, from the US soldiers guarding his prison.

The London-based pan-Arab Al-Hayat quotes Saddam’s writings from prison saying he thought he might get a venereal disease from his American guards because they hung their clothes on his laundry line.

The report also said Saddam improved his English by talking with his guards and had intimate conversations with his captors.

Al-Hayat reporter Bisan al-Sheikh said she received the dairies from US authorities in Baghdad.

The US military in Baghdad confirmed that select material of Saddam’s prison writings was released and reported on.