Rob
19-03-2003, 08:24:AM
http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,3600,242185,00.jpg
The real Saddam is on the left
Saddam double: it's all in the ears
By Catherine Taylor in Tehran
March 14, 2003
TO the untrained eye there seems little doubt that the man in the picture is Saddam Hussein: the small dark eyes, bushy eyebrows and plump jowls all mimic the features of the Iraqi President.
But Muslim al-Essadi, an Iraqi doctor who escaped his homeland 24 years ago and now lives in exile in Iran, delights in pointing out the error. "Look at his ear," he says, running his finger over the photo. "The outer edge is shaped like a question mark. Saddam's ear is oval and the lobe is much thicker."
Dr al-Essadi - an expert in what he calls "the architecture of the body" - has compiled cupboards full of images stretching from authentic shots of Saddam as a boy to the latest newspaper clippings and television appearances.
Using a mixture of dentistry, palmistry and Chinese-style face reading, Dr al-Essadi says he can say with certainty that Saddam, 65, uses three body doubles who are chosen at apparent random to fulfil presidential duties ranging from television appearances to meetings with foreign dignitaries.
The verdict: Saddam has not made a public appearance since December 1998.
"I believe he is dead," says Dr al-Essadi. "I have seen secret documents that say he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1998 and given six months to live."
Regardless of whether the Iraqi leader is dead or alive, Dr al-Essadi insists a recent meeting between Saddam and former British Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn was a fake. "It was obvious from the ears," he says.
And the man interviewed by Dan Rather from American television network CBS last month was also a double.
The giveaway?
The real Saddam has an unusual "lifeline" on the palm of his hand that splits into two, with a second line etched across the fleshy mound under the thumb. "When he lifted his hand to say goodbye to the CBS reporter there was no extra line," Dr al-Essadi says. "Palm lines are like finger prints. They are unique."
As well as his fleshy, round ears and unusual palm, the real Saddam's bottom teeth protrude beyond the top when he smiles, Dr al-Assedi says.
His shoulders are square, unlike one of his favourite doubles who has sloping shoulders. Hussein also has a kink in the bone of his forehead, just above the eyebrow. And his hands "large and thick like a farm worker", according to Dr al-Essadi, sometimes appear finely boned.
In other pictures, his height seems to vary by as much as five centimetres.
These differences have survived the plastic surgery Saddam forces upon his doubles, Dr al-Essadi says.
The Australian
Source http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6124501%255E25777,00.html
Very interesting I must say, Dr al-Essadi says Saddam is already dead? could this be one of the greatest con's in history? fooling everyone, even George W. Bush and The Pentagon?
The real Saddam is on the left
Saddam double: it's all in the ears
By Catherine Taylor in Tehran
March 14, 2003
TO the untrained eye there seems little doubt that the man in the picture is Saddam Hussein: the small dark eyes, bushy eyebrows and plump jowls all mimic the features of the Iraqi President.
But Muslim al-Essadi, an Iraqi doctor who escaped his homeland 24 years ago and now lives in exile in Iran, delights in pointing out the error. "Look at his ear," he says, running his finger over the photo. "The outer edge is shaped like a question mark. Saddam's ear is oval and the lobe is much thicker."
Dr al-Essadi - an expert in what he calls "the architecture of the body" - has compiled cupboards full of images stretching from authentic shots of Saddam as a boy to the latest newspaper clippings and television appearances.
Using a mixture of dentistry, palmistry and Chinese-style face reading, Dr al-Essadi says he can say with certainty that Saddam, 65, uses three body doubles who are chosen at apparent random to fulfil presidential duties ranging from television appearances to meetings with foreign dignitaries.
The verdict: Saddam has not made a public appearance since December 1998.
"I believe he is dead," says Dr al-Essadi. "I have seen secret documents that say he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1998 and given six months to live."
Regardless of whether the Iraqi leader is dead or alive, Dr al-Essadi insists a recent meeting between Saddam and former British Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn was a fake. "It was obvious from the ears," he says.
And the man interviewed by Dan Rather from American television network CBS last month was also a double.
The giveaway?
The real Saddam has an unusual "lifeline" on the palm of his hand that splits into two, with a second line etched across the fleshy mound under the thumb. "When he lifted his hand to say goodbye to the CBS reporter there was no extra line," Dr al-Essadi says. "Palm lines are like finger prints. They are unique."
As well as his fleshy, round ears and unusual palm, the real Saddam's bottom teeth protrude beyond the top when he smiles, Dr al-Assedi says.
His shoulders are square, unlike one of his favourite doubles who has sloping shoulders. Hussein also has a kink in the bone of his forehead, just above the eyebrow. And his hands "large and thick like a farm worker", according to Dr al-Essadi, sometimes appear finely boned.
In other pictures, his height seems to vary by as much as five centimetres.
These differences have survived the plastic surgery Saddam forces upon his doubles, Dr al-Essadi says.
The Australian
Source http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6124501%255E25777,00.html
Very interesting I must say, Dr al-Essadi says Saddam is already dead? could this be one of the greatest con's in history? fooling everyone, even George W. Bush and The Pentagon?