NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Jon Lee Anderson about his Letter from Baghdad in the May 5th issue of the New Yorker. In his article entitled "Saddam's Ear," Anderson describes two men living a paradox in post-Saddam Iraq. Both were in the inner circle of the Hussein regime and lived in fear and admiration of Saddam. One of the men is Dr. Ala Bashir, plastic surgeon and artist, who knew Saddam as someone who was calm and a good listener, and who would have become a great actor if he'd ever gone to Hollywood. Yet, Bashir says he knows Saddam was a dictator and murderer.
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