Interrogation to focus on guerrilla ties

WASHINGTON — Saddam Hussein’s interrogators are initially focusing on the former Iraqi president’s ties to the guerrilla war, pressing him for intelligence about impending attacks and the locations of resistance leaders, U.S. officials said Sunday.

Of secondary concern, at the outset, is whether Hussein will answer the many unresolved questions about Iraq’s alleged efforts to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and his government’s ties to terrorism, the officials said.

That will be addressed down the road, perhaps when interrogators have established a rapport with Hussein, according to the officials.

Hussein is likely to spend months, if not years, in isolation and under interrogation by U.S. military and CIA officials, government sources said Sunday.

During the Hussein’s arrest, U.S. troops discovered "descriptive written material of significant value," one U.S. commander in Iraq said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, described Saddam as talkative and cooperative after his arrest. Other officials, however, shied away from suggesting he has provided any useful intelligence right away after his capture.

Their immediate hope is that he will have a wealth of knowledge on the insurgency against the U.S.-led occupation force and its Iraqi allies, officials said.

Over the long term, intelligence officials hope Hussein will put to rest questions on the Bush administration’s stated reason going to war: Iraq’s suspected weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorists.