BAGHDAD -- Widespread rumors that Iraqi madman Saddam Hussein has signed a sinister pact with the Devil appear to have been confirmed -- when a photograph surfaced showing the brutal dictator shaking hands with a horned figure with flaming-red skin!
The bizarre photo was purportedly taken in late October by a former Hussein henchman, Lt. Col. Ali Mazhar, who defected to Kuwait and passed the picture on to the CIA.
Chillingly, Lt. Col. Mazhar claims that in the contract, Satan guarantees "complete and total victory over the United States."
CIA analysts were initially skeptical of scores of deal-with-the-Devil reports that had been flooding in from the field -- until the damning photo surfaced.
"This is pretty alarming," says a CIA analyst who specializes in occult research. "It suggests Saddam is so desperate to stay in power, he's willing to do anything and join forces with anyone -- even Lucifer himself."
Outraged Iraqi officials were quick to call the photo a "clumsy forgery."
"This is nothing but shameless American propaganda," railed one Iraqi official.
CIA experts are currently analyzing the photo to determine if it's genuine.
If it is, the weird development is not all that surprising, the analyst says.
"Saddam is the son of a poor peasant and has always been very super- stitious," he notes. "He knows he can't defeat the U.S. on the battlefield -- so he's turned to the occult, hoping for an ace in the hole.
"We've known for months that along with his program to develop weapons of mass destruction, he's been trying to develop an arsenal of occult weaponry. He's been amassing genie bottles, 'magic' swords and recruiting every fortune-teller in Iraq to serve as 'psychic warriors.' "
While Iraq's scientists have been working overtime to develop nuclear warheads and chemical weapons, Saddam's corps of demonologists has labored just as feverishly to raise evil spirits, the CIA analyst reveals.
"Over the summer they claim to have summoned up dozens of the ancient Mesopotamian demons, including Huwawa and Lamastu," he says.
"According to some accounts we've received, the rituals involved in raising these demonic spirits were stomach-turning. We know of at least 114 captured Kurdish rebels who were used in human sacrifices.
"It would have been surprising if Saddam didn't try to raise Satan."
Lt. Col. Mazhar claims the Iraqis did just that on October 31, using a sophisticated version of a Ouija board. The defector says the macabre figure "materialized" in the presidential palace and asked to see Saddam.
"Although his appearance was very fiendish, he was cordial and dressed in a sharp business suit," the defector told the CIA.
"President Hussein was nervous at first, but he tried not to show it. The two of them retreated into an office and met privately for about three hours."
The duo emerged with a 16-page contract, written in Arabic and signed in blood by Saddam Hussein. It guarantees him a "clear and decisive" victory over the West, according to Lt. Col. Mazhar.
"And President Hussein came out of that room grinning from ear to ear," the defector told CIA debriefers.
Many U.S. intelligence officials remain skeptical of the account and are concerned that Saddam may have leaked the strange story and picture himself to bolster his evil image among devil-worshippers worldwide.
"If he can convince thousands of satanists in America that the Prince of Darkness is backing him, he'll have an instant fifth column -- fanatics who'll do anything to help their master's ally," notes a Pentagon source.
The White House is unfazed by the frightening story -- and President Bush remains resolute in his determination to oust Saddam.
"Saddam may have Satan on his side, but we have God on ours," the President reportedly told an aide.
-- By MIKE FOSTER