GRAPEVINE

By DAVID ELLIS

Iraq's dictator has long employed fear to keep his people in line. But Saddam Hussein has also tried kindness rather than killing. When the Iran-Iraq war began in 1980, he ordered 20,000 Chevy Malibus to be distributed among army officers and families of fallen soldiers. Tight money and high casualties soon forced Iraq to cancel that order after about 2,000 cars were delivered; Saddam later substituted Volkswagens and other inexpensive cars. Moreover, the Iraqi treasury pledged to pay $40,000 to any man who married a war widow. For the bravest survivors, Saddam ordered 150 ceremonial swords (price: up to $50,000 each), crafted in a small village in Tuscany. Last year the Italian goldsmiths may have got an early tip about the dictator's plans when Iraq placed an order for 100 fancy sabers. Twenty were delivered just four days before the invasion of Kuwait.

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart