# Does Saddam Hussein speak English? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140 "2003-12-15T16:15:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140/21 "2003-12-16T07:30:11Z")
With regards to foreign leaders being interviewed in languages other than their own, I have heard Mexican President Fox and former Israeli PM Ehrud Barak use English in interviews with US journalists, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch for Saddam to be interviewed in English, since it is apparent he does speak it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140/22 "2003-12-16T07:45:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > **Whoever writes the script for the inevitable film is going to have an easy job. The US Army has already written it. Future reports from Iraq will be handed out prior to press conferences in script form with camera directions and suggested casting. What to look out for in future episodes from the razor sharp wit of the typical American GI: “Yippee-Ki Yay!”, “Game Over Man!” and "We don’t need no stinking badges!"** I dunno. If I was there, I’d’ve yelled “All your base are belong to us!” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140/23 "2003-12-16T08:26:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > \*\*Soldiers are trained to follow procedure in search & capture. Not to be smart mouths. Only in the movies are they all wise-cracking mavericks. > > Admit it. It sounds exactly the kind of thing that you wish you’d said _after_ the event. \*\* Think about it this way. You’re PFC Frank, United States Army, and you’ve spent essentially the whole of your three-month tour of duty looking for _one guy_ . Possibly you’ve been called on to provide security for UN famine relief workers and such, but in general you’ve been looking for one moustached feller with some medals and a bald spot. Isn’t it just plausible that you’ve come up with something witty that will get your name mentioned on CNN on the off chance that you’re the one that finds playing card #1? (yeah, yeah, that was Afghanistan, but as far as Bush is concerned they’re all the same anyway). Alternatively, if you’re American and male, you’ve probably thought of something clever to say when you win the Super Bowl… or if you’re not, you’ve thought of something to say when you win the biggest prize in whatever sport happens to be biggest in your country. Kurt Warner hadn’t _just_ decided he was going to Disneyland- he knew all along. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140/24 "2003-12-16T22:49:30Z")
Wasn’t it Joe Montana who was going to Disneyland? ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140/25 "2003-12-17T04:33:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tijuana\_Golds \* > \*\*Wasn’t it Joe Montana who was going to Disneyland? \*\* Actually, it was the New York Giants’ [Phil Simms](http://laughingplace.com/News-ID10010110.asp) who first said “I’m going to Disney World!” after guiding his team to victory in the Super Bowl. Also, the deck of cards did depict Iraqi leaders. ---
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140/26 "2003-12-17T07:46:21Z")
Pfft, if I was one of the soldiers who captured Saddam, I would’ve yelled “You’ve been punk’d!” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140/27 "2003-12-17T13:07:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rainbowthief \* > \*\*Pfft, if I was one of the soldiers who captured Saddam, I would’ve yelled “You’ve been punk’d!” \*\* Humourous, but it’s entirely possibly that all the soldiers involved in the capture were deployed to Iraq before _Punked_’s first episode, and considering how quickly the show tanked, none of the soldiers might _ever_ get a chance to see it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saddam-hussein-speak-english/219140.md?page=1)