THE BLACK HOLE's blog: "THE BLACK HOLE By Latif Yahia"

In an extraordinary twist of fate and because of his uncanny resemblance to Uday Saddam Hussein, Latif Yahia is forced to work as the "double or fiday" of the despots son.During his training, he witnesses the true evil of the man that he is forced to imitate and the brutality of the Iraqi regime at first hand.While attending state functions and royal audiences as his loathsome master, Latif ponders his escape strategy. Undeniably the life of wealth and excess is enticing but he is no more than a bird in a gilded cage.After several assassination attempts against Latif/Uday fail and during Gulf War 1, Latif makes his escape from his life of hell through the Northern Kurdish Territories, with the help of the CIA he is flown out of Iraq to a "New Life" in the West and this is where "TheBlack Hole" picks up his remarkable story. On the 9th of March 1992 Latif Yahia emerged from behind the walls of the Kingdom of Terror. Vowing to settle his account with the Baghdadi regime he bolsters himself for the battle ahead. Knowing his adversaries well he was prepared for the fight but nothing prepared him for the reaction he would receive from the Western Intelligence Services. The game of cat and mouse that ensued would take him across the breadth of Europe, find him imprisoned in a covert CIA prison and see him survive four assassination attempts and the brutal murder of his beloved Saudi Princess. A compelling true story that has been played out in the world's media. Latif Yahia the man that broke the news to the world of Saddam Hussein's inner circle is still, after 15 years in the West, stateless. "When the news of covert CIA prisons in Europe broke in 2006, I quietly laughed to myself, I knew this in 1994. I was one of those prisoners that didn't exist, in a prison that didn't exist, in a supposedly democratic country. Again I found myself with a story that needed to be told."

Latif Yahia About the author Latif Yahia now lives in Ireland with his Irish wife and children, after fifteen years apart he is now reunited with his mother and has in his care his brothers two children, their mother was killed in Baghdad during "Shock and Awe".During the "War on Iraq" Latif was in opposition to the invasion not because of his support for the Hussein Regime on the contrary, but because of the human cost of the conflict and the terrible toll he knew such action would take on Iraq. Having personally met the pre-ordained leaders of the Interim Government of Iraq, Latif knew the corruption and embezzlement that would become the staple of the "New Democracy".After nearly fifteen years outside Iraq Latif is still stateless, he has not been offered citizenship by any European country, he looks at his position philosophically "I am a citizen of the world" he recently declared when invited to participate in a Peace mission across the Sahara desert.Latif has decided to donate his royalties from the sales of this book to the children's hospital in Ireland where his son and daughter were born.Although Latif has earned a PhD in International Law and has studied Psychology, it is writing that is his passion, "It is the thread that holds me together at the seams" he says of his work, a "cathartic experience". Latif is currently working on his next project; it will be a work of non-fiction and promises to enthral us with a story of humanity, brutality and hope. From the Author Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has supported me with my previous works and especially with "The Black Hole".This book has possibly been the hardest for me to write so far, my other works were written to save my life by bringing me into the world media's focus, whereas this book was written to throw the spotlight on the Western Democratic Regimes.When I first touted my idea for writing this book to friends and family they were cautiously supportive, they knew that what I was proposing to write was accurate but were only too aware of the possible consequences, Guantanamo being the most notorious.My other works "I was Saddam's Son" and "The Devil's Double" were widely used during 2003 as a further justification of the West's intentions towards Iraq. It has never been understood in the West how I can be anti-Saddam and his regime and not support "the war on Iraq", I agree that Saddam (who as we all know was the son of America) needed to go, but believe that the Iraqi people should have been the ones to depose him and no matter how well intentioned the Americans were, I do not believe that they have done Iraq any favours, in fact, I believe the opposite to be true.As you will read, if you choose to buy "The Black Hole" I was offered to become a part of The Iraqi Opposition, a position should I have chosen to pursue it, would undoubtedly have given me a position in the Interim Government in Iraq, but as I learned then and it became blindingly clear once this opposition government took hold in Iraq, is that it was never about the Iraqi people, the stark fact of the matter was that many of these "ministers" were completely unknown to the Iraqi Public, no matter how many supporters they claimed to have when they were in negotiations with the Pentagon or the CIA. This book however, does not focus firmly on Iraq, although the threat from the Iraqi regime was a constant in my life during the days, months and years after my flight. This book expresses my shock and disbelief at the treatment that I received from supposedly democratic European countries, it points out the differences but more so the similarities between the governments of the mid-East and the West, thankfully, there are still a few countries that are strong enough to hold their will and not be swayed by the "coalition of the billing". To these countries, most notably Germany I give my sincerest thanks.As you are aware "The Black Hole" is the continuation of my life story from "The Devil's Double" although I do have other works in the pipeline, so to speak, that are not related to my life story, "The Black Hole" is not the last chapter, I am in the process of writing my last instalment, I am hopeful that it will have a happy ending, although by now I should be prepared if it does not.It does not have a title as yet but chronicles my time in Ireland the land of a thousand welcomes, I did indeed find Ireland welcoming but soon after it became a nightmare. I hope to be able to look back and describe my time in Ireland as a black comedy. I do love the Irish and their warmth, but I find their ties with America suffocating and most open minded Irish will tell you that for all intents and purposes that Ireland is the 51st state. Maybe herein lies the reason that after nine years in Ireland I have been refused citizenship.Is there any country out there that would welcome me with open arms? I do not need or want special treatment; I just want to lead a quiet and happy life with my family.I have never thought of myself as a victim, I have always fought for what I believed to be right and if that meant fighting against Saddam Hussein then that's what I did until the day he was toppled.But it also stands to reason that if I was willing to fight Saddam Hussein for my rights, then I would fight anyone else who threatened me.My sincerest thanks, Latif Yahia. .