Syrian Intelligence Officer Captured in Iraq: Orders to Slaughter People in Iraq Came from the Syrian Government

The following are excerpts from the interrogation of Syrian intelligence officer Fadi Al-Abdallah who was captured in Iraq. Al-Iraqiya TV aired this interrogation on March 22, 2005:

Interviewer: What is your name?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Second Lieutenant Ahmad… First Lieutenant Fadi Al-Abdallah.

Interviewer: Second lieutenant or first lieutenant?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: First Lieutenant Fadi Al-Abdallah, of Syrian intelligence.

Interviewer: What exactly was your role before the collapse of the regime?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: My role was only to train, to supervise, and to distribute the money to the terrorist networks.

Interviewer: Did you know that the regime would fall on a specific year or date?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: No, sir.

Interviewer: Then why did you form these networks before the fall of the regime?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, in order to unite Syria and Iraq. These were the instructions we received from above.

Interviewer: When I want to unite my household with my brother's, do I tell my children to slaughter my brother's family in order to be united?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: No, sir.

Interviewer: So how can you explain this?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, these were our orders.

Interviewer: These were orders?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir.

Interviewer: You mean it wasn't your idea to unite. You had orders to prepare for this plan.

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir.

Interviewer: But what was the goal of this plan? Did you know or didn't you know?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: I didn't know. But I knew that the goal was to unite Syria and Iraq so they would become one Arab country.

Interviewer: My brother, unification cannot be reached through slaughter.

Interviewer: From whom did you get your orders?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, from Abu 'Abdu.

Interviewer: What orders did Abu 'Abdu give you?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Orders such as: "Give money to so and so," or "Pass on these orders." I got the orders from him and passed them on to networks.

Interviewer: You mean that our sons, who were slaughtered by you...

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir.

Interviewer: Who gave the orders to slaughter those people?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: The Syrian intelligence.

Interviewer: Why? What did you have against these people?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, I have no idea. All they only told us was that the goal was to unite both countries. They would tell us these people were collaborators.

Interviewer: People who were kidnapped and released for ransom. Did you yourself get any of this money?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: No, sir.

Interviewer: Was it considered Syrian revenue?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir, it might have been.

Interviewer: How much did you take from the ransom money?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: I took some but not too much. I didn't take large sums.

Interviewer: The sums you took - did you spend them on yourself, or did you return them to the Syrian intelligence?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: I returned them to Syrian intelligence.

Interviewer: Through Abu 'Abdu?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir.

Interviewer: So Iraq has become a business.

Interviewer: How many people did you kill in Iraq?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, I didn't kill anyone.

Interviewer: You didn't slaughter?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: No, sir. I just gave them the money so they would slaughter.

Interviewer: You would give the order and they would slaughter?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir.

Interviewer: What was the purpose of these slaughters?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, these were the orders I got from above. It was not up to me.

Interviewer: Didn't you discuss it with the people who gave you the orders?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: No, sir. When I asked they told me that this was done in order to unite the countries and that they are collaborators.

Interviewer: How did you convince people work with you?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, we told them that when the two countries are united they will get important positions, and so on.

Interviewer: But what was the goal of these acts? I want to understand one thing: What was the purpose of these acts? When your people slaughter someone they shout "Allah Akbar." Allah is innocent of this crime. when he beheads [the victim] with an axe he shouts "Allah Akbar"… Brother, even when I slaughter a chicken I can't eat it. You have brought people to such a mentality. How did you do this?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: With money, sir.

Interviewer: Money? So the goal was for these people to carry out the operations for money?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir.

Interviewer: Then why all these cries of "Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar"?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: All these, cries were false.

Interviewer: So all the CDs that are circulating on the streets - All these acts of slaughter and other thing one is ashamed to mention - Why did you film them and circulate them?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Sir, this is what the Syrian government wanted.

Interviewer: You mean there was a purpose behind this.

Fadi Al-Abdallah: Yes, sir.

Interviewer: What was the purpose of these acts?

Fadi Al-Abdallah: To terrorize the [Iraqi] people and make them hate the Americans and the new government.