Posted on 12/13/2003 5:02:37 PM PST by saquin
THE second wife of Saddam Hussein and his only surviving son are living in Lebanon under assumed names and receive a telephone call or a letter from the ousted Iraqi dictator at least once a week.
Samira Shahbandar, described by those who know Saddam as being the closest to him of his four wives, said in an interview with The Sunday Times that she had been given permission to live in France and expected to move to Paris next month.
She said that Saddam, who has a $25m price on his head, gave her $5m in cash and a hoard of jewellery and gold, and sent her over the Iraqi border into Syria. From there she travelled to Beirut, where she was provided with a Lebanese passport that gives her name as “Hadija”.
The passport of Saddam’s 21-year-old son Ali, whose arrogant manner suggests that he is used to being obeyed, states his name as “Hassan”. Saddam’s two elder sons Qusay and Uday, who terrorised Iraq, were killed by American forces during a siege of a house in Mosul. Their mother Sajida — the dictator’s first wife — is thought to be in Syria.
Samira, a blonde with hazel eyes who dresses in classic clothes that will not look out of place in affluent areas of Paris, remained a mysterious figure throughout her husband’s years in power.
No photographs of her have been published until today and Qusay and Uday resented her deeply.
She still remains in frequent contact with the fugitive dictator. “If he cannot say something in detail on the telephone, I know I will receive a letter in two to three days giving me an explanation,” she said.
Samira met a representative of The Sunday Times in La Cottage, a restaurant in Ba’albeck, near Beirut. She spoke with affection of Saddam and revealed that he attributed his loss of power to betrayal by his closest aides.
Saddam arrived at her hiding place on April 9, the day Baghdad fell. “He came to me very depressed and sad. He took me to the next room and cried. He knew he had been betrayed,” she said.
“He told me not to be afraid. He kissed Ali and said the same — ‘Don’t be afraid. Take care of your mother. People will bring you things to help’.”
Samira moved between safe houses that Saddam had arranged for her and Ali. Eventually his bodyguards took her to the Syrian border. She saw Saddam there for the last time.
He gave her a briefcase with the dollars, worth £3m, and a heavy box, saying: “This one you can use when you are really in need.” It contained 10kg of gold bars, worth an estimated £85,000.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.