In Will They Fight?, Stuart Herrington, a retired Army counterintelligence officer, recounts what interrogated Iraqi officers said after the first Gulf War:
“Saddam,” one general remarked bitterly, “never wore muddy boots.” The man had no training or skills as a soldier. Saddam, several observed, had no respect for his generals, other than a few in his trusted inner circle. One general recalled wryly, “Only selected Republican Guard commanders had any warning that Kuwait was to be invaded. Most of us learned of the operation from the television news.”