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On Feb. 7, 2004, Saddam Hussein rattled off his accomplishments on behalf of the Iraqi people to his FBI interviewers. Listed third was that he "supported the 1973 war against Israel in Egypt and Syria."

Hussein's preoccupation with Israel and Zionism is a consistent theme running through the transcripts of the former Iraqi dictator's discussions with the FBI after his capture in December 2003. The documents were released July 1 after a Freedom of Information Act request by the National Security Archive.

Hussein's obsession with Israel had two main aspects: his suspicion of Zionism, and his pan-Arab approach to the Palestinians.

The vast Zionist conspiracy

Hussein expressed a paranoia of Zionist influence in American policy common today even in the West. He told his interviewers that leading up to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Iraq was trying to befriend the United States and rebuild its economy, when the U.S. turned on Iraq for three reasons, the first of which was Zionist control.

"First, the 'Zionist' power and influence in the United States dictates foreign policy," the transcript states. "Any country viewed as a threat to Israel, such as Iraq, becomes a target of the 'conspiracy.' Hussein offered proof of this position stating Israel issued an official statement saying that any peace agreement with Arab countries must include Iraq."

Zionist influence, Hussein added, "extends throughout the United States to include elections."

When Hussein's interviewer asked if Iraq's invasion of Kuwait precipitated Western sanctions against Iraq, Hussein returned to this theory.

"I ask you as an American," Hussein shot back, "when did the United States stop shipments of grain to Iraq? In 1989. When did the United States contact European countries to boycott sales of technological equipment to Iraq? In 1989. The United States was planning to destroy Iraq, an intention pushed by Zionism and the effect of Zionism on elections in the United States."

Hussein took it so far as to justify firing SCUD missiles at Israel during that war. He said he thought the U.S. would back off if Israel was "hurt."

The Arab-Israeli conflict

Hussein told his interviewers that any attempt to understand the Israeli-Palestinian issue should be made from the perspective of an Arab, not only a Palestinian. He said uprisings against Arab leaders, especially in the 1960s, were often a result of that leader's failure to resolve the "Palestinian issue." Especially damaging to the Arab ego, Hussein said, was Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. He said it made Arab people of the region "sad and depressed".

Hussein supported former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's form of pan-Arabism, because he believed Nasser to be strong enough to lead the Arab world. Hussein was dismissive of Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat, because he was unable to do anything about the 1948 war and the "rape of Palestine."

He went so far as to accuse Sadat of being a traitor, since he abdicated his responsibility to the entire Arab world.

"The Arab nation, from poor to wealthy individuals, is one nation with the same language, common borders, and the same aims," Hussein told his interviewer. "There is one Arab world, from the 'simple' person to the lawmakers and thinkers."

Hussein even brushed aside any intra-Arab fights, such as the reported refusal of Syrian forces to provide Iraqi forces with maps and necessary equipment during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

"Perhaps the Syrians did not have maps," Hussein offered.

Hussein admitted that Palestinian groups, such as Fatah, had offices in Baghdad, and representatives from terrorist groups like the Palestine Liberation Front and Abu Nidal Organization were "accepted" as guests of Iraq. Though he offered these groups assistance, he said he would only accept the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the true representative of the Palestinians.

"Any Palestinian who wanted to train and to go fight for Palestine, I said train him," Hussein said, adding that, according to the memo, "If a person says he wants to struggle against Israel, and that person is not officially representing Palestinians, there is no conflict with Iraqi policy."

That Iraqi policy seems to have stemmed from the 1974 Rabat Summit in Morocco, according to the memos. This was the first conference Hussein personally attended, and he accepted the Palestinian proposal for a state in the West Bank, which meant that Jordan would have to relinquish its claims on the land. That step was officially taken in 1988. Hussein said at the time, Jordanian King Hussein bin Talal did not object to the move, "but seemed unconvinced."

In the interviews, Hussein sounded notes of disapproval for the prospect of peace for its own sake. He said peace without a cause will create a "change in balance," possibly referring to the assassinations of Sadat, Jordanian King Abdullah I, and former Lebanese Prime Minister Riad Bey al-Solh for attempting to make peace with Israel.

"Being at peace is not easy," Hussein said.