FACT SHEET

Alleged Rumsfeld Meeting with Saddam Hussein

May 13, 2005

A columnist in the May 13 edition of “Yeni Safak,” described an alleged dialogue between US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Saddam Hussein. The report claims that the conversation took place during a recent meeting between the two men in Iraq. The Embassy had notified the Turkish media in a May 4 press release that such a meeting never took place. Defense Department spokesman Lawrence DeRita has referred to reports about this alleged meeting, which first appeared in an Arab-language newspaper, as “false, ludicrous, malicious drivel.” As the meeting never took place, all reports concerning the contents of the meeting – including the one reported in “Yeni Safak” – are pure fiction.