James Joyner of Outside the Beltway has posted the story of an ex-Marine of Arab descent who is accusing the U.S. of staging Saddam Hussein’s capture (via a web site called What Really Happened).

Ex-Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh, of Lebanese descent, was quoted in the Saudi daily al-Medina Wednesday as saying Saddam was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, and not the day after, as announced by the U.S. Army.

“I was among the 20-man unit, including eight of Arab descent, who searched for Saddam for three days in the area of Dour near Tikrit, and we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced,” Abou Rabeh said…

…

“Later on, a military production team fabricated the film of Saddam’s capture in a hole, which was in fact a deserted well,” Abou Rabeh said. Abou Rabeh was interviewed in Lebanon.

Hmmmm. Joyner’s reaction?

Given Rabeh’s Arab descent, the fact that he’s apparently now living in Lebanon, and that the interview was with a Saudi paper, I’m naturally skeptical of his motivations. Further, I’m always dubious of the ability of large organizations to keep this type of thing secret for any length of time–more so in cases like this, where large sums of money are to be made.

Still, we can’t discount this entirely.

I agree. I’d like to hear from other soldiers in the unit. Thanks to James for alerting us to the story.

Update: LGF is on the same wavelength and points to this account from a local Iraqi translator who was at the capture and this debunking at The Neoconservative.

Update II: WND has reaction from the Pentagon…

“It’s not true, period,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin told WorldNetDaily.

WND also reports…

WND contacted UPI about its story, and was told “United Press International published a summary of the newspaper report without seeking Pentagon comment.”

The wire service has since posted an updated version, which states:

“Pentagon officials dismissed as ‘ridiculous’ and untrue a report that the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was staged…

A Marine Corps captain contacted by WorldNetDaily was unable to confirm by press time if the Marine mentioned in the story was indeed in that branch of the armed forces.