“He was spirited out of the country by the CIA, which agreed to alter his appearance and identity in exchange for a quick military surrender to U.S. forces.

The Russian ambassador ferried him to Moscow via Syria in a car, which could explain why U.S. forces reportedly attacked a diplomatic convoy headed to Damascus.

He made a secret deal with the Americans to trade his life and the lives of his family and top aides in return for the safe release of seven American prisoners of war.

Saddam Hussein has vanished, and his top deputies and their families have fled. With their whereabouts unknown, Cairo’s rumor mill is churning out conspiracy theories by the dozens, mostly involving clandestine plots with the U.S. government.” Sunspot

Related: Steve Perry: The Buyout of Baghdad?: “Tales of a secret arrangement between the Bushies and the Republican Guard persist.” From dubious sources, to be sure, but Perry feels suggestive evidence is beginning to accumulate.