US forces detain son of powerful Iraqi politician

Reuters ^ | 2/23/07

[Valin]

KUT, Iraq, (Reuters) - U.S. troops detained the eldest son of Iraq's powerful Shi'ite politician Abdul Aziz Hakim at a border checkpoint with Iran on Friday, Iraqi security force officials told Reuters.

The U.S. military said it was checking the report.

Ammar Hakim's convoy was stopped at the Badrah checkpoint in Wasit province as he returned from Iran, they said. It was not immediately clear why he had been detained. The Iraqi security sources said U.S. forces had taken him to forward operating base Delta, a U.S. camp in nearby Kut, capital of Wasit province.

Ammar's father is leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the biggest party in Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national unity cabinet. He held talks with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House last December on how to curb sectarian violence in the country. Ammar Hakim is an influential member of the ruling Shi'ite Alliance in his own right and is secretary general of a humanitarian charity set up by SCIRI.

A colonel in the Iraqi border guards based in Kut said he was arrested by U.S. troops at gunpoint and handcuffed before being taken away. A colonel in the 8th Division of the Iraqi Army confirmed his arrest. An aide to a senior SCIRI official sought to play down what had happened, saying: "There was a misunderstanding at an American checkpoint, but now it is over. He was not arrested." But SCIRI-controlled- Furat television said later that he had been detained.

SCIRI, which has a military wing known as the Badr Organisation, has close links to Shi'ite Islamist Iran. Washington accuses Tehran of fuelling sectarian conflict in Iraq by supplying weapons and training to Shi'ite militias. U.S. forces have in recent months arrested a number of Iranians in Iraq, including several who were seized at Abdul Aziz Hakim's compound in Baghdad. They were later released.

[Parley Baer]

....or why he was in Iran.

[gondramB]

It will be interesting to see the reaction. In a real functioning democracy nobody has immunity because of who their father is, not even the President's daughter.

Now, that said, I bet she had a good lawyer. :)

[Mr. Lucky]

The fact of the matter is that this guy probably thinks he's pretty special and refused to answer questions or be searched at the checkpoint.

[Valin]

I was Security Policeman in the AF, and nothing gave me more pleasure than to run into people like this. Gave a Lt. Col. a broken jaw because he thought the rules didn't apply to him.

[Mr. Lucky]

Grandiose political titles are all well and good, but at a checkpoint out in the desert, a corporal of the guard is king.

[gondramB]

>>The fact of the matter is that this guy probably thinks he's pretty special and refused to answer questions or be searched at the checkpoint.<<

It wouldn't surprise me.

In my one year experience on the edges of law enforcement - working for the campus police I saw plenty of people who wanted exceptions.

And I wasn't in the desert with people trying to blow me and every civilian around me up plus I had total support from above.

Like on parking duty, I was told specifically that if they parked in the area we were concentrating on I was, on my own authority to tow the President of the College, the Chief of police or the Mayor of Atlanta. For the President of the United States, I should let him park there temporarily but call (him) my Sergent. When he died they renamed the police station for that Sergeant - everybody in uniform should be lucky enough to have that kind of support.

Not only are these guys in Iraq under constant threat and dealing with people who don't speak english but sometimes their support from some sectors of the congress and the public is iffy.

[gondramB]

Well, that didn't take long...

>> U.S. apologizes for arrest of relative of Shiite politician<<

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/23/iraq.main/index.html