When coalition forces marched into Baghdad in April of 2003, one of the many spoils of war were hundreds of hours of audio recording between Saddam Hussein and his inner circle. In the forthcoming The Saddam Tapes: The Inner Workings of a Tyrant’s Regime, 1978–2001, transcripts provide a rare glimpse into the dictator’s inner monologue on everything from the Iran-Iraq War to relations with George W. Bush’s administration and its ties to oil and gas companies.

But it is a passage from a January 1993 meeting on relations with the incoming Clinton administration that offers perhaps the most penetrating look at Hussein’s foresight and strategic acumen. In describing “the new international situation,” the late Iraqi leader looks into the future, and analyzes American foreign policy—making predictions that in the intervening years, in part, come to pass. Here, in an excerpted portion, he discusses the United States’ foray into Somalia in the early 1990s:

Saddam: “If the Americans continue such politics, they are going to face major troubles. Why would anyone want to elect an American? What did he say to him to influence him? He will probably say to him that he promises to improve the economic situation. How could he improve the economic situation with American soldiers spread all over the world?

Their economy will never improve with the expenses they spent in the Gulf and in Europe. They spent $68 billion in the Gulf, and in Europe, they spent $128 billion. If America does not withdraw its troops from all over the world, its economy could never improve. America is not in its youth phase. America is at the edge of elderliness and at the beginning phase of old age. This is nature, once you reach [inaudible]. The man might delay the deterioration; however, I cannot imagine the deterioration continuing. I mean it is impossible to give up its role of interference and influencing, and the latest foolishness made people apprehend it more and forced the blocks to move faster than before.

If America implemented a good policy, made a political difference in the world, emphasized improving the economy, etc, America__ __would earn more respect from the rest of the world; however, it is not afraid at all. This means it is not aware of the consequences. That might result in close relations with China, the Soviet Union and India, Japan with Asia. Germany will develop to be an industrial threat and France will overspread the world markets. It will cause a major chaos all over the world.”

Unidentified Man:“Sir, yesterday, as Your Excellency knows, the American president stated that the first thing he needs to do is allocate funds for the American troops overseas, [inaudible]. He made such a statement yesterday at the conference.”

Saddam:“It is impossible for him to do that in order to improve his economy. He could save a billion dollars from here, a million dollars from somewhere else, another two million from another place that could be useful, but it would not heal his wound__ __that is so deep it cannot be healed unless he turns to the military budget.”

Excerpted from The Saddam Tapes: The Inner Workings of a Tyrant’s Regime, 1978–2001, edited by Kevin M. Woods, David D. Palkki, and Mark E. Stout. Cambridge University Press, November 15, 2011. (These transcriptions are among the thousands of translated digital copies of captured documents compiled and analyzed by the nonprofit Institute for Defense Analyses. These records now reside in the Conflict Records Research Center at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., which actively makes them available to government and private scholars.)