Voyageur's Best Features of 2006

“Emotionally, Saddam was a child with a disturbed personality, totally focused on his own power and glory. If he hadn’t been stopped by the grace of God and overwhelming military force, believe me, Saddam would not have been satisfied with Iraq alone. He would have used his ever-increasing power to turn the whole world upside down.” (a quote from Saddam’s Secrets, written by General Georges Sada)

I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Israel. During this trip I spent a lot of time in airports. Much of that time was spent reading. During one of my trips to the newsstands I noticed a book called Saddam’s Secrets.  I know I had to be tired because I barely glanced at it. I wish I had paid closer attention as it would have allowed me to fill the many hours of flying and waiting.

I was only home for a few days when JoAnna flew to Washington D.C. for the National Prayer Breakfast. It was not long after JoAnna got to D.C. that she called me to let me know that her friend, General Georges Sada, had released a book. Of course, it was the Saddam’s Secrets that I had sleepily passed by on my trip. JoAnna has previously written about him for the Voyaguer Press in reference to Col. David Eberly, the highest ranking American POW from the Iraqi war in 1991. General Sada was strategic in helping to keep our POW’s alive at that time. Now, JoAnna was getting the opportunity to spend time with General Sada as he was going from meeting to meeting, elaborating on what he, an insider in Saddam’s military, had been able to share in the releasing of the book. It is an amazing book. Maybe what is most amazing is that General Sada is still alive to tell the story.

In the book, General Georges Sada shares that the vast majority of Iraqis are thrilled that the U.S. has removed Saddam and have a presence in Iraq; he asserts that most of what is presented in the press is not indicative of what is taking place there (in fact, during a personal phone conversation last week, Georges stated that one of the major networks wanted him to appear on a show, but only if he would claim that there were no weapons of mass destruction). General Sada confirms that just prior to the invasion, plane load after plane load of weapons of mass destruction were removed to Syria.

Time after time, General Sada speaks of the evil that was in Saddam and his regime. Yet, Saddam sought his counsel. Why? As Saddam told him, “Georges, you will speak to me the truth, while the others will only tell me what they think I want to hear.” Actually, as General Sada reports, there were many others who lost their lives telling Saddam “the truth.”

In that is the very essence of the book. God preserved one of His in the midst of an evil regime, much as He did with Daniel in the Babylon of King Nebachanezzar. Like Daniel, Gen. Sada did not compromise. He spoke the truth, and the Truth preserved him. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life...” General Sada relied on this Truth to protect and keep him and it brought him into Life.

Is that not the way it should be with us all? The Gospel writer Matthew tells us that “the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached, and then the end shall come.” It is men like Georges Sada who are “preaching” this Gospel by the Life that lives in and through them. Every day he faced opposition, the very real threat of death, and the insults and lies of those who opposed the Author of all Truth. As Georges says, “To God be the glory. It is Jesus who has kept me alive for such a time as this.”

For us, this is an amazing and exciting book. The events of the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Israel, are very real and important to us. A devout Christian in a Muslim country, General Georges Sada is a friend who happens to be in a rare position. His message is one that goes against popular media opinion. The power of this book is not in what it proves or disproves. The power of this book is in the revelation of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that kept General Sada alive to be able to share it.

This article first appeared in the February 28 issue of the Voyageur Press.