DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- Imprisoned former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein wrote in a letter published Sunday that he is prepared to sacrifice himself for the Arab cause, and called on other Arabs to follow his example.
"In our glorious nation, my soul, and what I have been born on, is to be sacrificed to it," the letter said, in what the context suggested was an apparent reference to all Arabs.
Parts of the letter were published Sunday by two Jordanian newspapers. Saddam sent it to a friend in Jordan, who has asked not to be identified, said the International Committee of the Red Cross, which vouched for its authenticity.
The Red Cross delivered the missive from Saddam, who is awaiting trial on charges connected with a 1982 series of detentions and executions following an assassination attempt against him in Dujayl, north of Baghdad.
Saddam has been in custody since December 2003, when he was captured by U.S. troops. The letter appeared to include thoughts about his incarceration.
"Where is life without faith and love and the harmony which is inherited in our nation?" he wrote in Arabic.
"It is not too much for a man to answer the call of his nation with all that he possesses, and with his soul, yet it is what the nation deserves," the letter said, an apparent call for others to follow his lead.
"My brother, love your people, love Palestine, long live Palestine, love your nation," he wrote.
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