I recently met a woman who, I was told, was the first ever Western
journalist to inverview Saddam Hussein.  I've tried searches on
"saddam first ever interview", "first saddam interview western
journalist", etc.  Her name is Tara, and I believe she's from
Arkensas.  Ideally, I'd like to read a transcript of the interview. 
Unfortunately, I don't know her surname or when the interview took
place.  Any info would be very much appreciated!

---

Request for Question Clarification by feilong-ga on 23 Feb 2004 06:57 PST

Hi Avr1l,

Are you 100% sure her name is Tara? I found several references to a
lady who is clearly stated as the "first Westerner to interview Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein" and her first name doesn't begin with T.
It's likely that I may be able to find more info about her and post
these as an answer, but I'm sure you'd like to check your info first.
The name of the lady I'm referring to begins with G.

- Feilong

---

Clarification of Question by avr1l-ga on 24 Feb 2004 05:06 PST

Wow - that's interesting.  Her name is definitely Tara - she's my
partner's dad's girlfriend and we spent last weekend with them.  I
would still be interested in reading the interview and finding out
more about the journalist involved.

I thought it was a bit of a claim!

Kind regards,
Avril

---

Request for Question Clarification by feilong-ga on 25 Feb 2004 00:53 PST

"I would still be interested in reading the interview and finding out
more about the journalist involved."

Thanks for your reply. Just to be sure, would you like me to post the info I found ?

---

Clarification of Question by avr1l-ga on 25 Feb 2004 01:02 PST

Yes please, feilong!

Many thanks and have a great day,
Avs

Hi Avril,

First of all, thank you very much for your reply and for allowing me
to post an answer. I used "Tara" in my initial search but I can find
nothing that links the name to being the "first". I continued
searching and found several references to a lady whose name begins
with G.

Born in September 2, 1935, Georgie Anne Geyer was the first Westerner
to interview Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Below you'll find
numerous links about her. Simply press the "Shift" key before clicking
on a link so it will open a new window or right-click on the link and
choose "Open in New Window" for your convenience.

Infolease.com
Georgie Anne Geyer
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0880173.html

Here's are interviews with Georgie done by Insight magazine and The Oklahoma Daily:

News World Communications, Inc. - Insight
Geyer Spans Globe To Get the Story
http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=207282

The Oklahoma Daily
Foreign correspondent gives insight on war
http://www.oudaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/04/03/3e8bbc260b599


Here's another "first westerner" -- Tony Benn: first westerner to
interview Saddam Hussein in 12 years:

Former British MP and Minister Interviews Saddam Hussein
http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2003/2003_1-9/2003-6a/europe.html

Guardian Newspapers Limited - MediaGuardian.co.uk
Saddam interview goes to C4 
http://media.guardian.co.uk/iraqandthemedia/story/0,12823,888730,00.html


Search strategy:

tara saddam interview "first western" -- in Google Web search
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=tara+saddam+interview+%22first+western%22&btnG=Google+Search

"Georgie Anne Geyer" "first westerner" saddam -- in Google Web search
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Georgie+Anne+Geyer%22+%22first+westerner%22+saddam&num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&newwindow=1&safe=off&filter=0

"first westerner" saddam interview -- in Google Web search
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=%22first+westerner%22+saddam+interview&btnG=Google+Search


I hope this helps you. Should you have any comments/questions, please
feel free to post your clarification before rating this and I'll
attend to you as soon as possible. Thank you for visiting us and I
hope you become a frequent and happy user of Google Answers.

Best regards,
Feilong

Absolutely superb, Feilong.  THank you SO MUCH!!  There are so many
threads to look into - far more than I'd have come up with if left to
my own devices (even if I had the patience).  Can't wait to get me
teeth into the articles...

Have a great day!
Avril

Hi Avril,

Thank you very much for the perfect five. Enjoy reading the articles
and have a blessed day always.

Cheers,
Feilong