(2003-09-29) -- Top White House officials now believe that Saddam Hussein may not have realized that he was not a wicked despot who murdered his own people, threatened Iraq's neighbors and hated the United States and Israel.

The revelation comes after a Time Magazine story suggested that Saddam may not have realized that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction because his own top scientists lied to him.

"Saddam believed for decades that he was an evil dictator," said an unnamed White House official. "But he apparently got that idea from his top aides. They would constantly tell him 'You're bad, your excellency. You murdered all your opponents when you came to power. You have tortured, murdered, poisoned and raped your own people'."

Eventually, Mr. Hussein believed their image of him, but the truth was quite the opposite. Saddam Hussein was actually a gentle, but insignificant bureaucrat who rose quietly through the ranks, and reluctantly allowed his name to be placed on the ballot for president.

"He's really the kind of guy you might meet at the Rotary Club," said the anonymous source. "It's a shame the CIA also believed the lies about him."